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1. Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong were early influences in the Browne home and prejudice wasn't tolerated in the civil rights era.
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2. Jackson Browne wrote his first song when he was about 15 in the early 1960s, when some of his friends were writing songs and he was looking for an outlet.
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3. Jackson Browne was briefly in the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and they went on to record a number of his songs on their early albums.
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4. Jackson Browne spent some of his formative music years playing at The Troubadour in Hollywood where he met other songwriters and developed his own style.
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5. Bob Dylan was Jackson's greatest influence in his early years. He admired his songwriting as well as the way he and his music could evolve and grow.
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6. Tom Rush recorded Jackson's "Shadow Dream Song" on one of his albums, but Jackson never recorded the song himself.
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7. While spending some time in New York in the late '60s, Jackson Browne played guitar on one of Nico's albums, one which she recorded some of Jackson's songs.
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8. Jackson's Browne's first album came out in January 1972. The title was simply Jackson Browne. However, the cover design included a photo of a water bag with the words "Saturate Before Using" on it. Since that time, many people have mistakenly called the album Saturate Before Using. This sound byte is Jackson talking with Gary Burden, who was the art director for that album cover. That's Gary laughing in the background!
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9. "Doctor My Eyes" was Jackson Browne's first single, and he wasn't really sure that it was the proper choice.
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10. Jackson's first Top 10 hit was "Doctor My Eyes". In this sound byte Jackson talks about how his inexperience in the studio led to a peculiarity in the track.
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11. "Rock me On The Water" was Jackson's second single. Although it has a gospel flair, it isn't about religion; it's about society. |
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12. "Jamaica Say You Will" was written as a narrative for a girl who worked near in a garden near the ocean.
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13. Glenn Frey of the Eagles talking about how he and J.D. Souther met Jackson Browne and became friends.
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14. Glenn Frey and Jackson Browne co-wrote "Take It Easy" which became a huge hit for the Eagles. Jackson started the song and Glenn finished it.
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15. "These Days" was written when Jackson was only 15 years old. It was recorded by Nico in the 1960s, but Jackson waited until his second album to record it. (added 1-May-05)
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16. "For Everyman" was Jackson's reply to David Crosby's idea of living on an island away from it all. (added 15-May-05)
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17. David Lindley has been one of Jackson Browne's most influential bandmates. Here's Jackson talking about how they met and hooked up. (added 1-Jun-05)
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18. This clip features Jackson Browne talking about how David Lindley played lap steel on "Red Neck Friend" and how this was the first time they really clicked in the studio. (added 15-Jun-05)
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19. Jackson talks about how a phrase that you like can lead to the writing of a song. "Late For The Sky" is one such song where he wasn't sure why he liked the phrase, but found the meaning in it while writing the song. (added 1-Jul-05)
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20. Jackson's writes in full sentences, cares about the lyrics and makes the music support the lyrics rather than the other way around. "You want a song to be audible", he says. Jackson once sang "The Road And The Sky" in concert before the song was finished. (added 15-Jul-05)
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21. "For a Dancer" was written for a friend of Jackson's who died in a fire. Jackson says that writing about death is an attempt to get comfortable with the reality of the subject. (added 1-Aug-05)
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22. "The Pretender" was written about the giving up of ones ideals, but the subject of the song isn't even fooling himself. He's just trying to reconcile his ideals with the life he sees around him. (added 15-Aug-05)
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23. "The Pretender" album was Jackson writing about private matters, but the publicity made matters public, and the weariness of the attention shows up in the "Running On Empty" album. (added 1-Sep-05)
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24. The original idea behind the "Running On Empty" album was to make a live album of older material along with some new material, and some out-takes of life on the road. (added 15-Sep-05)
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25. "Running On Empty" was about being on the road and coming of age; doing some of the same things, but maybe for new meanings. The band was at the top of it's form on that tour. The Road is a metaphore for life's journey. (added 1-Oct-05)
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26. Jackson's version of the song "Cocaine" fit the times, but Jackson has lost a good many friends due to drug abuse. Jackson himself has beeen drug free for many years and has a newer version of the songs that he sometimes sings in concert these days which reflects the change. (added 15-Oct-05)
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27. "Rosie" is the story of a girl who came to a show. She was found by a guy on the crew who took her in and let her sit with him as he mixed the show... but after the show, the drummer "swept that girl away." Jackson tells how the guy got his revenge. (added 1-Nov-05)
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28. "You Love The Thunder", like all the tracks on Running On Empty, was recorded live. Jackson says that songs weren't well received that tour because they were new songs and people wanted to hear songs they knew. (added 15-Nov-05)
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29. Jackson Browne wrote "The Load Out" as a tribute to his crew. Here he talks about how hard they work and how little they are paid. (added 1-Dec-05)
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30. "The Load Out/Stay" says that it's the time on stage that makes all the work worthwhile. It is also Jackson's way of asking the audience to stay because the band wants to keep on playing. (added 15-Dec-05)
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31. "Stay" was Jackson's effort to tell the audience that the band wants to keep on playing, too. Here he talks about how it's sort of a love song to the audience. (added 1-Jan-06)
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32. Here's a nice audio clip of Jackson Browne talking about his voice and how lucky some people are to have great voices. He says he makes do with what he has. (added 15-Jan-06)
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33. The song "Boulevard" is about runaways and Hollywood Boulevard. It was partly written from the point of view of a young person on that street. Jackson explains more in this sound byte. (added 1-Feb-06)
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34. In this sound byte, Jackson talks about how difficult it is for him to write "happy" songs. (added 15-Feb-06)
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35. In the summer of 1980, "Hold Out" became Jackson's first (and only) #1 album. Here's what Jackson has to say about the feat. (added 1-Mar-06)
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36. "Tender Is The Night" started as a funny line that turned into a serious song. "Disco Apocolypse" also started out as an amusing phrase that Jackson turned into song. (added 15-Mar-06)
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37. "Lawyers In Love" was one of Jackson's more political songs, but it wasn't recognized as such by many listeners. Jackson has said that the song's sarcastic humor and political digs were lost on many people. (added 1-Apr-06)
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38. "Lives In The Balance" raises the fundamental question of who are the people who describe to us who are enemies are and who lead us to war, but who never lose their own lives. In this great clip, Jackson talks about how people have begun to define patriotism in terms of our wars -- and that's not the measure of patriotism to him. (added 15-Apr-06)
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39. "Lives In The Balance" was written about Central America in the 1980s, but it is still very relevant today. (added 1-May-06)
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40. There have been complaints from some that Jackson's music is often too political in nature and that his best work is his more presonal. Jackson responds, quoting Little Steven, in saying, "What's more personal than your political beliefs?" (added 15-May-06)
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41. "In The Shape Of A Heart" was an experiment on how to talk about love. It's a search for meaning and to make something mean something. Jackson says he's "been in love with language" his whole life. (added 1-Jun-06)
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42. "For America" may be getting more of an audience response today that it did when it was originally released. Jackson says that people are more aware now about what the song is all about. (added 15-Jun-06)
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43. "I Am A Patriot" is a song written by Little Steven that Jackson covered on his World In Motion album in 1989. Here Jackson talks of how important the mesage is to him. (added 1-Jul-06)
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44. "I'm Alive" was Jackson's way of assessing what really matters. Especially after tough times, it's nice to be able to realise and celebrate being alive. (added 15-Jul-06)
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45. "Sky Blue And Black" consistently ranks among Jackson's fans' favorites. It's an expression of love in the face of a lost relationship and is one of Jackson's favorites as well. Jackson says it's the most complete expression of love he could find. (added 1-Aug-06)
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46. About his songwriting, Jackson says he tries to find a way of confronting the things that are going on inside of him and pulls them out to examine them in way that, when he's at this best, has a universal recognition. (added 15-Aug-06)
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47. "Looking East" is about living on the West Coast of the country not only looking towards the rising sun, but to the seat of government as well. It's about being in a political and spiritual night. It's a song of introspection. (added 1-Sep-06)
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48. "The Barricades of Heaven" is about growing up. In this sound byte, Jackson points out that some of the issues that are compelling to us while growing up are issues that stay with you for life. (added 15-Sep-06)
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49. Success does change people, but Jackson is proud to have done so many benefits and the fact that he's stuck by his values and ideals. "The Barricades of Heaven" is about this, but is also ambiguous, which is something that he never used to want in his songs but recently has begun to appreciate. (added 1-Oct-06)
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50. Jackson Browne says he writes songs the way he wants and the best he can, but he doesn't try to be popular or fit a mold. (added 15-Oct-06)
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51. Jackson Browne says that it is important to him that the song is as much about the listener as about himself. "The Next Voice Your Hear" was written with this in mind and talks about asking yourself about what you believe in rather than listening to others. (added 1-Nov-06)
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52. For a long time, Jackson Browne didn't want to release a "best of" package, but he finally did so in 1997. In this clip he talks about why he finally relented and why he likes "best of" collections. (added 15-Nov-06)
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53. Jackson Browne personally picked the songs for his first "Best Of" collection and had great difficulty chosing. This great sound byte explains how he made his decisions and what type of thought he put into making his choices. (added 1-Dec-06)
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54. In this somewhat rambling sound byte, Jackson Browne talks about his friend Bruce Springsteen, his impact on his audience and how he has impacted music over time. (added 15-Dec-06)
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55. "The Naked Ride Home" is a parable about the end of a relationship. The song is about trying to get the passion back in a fading relationship. Here Jackson talks about how hard and important it is examine your life and recognize it for what it is... to examine your life and to be honest with yourself is valuable and difficult, and it's particularly hard to make happen in a song. (added 1-Jan-07)
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56. "For Taking The Trouble" was going to be a "rocker" until Keb' Mo' stepped into the studio to play slide guitar on the track. (added 15-Aug-07)
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57. "My Stunning Mystery Companion" is about Jackson's girlfriend. It's a personal thank you for their relationship of the past 15 years, said in a way of keeping the relationship fresh. (added 15-Oct-07)
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58. This is a clip of Jackson talking about music and how it means different things to different people and how people listen to music in different ways. He talks about how his songs can be a rallying point, or console someone. "It's not background music for conversation." (added 1-Jan-08)
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