Friday, May 17, 2013

Jackson Browne - Somebody's Baby

While the video did not get much airplay on MTV, Jackson Browne's "Somebody's Baby" did become a big hit for him, hitting #7 on the charts.  In fact, this well-crafted song would end up becoming the highest charting hit of Browne's career.

"Somebody's Baby" was written for the Fast Times at Ridgemont High movie soundtrack.  The Cameron Crowe movie became an instant classic and gets ERV's highest recommendation (as does the later Crowe film, Almost Famous).  As a former Rolling Stone writer, Crowe is a true music aficionado, and his use of music in Fast Times is impeccable.

In some ways, Jackson Browne was a strange choice for the soundtrack.  While he remained successful as a singer/songwriter, his laid back folk style was somewhat out of favor by the early 1980s, as new wave and heavy metal were the next big things in popular music.  However, his haunting song fit right into the movie and retains a timeless feel to the present day.



While Browne continues to record, his releases have become less frequent over time.

4 comments:

  1. I've never seen this video.
    When this song was released I did not enjoy it.
    (Don't get me started on "Lawyers In Love")
    This just wasn't the Jackson Browne I knew.

    Now I hear these songs and love hearing them.
    They take me back to the time when they where played on radio/MTV

    Funny How You Hear Songs Differently As Time Marches On
    -Sam

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  2. Sam, I totally agree about how your perceptions of songs change over time. I liked this when it came out, but that might have been due to the Fast Times association. I never did take to "Lawyers in Love" though. And you are totally correct -- it definitely was a somewhat different sound for Jackson. Thanks for checking in -- appreciate the comments, as always.

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  3. I think if I was trying to be obscure with Jackson Browne's videos I might have chosen Lawyers In Love.

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    1. Yep, that is totally fair. I chose "Somebody's Baby" mostly because I liked the song better.

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