The Poetry Man

Yeah..baby. I’m bloggin about JB….Jackson Browne. The all-time greatest poet,singer,songwriter ever…hands down. As a teenager I fell in love with his music first and then with him. I remember reading in some celebrity magazine that his favorite place to hang out in LA was a restauraunt called Lucy’s El Adobe.

I had great plans of heading out there..hooking up and living happily ever after. That was a long time ago and it didn’t take long for that part of the dream to die…but his music has stayed with me for most of my life and will always have a place in my heart. I don’t know if I could name a favorite if I tried…all of his early stuff is incredible…Bright Baby Blues would probably be one that I would mention, if forced…along with The Pretender, Before the Deluge, For a Dancer, Colors of the Sun…don’t even get me started. Lyrics were meant to mean something and in this…he is a God. There is probably a few things you might not know about him. These are just a few…

Born on October 9th,1948 (are you kidding me? he’s that old? I’m that old? He’s way older than me, btw)…in Heidelberg, Germany. Clyde Jackson Browne. One of three children. He moved with his family in 1951 to Los Angeles…into a home,Abbey Sun Encin, built in the 1920’s by his grandfather.

The Teen-Age Years

His father and father’s father were musicians so he acquired his talent naturally and by 1968 had a deal with Elektra on the novel project “The Music Ranch”…where a resort of musicians lived on site to, in theory, inspire visiting artists with higher levels of inspiration. In reality it was a fun party at which little got done. Elektra dubbed the name “Baby Browning” to a trio from this experiment that consisted of Jackson Browne, Jack Wilce, and Ned Doheny. An entire album was recorded but never released. In the 70’s Jackson got his big break when he hooked up with manager David Geffen. 1973 brought Phyllis Major into his life.

Phyllis Major

 The song “Ready or Not” was essentially about his bar-room brawl over her with another musician. He won…they married and had a son, Ethan Zane Browne…photographed for the cover of Rolling Stone by Annie Leibovitz. Majors commited suicide in 1976.

Ethan and Dad These Days

 He took a lengthy hiatus while recovering from her death. The Pretender album was released shortly after but much of it had been recorded prior to the tragic event. The song “Here Come Those Tears Again”  however,was a joint effort with his mother-in-law using lyrics that Majors had written prior to her death. In 1974 Phoebe Snow released a song entitle “Poetry Man” that was written about Jackson but they never had a relationship. He eventually married again to Lynne Sweeney, they had a son, Ryan Daniel Brown, but divorced in the mid 80’s. He has never re-married but was in a tumultuous relationship with the actress, Daryl Hannah, most famous for the movie Splash.

 A longtime reported relationship with Dianna Cohen followed.

That’s some of the facts and gossip. His music has spanned decades and there is too much info out there to include all of it. Jackson wrote the song “These Days” when he was only 16 years old. He spent a brief time as part of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Gentle Souls.But really, it’s all about the music/lyrics anyway…or it should be…and his speaks like no other. In closing…found a few pictures I thought I would share…along with the lyrics to one of his songs. Again, I really couldn’t pick a favorite if I had to. He has a song for just about any mood or any life situation you are experiencing.

Early Days

 

  

 

Okay..so maybe I got a little carried away with the pictures…you think?

Bright Baby Blues

I’m sitting down by the highway
Down by that highway side
Everybody’s going somewhere
Riding just as fast as they can ride
I guess they’ve got a lot to do
Before they can rest assured
Their lives are justified
Pray to God for me baby
He can let me slide

‘Cause I’ve been up and down this highway
Far as my eyes can see
No matter how fast I run
I can never seem to get away from me
No matter where I am
I can’t help feeling I’m just a day away
From where I want to be
Now I’m running home baby
Like a river to the sea

Baby if you can see me
Out across this wilderness
There’s just one thing
I was hoping you might guess
Baby you can free me
All in the power of your sweet tenderness

I can see it in your eyes
You’ve got those bright baby blues
You don’t see what you’ve got to gain
But you don’t like to lose
You watch yourself from the sidelines
Like your life is a game you don’t mind playing
To keep yourself amused
I don’t mean to be cruel baby
But you’re looking confused

Baby if you can hear me
Turn down your radio
There’s just one thing
I want you to know
When you’ve been near me
I’ve felt the love stirring in my soul

It’s so hard to come by
That feeling of peace
This friend of mine said
“Close your eyes, and try a few of these”
I thought I flying like a bird
So far above my sorrow
But when I looked down
I was standing on my knees
Now I need someone to help me
Someone to help me please

Baby if you need me
Like I know I need you
There’s just one thing
I’ll ask you to do
Take my hand and lead me
To the hole in your garden wall
And pull me through

Info and photo sources:  www.jrp-graphics.com  www.wikipedia.com