Reply #20: According to "Behind the Music: Jackson Browne's Search for Hipness" [View All]

"The Laurel Canyon scene in the late 70s was a mere shadow of its former self: John and Michelle, Denny and Cass, John Sebastian, Brian Wilson, Graham Nash - all gone. The only remnant of those glory days was a hermit like figure, huddled in a drainage culvert just below Mulholland Drive....

On certain nights, a passer-by might see a dim glow from the depths of the pipe - a flickering incandescence that indicated a presence - a presence of genius.

But that turned out to be Brian Wilson. Jackson Browne at that time was living in comfort in a large house at the top of the canyon - a house where he strove for the relevance he thought was rightly his. To this end, he worked, as a fine craftsman does, honing his art to a finely tuned piece: "I've got to be somebody's.... what? Caramel sundae without nuts? Too saccarhine. Somebody's.......Tommy Burger with extra chili and no onions? No one would get the symbolism. Somebody's......babe? Could it be? Babe? That simple, basic, elementary particle of the soft rock anthem? Yes. YES! Babe! Babe it is!! And they will celebrate this song for time immemorial!!!1!!1"

Next on "Behind the Music": Reality sets in for Mr Browne.