Browne's personal touch to his music makes him a fan favorite
By: Nancy Dunham
Special to The Examiner
November 5, 2009
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If you goJackson Browne
Where: Lyric Opera House, 140 W. Mount Royal Ave., Baltimore
When: 7 p.m. Nov. 9
Info: $42 to $52; ticketmaster.com
Musician Ben Harper vividly recalls walking down streets in Claremont, Calif., and having people congratulate him on his just-released first album, "Pleasure and Pain."
Harper, who himself has won critical and commercial success, couldn't understand how so many people had heard his album.
"[A friend] told me Jackson Browne had been spreading the word about my music," said the Grammy Award-winning Harper, who now tours with his band The Relentless7. "He walked into Tower Records and bought 50 of my records and had been handing them out."
Although Harper had known and idolized Browne since he was a child, he was bowled over by the gesture. Yet the classic American singer-songwriter -- who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by his friend Bruce Springsteen -- is almost as well-known for supporting other musicians as he is for his singing, songwriting and political activism.
"He represents the reason you should meet your idols," Harper said. "Even when I was a kid ... he would say hello, shake our hands and talk to us even though there are millions of others who would love to talk with him. You can't be a California songwriter without connecting with Jackson. It would be irresponsible, reckless."
Of course, Browne is the classic example of an artist who lives his art. It is said that many of his wildly popular songs such as "Running on Empty," and "These Days" sprung from his political, social and personal beliefs.
The heartfelt meanings Browne puts into his work are one reason Clarence Clemons of the E Street Band tapped Browne to join him in recording the song "You're a Friend of Mine."
"It was my album, and I wanted to play something different, personal," Clemons said. "Since this [song] was a really personal thing for me, our friendship made the song."
The personal flavor of much of Browne's work is what draws many fans to him, said Russ Paris, who owns and manages The Jackson Browne Fan Page, which is not affiliated with the musician.
"He has that reputation as a very sensitive singer-songwriter," Paris said. "People think they know him through his music, but they perhaps don't know him as well as they think. His music presents a side of him."
Steve Baltin, editor of AOL's music site Spinner.com, is one of a handful of music journalists who has interviewed Browne several times.
"He is very smart, but he's also very shy and thoughtful," Baltin said. "He's the type of person that would rather speak through his music. ... His ideals are what are important to him."
