Jackson Browne: Standing on A Corner In Winslow
In 1995, my family decided to move from Southern California to Chicago. My wife, two daughters, then ages four and three, our little dog DJ and myself were packed tightly into a Ford Mustang convertible and it was off on a three day road trip.
Towards the end of day one, we ran into a major storm. Heavy rain and hail made driving dangerous. It was already late so we decided to stop for the night. We were in Winslow, Arizona.
The next morning I went to walk the dog and I stopped on a corner and took a look around. There was no girl. No flatbed Ford. I was disillusioned.
Jackson Browne started writing Take It Easy in 1971. The song wasn't going to be ready for his first album. Glenn Frey heard the song, liked it and Browne gave it him to finish. It ended up on the Eagles first album and it became a once in a generation tune.
The reason for the memory is Jackson Browne performed at Ravinia, in north suburban Chicago, on Saturday night.
If you're a baby boomer, the Singer-Songwriter era was a big part of your musical life. Browne was part of a group of musicians that included James Taylor, Carole King, and Joni Mitchell, among others. His early albums included classics like For Everyman, Late For The Sky and The Pretender. Those discs showed up regularly on your turntable. Remember turntables?
It's been more than forty years since he started and Jackson Browne is still going strong. His current band includes guitarist Larry Campbell, who is best known for playing with Levon Helm and still is the musical director of the Ramble that is played at Helm's property in Woodstock.
Browne now has fourteen studio albums. His latest Standing In The Breach was released last fall. The concert featured a nice mix of the classic songs along with some newer ones. These Days, Your Bright Baby Blues, and Fountain Of Sorrow represent the old days while Looking East, The Long Way Around and Leaving Winslow are from the last decade.
As for Browne himself, he's now sixty-six and looks a little more weathered then back in the 70's but who doesn't. I'd kill to have his shoulder length hair. His voice sounds almost like it did when I saw him for the first time in 1974.
The show ended with a singalong. The Pretender, Running On Empty and the encore of Take It Easy. All are classics that my generation knows and loves. It's easy to start singing and that's what the crowd did.
A lot has changed since that night in Winslow. The girls are now adults and on their own. The wife is an ex. The dog is gone to that rainbow bridge place. But Jackson Browne and Take It Easy will always take me back to a rainy night more than twenty years ago.
We may lose and we may win though we will never be here again so open up, I'm climbin' in, so take it easy
It's been a busy month of music at Ravinia. Here's a look at shows from ZZ Top and Chicago
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