Well, here we go again–another Jackson Browne song. I tried not to do it, but when no songs came flying into my head, I went to Jerry’s Guitar Bar for inspiration. And there it was–a brand new Jackson Browne lesson. I just couldn’t resist.
“Somebody’s Baby” is reminiscent of a fifties Rock and Roll song. Only, it’s much better. Like they always said on American Bandstand, “It has a good beat.” For “Somebody’s Baby, the beat is better than just “good.” The song has a driving, get-up-and-dance beat. The lyrics are also clever, as is customary for any Jackson Browne song, and the melody is captivating.
Now, here’s the rub. “Somebody’s Baby” is atypical of a Jackson Browne song. The only reason he wrote it is because his friend, Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire), asked him to write it with Danny Kotchmar for Crowe’s film, Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Kotchmar wrote the framework for the song, and Browne finished and recorded it for the movie.
Jackson Browne tried to distance himself from the song because he felt it was “too commercial.” But too many people liked it, and Browne eventually recorded the hit song on one of his albums. Here’s the man himself playing the song.
Heart Banter by David Gittlin 