Somebody's Baby

"Somebody's Baby"
Single by Jackson Browne
from the album Fast Times at Ridgemont High: Music from the Motion Picture
B-side	"The Crow on the Cradle"
Released	July 1982
Recorded	1982
Genre	Rock
Length	4:05 (album/single version) 4:22 (extended version)
Label	Asylum
Songwriter(s)	Jackson Browne, Danny Kortchmar
Producer(s)	Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne singles chronology
"Hold On Hold Out" (1981) "Somebody's Baby" (1982) "Lawyers In Love" (1983)

"Somebody's Baby" is a song written by Jackson Browne and Danny Kortchmar[1] and recorded by Browne for the 1982 Fast Times at Ridgemont High movie soundtrack. Reaching No. 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100 after debuting at No. 73 on July 31, 1982, the track would be Browne's last top ten hit, as well as the highest-charting single of his career, spending a total of nineteen weeks on the chart.

The song reached No. 14 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, as well.[2][3] In Canada, "Somebody's Baby" peaked at #16.[4] The single was also released in Italy, Spain and Japan.[5]

Cash Box said that "Browne has come up with a most appealing first single from the soundtrack to Fast Times At Ridgemont High."[6] Billboard called it a "midtempo rocker" which was not one of Browne's "most arresting compositions" but would still "appeal to pop and AOR formats."[7]

Ultimate Classic Rock critic Michael Gallucci rated it as Browne's 3rd greatest song, calling it "one of his most unlikely songs, a sweet, and surprisingly despair-free, love song."[8] Classic Rock History critic Brian Kachejian rated it as Browne's 5th greatest song, saying that "There is no better soundtrack song in the genre of teen movies than Jackson Browne’s 'Somebody’s Baby'" and that although it's "the most pop-oriented hit of his career...it was pop music perfection that was all substance."[9]

It has since been released on several of Browne's greatest hits albums, including The Next Voice You Hear: The Best of Jackson Browne and The Very Best of Jackson Browne. An unplugged acoustic version appears on Browne's album entitled Solo Acoustic, Vol. 2 (2008).

Personnel

• Jackson Browne – lead vocals
• Craig Doerge – electric piano, synthesizers, clavinet
• Doug Haywood – Hammond organ, harmony vocals
• Danny Kortchmar – guitar (right channel)
• Rick Vito – guitar (left channel)
• Bob Glaub – bass
• Russ Kunkel – drums

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1982)	Peak position
Australia KMR[10]	26
Canada RPM Top Singles[4]	16
US Billboard Hot 100[11]	7
US Billboard Mainstream Rock	4
US Billboard Adult Contemporary[12]	14
US Cash Box Top 100[13]	5

Year-end charts

Chart (1982)	Rank
US Billboard Hot 100[14]	68
US Cash Box [15]	33

Other versions

• Artist Sidney Gish released a cover of the song in 2019 as a part of Cavetown's Animal Kingdom series.[16]
• American rock band Yo La Tengo released a version on the 1988 compilation album entitled Human Music (HMS100) (Homestead Records).^[citation needed]
• It was covered by Andru Donalds for the soundtrack for Good Will Hunting (1997).[17]
• Phantom Planet covered the song for the soundtrack for Not Another Teen Movie (2001).[18]
• Country music singer-songwriter Eric Heatherly covered the song on his album 2 High 2 Cry (2009).^[citation needed]
• Spoken word poet and rapper B. Dolan featured the song on his concept album The Failure (2008).^[citation needed]
• Free Energy covered the song in 2013.[19]
• Have Mercy covered the song for their portion of the 2015 split EP with Somos.[20]

References

1. "Somebody's Baby - Jackson Browne | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
2. Billboard.com Jackson Browne Chart History. Accessed July 11, 2012.
3. Whitburn, Joel. Billboard Hot 100 Charts - The Eighties. Wisconsin: Record Research, 1991.
4. Canada, Library and Archives (2013-07-17). "Image : RPM Weekly". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
5. Paris, Russ. The Jackson Browne Fan Page, COMPLETE DISCOGRAPHY. Archived 2012-02-25 at the Wayback Machine Accessed July 11, 2012.
6. "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. July 31, 1982. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
7. "Top Single Picks". Billboard. July 31, 1982. p. 51. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
8. Gallucci, Michael (October 9, 2012). "Top 10 Jackson Browne songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
9. Kachejian, Brian. "Top 10 Jackson Browne Songs". Classic Rock History. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
10. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
11. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
12. Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 35.
13. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, October 30, 1982".
14. "Top 100 Hits of 1982/Top 100 Songs of 1982". www.musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
15. "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 25, 1982". Archived from the original on 2019-03-31. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
16. Rettig, James (March 28, 2019). "Sidney Gish Covers Jackson Browne's "Somebody's Baby"". Stereogum. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
17. Harrington, Richard (April 5, 1998). "'TITANIC,' MUSICALLY HUGE". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 27, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
18. "Not Another Teen Movie". Billboard. December 22, 2001. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
19. Breihan, Tom (September 13, 2023). "Free Energy – "Somebody's Baby" (Jackson Browne Cover)". Stereogum. Archived from the original on October 15, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
20. Sacher, Andrew (February 23, 2015). "stream Have Mercy and Somos' new split EP". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved August 30, 2023.