Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 30 million albums in the United States.

Encouraged by his successes writing songs for others, Browne released his self-titled debut album in 1972, which included two Top 40 hits of his own, "Doctor, My Eyes" and "Rock Me on the Water".

In 1986, he released Lives in the Balance, which had several radio hits and included the introspective "In the Shape of a Heart", which was inspired by the suicide of his first wife a decade prior.

[3] At the age of three, Browne and his family moved to his grandfather's house, Abbey San Encino which is in the Highland Park district of Los Angeles.

[citation needed] After graduating from high school Browne joined the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, performing at the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach, California, where they opened for the Lovin' Spoonful.

He left the Dirt Band after a few months and moved to Greenwich Village, New York, where he became a staff writer for Elektra's publishing company, Nina Music, before he was eighteen.

[6] In 1967, Browne and Nico were romantically linked; he became a significant contributor to her debut album, Chelsea Girl, writing and playing guitar on several of the songs (including "These Days").

[8] The upbeat "Take It Easy", cowritten with Eagles' Glenn Frey, had already been a major success for that group, while his own recording of "These Days" reflected a sound representing Browne's angst.

The arrangements featured the violin and guitar of David Lindley, Jai Winding's piano, and the harmonies of Rosemary Butler and Doug Haywood.

It was released during 1976, after the suicide of his first wife, Phyllis Major, and features production by Jon Landau and a mixture of styles, ranging from the mariachi-inspired "Linda Paloma" to the country-driven "Your Bright Baby Blues" and the downbeat "Sleep's Dark and Silent Gate".

[13] Running on Empty contains some of his most popular songs, such as the title track, "Rosie", and "The Load-Out/Stay", Browne's send-off to his concert audiences and tribute to his roadies.

In 1982, he released the single "Somebody's Baby" from the Fast Times at Ridgemont High soundtrack, which became his biggest hit, peaking at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The song was used at several points in the award-winning 1987 PBS documentary, The Secret Government: The Constitution in Crisis, by journalist Bill Moyers, and was part of the soundtrack of Stone's War, a 1986 Miami Vice episode focusing on American involvement in Central America.

During the 1980s, Browne performed frequently at benefit concerts for causes he supported, including Farm Aid, Amnesty International (making several appearances on the 1986 A Conspiracy of Hope tour), post-Somoza revolutionary Nicaragua, and the Christic Institute.

[16] Browne released his first album in six years, The Naked Ride Home in 2002, with a performance on Austin City Limits, featuring the recording with older familiar songs.

During 2003, he guest-starred as himself in The Simpsons episode "Brake My Wife, Please", performing a parody of his song "Rosie" with lyrics altered to reference the plot involving Homer and Marge.

[16] Browne also performed briefly at the Occupy Wall Street presence at Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan on December 1, 2011, to show his support for their cause.

It was directed by Benjamin Meade of Cosmic Cowboy studio in Fayetteville, Arkansas and produced by Frank Hicks,owner of Knuckleheads in Kansas City, Missouri.

In September 2009, Browne joined artists including Fred Tackett (Little Feat), Inara George (The Bird and the Bee), and others in supporting orphans, foster and homeless children through Safety Harbor Kids Holiday Collection with the proceeds going to help educate at-risk youth.

The album features covers of Browne's songs by such artists as Bruce Springsteen, Don Henley, Lyle Lovett and Bonnie Raitt.

[31] On February 15, 2016, at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, Browne and the Eagles performed "Take It Easy" in honor of Glenn Frey, who had died the month before.

[51] Browne also attended the TEDx Great Pacific Garbage Patch conference, performing a new song, "If I Could Be Anywhere", which laments mankind's destruction of the earth and giving hope to activism.

Browne performed live and recorded The Beatles song medley "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight" in 1991 with Jennifer Warnes for the charity album For Our Children to benefit the Pediatrics AIDS Foundation.

[52] On November 8 and 9, 1992, Browne performed in Honolulu with Bonnie Raitt, Crosby, Stills & Nash, and the Pahinui Brothers in a benefit concert for the victims of Hurricane Iniki which had devastated the island of Kauai two months earlier.

The song appears on the album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur, which was released on June 12, 2007, and features many other artists performing other John Lennon covers, such as R.E.M., Jack Johnson, U2, Avril Lavigne, Green Day, and The Black Eyed Peas.

Browne also held a benefit concert for the Rory David Deutsch Foundation which is dedicated to providing funding for brain tumor research and treatment.

In October 2010, Browne performed at both days of the 24th Annual Bridge School Benefit Concert, a yearly fundraiser established by Neil Young.

Browne also appeared at the 2010 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California with Yoko Ono and Quincy Jones in support of the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus.

[60] In 2008, Browne received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in recognition of his lifetime in the arts and dedication as a social activist.

[63] In 2010, Jackson received the Duke LEAF Award for Lifetime Environmental Achievement in the Fine Arts established to honor artists whose works have lifted the human spirit by conveying our profound spiritual and material connection to the Earth.