| "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 | ||||
| ||||
"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).
- ^ "Somebody's Baby - Jackson Browne | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
- ^ Billboard.com Jackson Browne Chart History. Accessed July 11, 2012.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel. Billboard Hot 100 Charts - The Eighties. Wisconsin: Record Research, 1991.
- ^ Canada, Library and Archives (2013-07-17). "Image : RPM Weekly". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
- ^ Paris, Russ. The Jackson Browne Fan Page, COMPLETE DISCOGRAPHY. Archived 2012-02-25 at the Wayback Machine Accessed July 11, 2012.
- ^ "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. July 31, 1982. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
- ^ "Top Single Picks". Billboard. July 31, 1982. p. 51. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
- ^ Gallucci, Michael (October 9, 2012). "Top 10 Jackson Browne songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
- ^ Kachejian, Brian. "Top 10 Jackson Browne Songs". Classic Rock History. Retrieved 2023-12-28.