Somebody's Baby

Last updated
"Somebody's Baby"
Somebody's Baby.jpg
Single by Jackson Browne
from the album Fast Times at Ridgemont High: Music from the Motion Picture
B-side "The Crow on the Cradle"
ReleasedJuly 1982
Recorded1982
Genre Rock
Length4:05 (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.

Contents

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

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

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References

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  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 (6 July 2022). "Top 10 Jackson Browne Songs". Classic Rock History. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
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  12. Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 35.
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  14. "Top 100 Hits of 1982/Top 100 Songs of 1982". www.musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
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