History
"The Load-Out" describes the daily practices of a band and its road crew on a concert tour, and the emotions evoked throughout such an endeavor. The first three verses of the song consist of Browne singing and playing piano with David Lindley playing lap steel guitar. They are later joined by a synthesizer, followed by the rest of the band. Eventually "The Load-Out" segues into an interpretation of Maurice Williams' 1960 hit "Stay", sung by Browne, Rosemary Butler, and Lindley. Lindley sings the falsetto in the second chorus (Rosemary Butler sings in the first).
Many radio stations played "The Load-Out" and "Stay" together as a medley, and, although it wasn't released as a single to the public initially ("Rosie" was the original B-side to "Stay"), "The Load-Out" charted as a tag-along to "Stay" on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts, based on airplay. "Stay" debuted on the Hot 100 on June 10, 1978, as a sole A-side, but was listed along with "The Load-Out" on the chart beginning with the August 5, 1978, chart for eight weeks, both showing a peak at No. 20. "Stay" stayed on the Hot 100 for a total of fifteen weeks. [1] [2] [3] [4]
When performing Load Out/Stay at the Universal Amphitheater, during Stay, Jackson had the roadies carting off all the equipment until he was left with only the Grand Piano, to finish the song.
Reaction
In his March 9, 1978, Rolling Stone review of the Running on Empty album, Paul Nelson discussed the song in the context of the album's "consciously created documentary," and reviewed the song's significance placed as its finale. The "Load-Out/Stay" medley, he claimed, was "worthy of such earlier" Browne album-closing "anthems as 'For Everyman,' 'Before the Deluge' and 'The Pretender.' 'The Load-Out' is Jackson Browne's tribute to and summation of every aspect of live performance: the cheering audience out front, the band playing hard-nosed rock & roll, the backstage crew loading up the trucks—and, always, the road to the next town. Packed to capacity with the data of first-rate reporting and with music so warm and soaring it belies the album's title, this song flows triumphantly into 'Stay,' where Browne tells us he doesn't ever want it to end." [5]
Ultimate Classic Rock critic Michael Gallucci rated the medley of "The Load-Out" and "Stay" as Browne's second greatest song, saying that "The Load-Out" "runs down the daily monotony of tour life". [6] Classic Rock History critic Brian Kachejian rated the medley as Browne's 8th greatest song. [7]
In an essay for the 2005 Rhino Records reissue of the album, critic Anthony DeCurtis wrote that one of the major themes of the album is how "the joy of performing before an audience lends a purpose to everything that happens — the good and the bad — behind the scene." That theme, he wrote, is expressed "eloquently in the easy rolling transition from the wistful regret of 'The Load-Out' to the smile-inducing high jinks of 'Stay.'" [8]
In 1981, Austrian singer-songwriter Georg Danzer recorded a German cover version of this song titled "Roadie-Lied".
The final episode of the 2016 television series Roadies was named after the song, and featured a live performance of it by Browne.
Clyde Jackson Browne is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 22 million albums in the United States.
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Warren Zevon is the second studio album by American musician Warren Zevon. This album was recorded in 1975 and released on May 18, 1976, by Asylum Records. A remastered version of the album with bonus tracks was released in 2008 by Rhino Records.
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David Perry Lindley was an American musician who founded the rock band El Rayo-X and worked with many other performers including Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Ry Cooder, Bonnie Raitt, Warren Zevon, Curtis Mayfield and Dolly Parton. He mastered such a wide variety of instruments that Acoustic Guitar magazine referred to him not as a multi-instrumentalist but instead as a "maxi-instrumentalist." On stage, Lindley was known for wearing garishly colored polyester shirts with clashing pants, gaining the nickname the Prince of Polyester.
Running on Empty is the fifth album by American singer-songwriter Jackson Browne. Featuring songs themed around life on the road, the entire album was recorded on tour, either live on stage, or in locations associated with touring, such as backstage, on tour buses, or in hotel rooms. Released in 1977, the album reached No. 3 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart in 1978 and stayed on the charts for 65 weeks. The single for the title track, "Running on Empty", peaked at No. 11 and the follow-up single, "The Load-Out"/"Stay", reached No. 20 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart.
"Feelin' Satisfied" is a song by American rock band Boston, released on their 1978 studio album Don't Look Back. The song was written by Tom Scholz and released as a single in 1979. The single peaked at #46 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It reached #84 in Canada. It was the band's last release for 7 years, until Third Stage in 1986.
"Stay" is a doo-wop song written by Maurice Williams and first recorded in 1960 by Williams with his group the Zodiacs. Commercially successful versions were later also issued by the Hollies, the Four Seasons and Jackson Browne.
"Take It Easy" is the debut single by the American rock band Eagles, written by Jackson Browne and Eagles band member Glenn Frey, who also provides lead vocals. It was released on May 1, 1972, and peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on July 22, 1972. It was also the opening track of the band's eponymous debut album and has become one of their signature songs, included on all of their live and compilation albums. It is listed as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
"Running on Empty" is a song by American singer-songwriter Jackson Browne. It is the title track of his 1977 live album of the same name, recorded at a concert at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, on August 27, 1977. A number 11 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 when it was released as a single, it spent seventeen weeks on the chart after debuting on February 11, 1978 at position 72. Rolling Stone ranked it at number 496 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2010 and number 492 in 2004 and it is one of Browne's signature songs. "Running on Empty" was most popular in Canada, where it spent two weeks at number four.
"Somebody's Baby" is a song written by Jackson Browne and Danny Kortchmar 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.
Late for the Sky is the third studio album by American singer–songwriter Jackson Browne, released by Asylum Records on September 13, 1974. It peaked at number 14 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart.
"Doctor, My Eyes" is a 1972 song written and performed by Jackson Browne and included on his debut album Jackson Browne. Featuring a combination of an upbeat piano riff coupled with lyrics about feeling world-weary, the song was a surprise hit, reaching number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in spring 1972, after debuting on the chart at number 80. Browne would not see the chart's Top 10 again until 1982's soundtrack hit "Somebody's Baby", although "Running on Empty" just missed the Top 10, reaching number 11. Billboard ranked "Doctor My Eyes" as the No. 92 song for 1972. In Canada, the song peaked at number four.
"The Pretender" is a song written and performed by American rock performer Jackson Browne and featured on his 1976 album The Pretender.
"Hold On Hold Out" is a song written by Jackson Browne and Craig Doerge and performed by American singer-songwriter Jackson Browne. It is from his 1980 album Hold Out. It was released as the third single from the album, but due to its slightly over-eight-minute length, it was released as a "specially priced" 12-inch 45 rpm record instead of the traditional 7-inch 45, Asylum records possibly hoping to repeat the 12-inch airplay success of "The Load-Out/Stay" medley from the previous album. However, "Hold On Hold Out" only reached number 103 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.
Love Is Strange: En Vivo Con Tino is the fourth live album by American singer-songwriter Jackson Browne, and 16th official studio or live album. A 2-CD live set released on the Inside Recordings label in 2010, the album documents a March 2006 tour of Spain that Browne and David Lindley took part in with Spanish percussionist Tino di Geraldo. The seven shows of the tour in Spain were followed by four in the United Kingdom. The album preserves performances by guest Spanish musicians flutist Carlos Núñez, vocalists Kiko Veneno and Luz Casal, and banduria player Javier Mas. Some songs have introductions spoken by Browne in Spanish.
"You Love the Thunder" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Jackson Browne from his 1977 live album, Running on Empty, recorded at a concert at Garden State Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey, on September 6, 1977. Released as the third single a full year after the album came out, it only reached #109 on Billboards Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, though it received increased Album-Oriented Rock airplay. The B-side of the U.S. single was "The Road"; however, the B-side for the British single was "Cocaine".
"Here Come Those Tears Again" is a song co-written and performed by American singer-songwriter Jackson Browne and included on his 1976 album The Pretender. Released as a single, it reached #23 one year to the week after the death of Browne's wife, Phyllis Major, spending nine weeks on the chart, after entering the Billboard Hot 100 on February 5, 1977, at position #64, the highest debut of the week. It also reached #15 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. The single was the eighth-highest charting of his Hot 100 career. It was also released as a single in the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan.
"Walking Slow" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Jackson Browne, released as the initial single from his 1974 classic album, Late for the Sky, however, the single failed to chart. It was also released as a promotional single in the United Kingdom.
"Late for the Sky" is a song written by Jackson Browne. It is the opening track and title track from Browne's 1974 album Late for the Sky.
