“I wrote those songs before she died – with the exception of Sleep’s Dark And Silent Gate. That was written after. I guess that song could be considered cathartic”: Jackson Browne on his classic album The Pretender and its tragic backstory

Jackson Browne.

Singer-songwriter Jackson Browne’s fourth album, The Pretender, was a three million selling smash hit that reached No 5 on the US Billboard 200 in 1977. But this professional success came after a devastating tragedy in Browne’s personal life.

His career had been on a steady upward curve ever since the release of his debut album in 1972. Officially titled Jackson Browne, but also known as Saturate Before Using, that debut album yielded a hit single in Doctor My Eyes, an upbeat, piano-driven song later covered by The Jackson 5.