With the release of his debut album in 1972, Jackson Browne joined the elite rank of American singer-songwriters who shaped the musical ethos of an era. He captured the mood of the 1970s with the introspective songs on his albums Late For the Sky and The Pretender, as well as his greatest success, the classic road album Running On Empty. At the end of the decade he emerged as a highly visible social activist, co-founder of MUSE (Musicians for Safe Energy). His interest in global issues of the environment, human rights and social justice came to the fore in his albums of the 1980s, including Lives In the Balance and World In Motion. Over the course of his career, he has sold in excess of 17 million albums in the United States alone, and has been inducted into the both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriter's Hall of Fame. In January 2011, Jackson Browne received the Gold Medal of the Academy of Achievement. He performs a solo version of one of his signature songs, "Take It Easy," in this podcast, recorded on that occasion in Washington D.C.