A Fall from Grace
Los Angeles was becoming the place where once hungry dreamers came to have their souls die. People were falling from grace and diving headfirst into a spiritual void. The Sunset Strip and Laurel Canyon went from a place that represented change and social justice to being a place obsessed with money and celebrity.
Jackson Browne 1977. Photo by Aaron Rapoport / Corbis / Getty Images
One of the more honest accounts of the hollowness of the late-‘70s rock scene can be heard on Jackson Browne’s album Running on Empty. Recorded in 1977, the album was all about sex, drugs, and rock and roll, but more importantly, the feeling that it had become an empty ritual.