Running On Empty (1978) 5/10/20

True story! When singer/songwriter Jackson Browne was recording his fourth album, “The Pretender,” he was living just a short distance away from the studio. Apparently there were no gas stations along with way, because in driving back and forth, he always found himself “Running on Empty.” So when it was time to record his fifth album, he already had a title for it...and the name of his next single, which became a “Great Song of the '70's!

”The album, “Running on Empty,” was recorded live a concert in Columbia, Maryland, and stayed on the Billboard Album Chart for 65 weeks, starting in 1977 and peaking at #3 in 1978.

The song itself hit #4 in Canada and #11 in the US. It was also nominated for a Grammy, and it squeaked onto Rolling Stone's “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list at #496. It became Browne's signature song, and was later featured in the movie “Forrest Gump.”

I guess you could say, “Running on Empty” was a song about a tank...that didn't tank. (Sorry, the pun was there, just waiting for me to use it!)