1973 · Behind the Songs
First recorded by others, then reclaimed: a teenage composition that became a quiet classic.
Jackson Browne wrote “These Days” at sixteen, in 1964 or 1965, and it spent years as other people’s song before it became his. He cut a demo of it for Nina Music Publishing at Jaycino Studio in New York City on 7 January 1967, and later that year German singer Nico recorded it for her album Chelsea Girl, released in October 1967 and produced by Tom Wilson. Browne played the fingerpicked electric guitar on Nico’s version, a choice suggested by her manager Andy Warhol, and the song went on to be recorded with a string arrangement by Tom Rush on his 1970 album, and by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Jennifer Warnes and others.
Browne’s own version finally appeared on For Everyman (1973). He based its arrangement partly on the one Gregg Allman had recorded for Laid Back, also in 1973, and thanked Allman in his liner notes. The session, at the Sound Factory in Los Angeles, featured David Lindley’s slide guitar, Jim Keltner on drums and David Paich on piano. Neither version was issued as a single, but both became the most-heard interpretations of the song through progressive-rock radio, and covers have kept coming ever since, from Cher and 10,000 Maniacs to St. Vincent and Glen Campbell. Nico’s recording found a new audience in the 2001 film The Royal Tenenbaums.