Jacob Brackman
Writing
Biography
Jacob Brackman (born 1943) is an American writer, journalist, and musical lyricist. After graduating from Harvard University in 1965, he went to work for Newsweek as a journalist. He remained there for six months and was then hired by The New Yorker. He subsequently worked as a film critic at Esquire magazine from 1969 until 1972. He met Carly Simon in 1968 when they were both working as counselors at a summer camp in the Berkshires and the two became close friends. Most of Simon's albums include one or two songs co-written with Brackman; typically, Simon writes the music and Brackman writes the lyrics. Among the dozens of songs they have written together are the top ten hits "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" (1971) and "Haven't Got Time for the Pain" (1974), both of which were sung by Simon. The lyrics to the Broadway musical King of Hearts were written by Brackman, and so, too, were the screenplays for The King of Marvin Gardens (1972) and Times Square (1980). He has also collaborated musically with James Taylor, Steve Winwood, Dr. John, Fred Astaire, Michel Polnareff and Dionne Warwick. He was the executive producer for the acclaimed Terrence Malick film, Days of Heaven (1978). He married the late Mindy Jostyn, and co-authored the lyrics on her CDs. Brackman has been an influence on many other artists, including Welsh rock group the Manic Street Preachers, who included a cover version of his song "Damn Dog" from the film Times Square in their 1992 album Generation Terrorists.
Known For
In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place.
Law & Order
A documentary series about pop and rock albums that are considered the best or most distinctive of a well-known band or musician or that exemplify a stage in the history of music.
Classic Albums
In 1916, a Chicago steel worker accidentally kills his supervisor and flees to the Texas panhandle with his girlfriend and little sister to work harvesting wheat in the fields of a stoic farmer.
Days of Heaven
When a 13-year-old girl befriends a defiant antisocial child of the streets, the mismatched runaways set off to the Big Apple to find their own adventure.
Times Square
Jason Staebler lives on the Boardwalk and fronts for the local mob in Atlantic City. He is a dreamer who asks his brother David, a radio personality from Philadelphia, to help him build a paradise on a Pacific Island, which might be just another of his pie-in-the-sky schemes. Inevitably, complications begin to pile up.
The King of Marvin Gardens
Carly Simon is one of the most influential singer-songwriters of her generation. The classic album that made her a global star was No Secrets, which included the enigmatic song You're So Vain. The album spent five weeks at number one in the US chart.