10 Perfect Rock Songs That Were Written By Accident
6. Life in the Fast Lane - Eagles
As the Eagles went into production to make Hotel California, there was no time for screwing around anymore. Since the last few records had done marginally better with each passing release, this was the moment where they were either about to make a classic record or fall flat on their face. There was absolutely no room for filler material anymore, and one rehearsal brought out one of Joe Walsh's timeless riffs.
Going into the sessions, Life in the Fast Lane wasn't meant to be a song, until Glenn Frey noticed Joe Walsh warming up his fingers as he got started. Based around a finger exercise to loosen up before playing, Glenn was amazed at how hooky the riff was, thinking it would go great in an old school rock and roll song. While the music was in place, it took them a little while longer to get the right lyrics.
Almost by accident, Glenn found himself in the car of one of his drug dealer friends while on his way to a poker game, when the driver quipped the song's title as he was weaving in and out of traffic on the highway. After a little bit of tweaking, Life in the Fast Lane went from being a potential song to one of the standout tracks on the first half of the record. Not bad for a track that didn't even exist when the album started.