10 Song Collaborations That Happened By Accident
8. The Eagles' Cowriting A Classic - Take It Easy
"Take It Easy" is the one song that embodies everything great about the Eagles. From its breezy guitar strumming to its country fried guitar solo, the entire tune makes you feel like you're driving down a dusty highway as you embark on the greatest roadtrip of all time. Given how much the Eagles' sound is defined by it, it's strange to think that the band stumbled upon it by happenstance.
Originally, the song was in the process of being written by Jackson Browne, who had been seeing modest success in the California scene with tracks like "Doctor My Eyes." Browne had the entire crux of the song finished but was lost when it came to the second verse after talking about being in Winslow, Arizona. At the time, Browne was roommates with Glenn Frey, who quickly finished the lyrics and brought it into the band to perform.
Rather than being pissed off or hurt, Browne thought that what Frey did with the song was better than anything he could have hoped to do with it. In the line about a girl in a flatbed Ford, Frey had captured the idealistic fantasy of anyone with big dreams in the California rock scene. The song had a solid foundation as it is, but Frey's little touches made it something undeniable.