Well, we’re scared, but we ain’t shakin’
Kinda bent, but we ain’t breakin’
in the long run
Ooh, I want to tell you, it’s a long run
in the long run
in the long run
–Eagles, “The Long Run”
Glenn Frey grew up in Detroit, the town best known musically for the catchy R&B music that came out of Motown Records, and the home of hard-charging rock acts such as Bob Seger, Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels and the MC5.
So when Frey turned up at the celebrated Troubadour nightclub in West Hollywood in the late 1960s to audition as a singer and guitarist for rising country-rock singer Linda Ronstadt, her manager wasn’t sure he’d be a good fit.
“I had pigeonholed him as this punky kid from Detroit who wanted to be a rocker,” John Boylan said Monday. “But he surprised me with the scope of his musical knowledge. The very first rehearsal we had with Linda, we were doing a [Hank Williams] song, ”˜Lovesick Blues.’ He knew the country sixth chords that Hank would use ”” he knew the whole genre already. I figured I would have to teach this guy about ancient country music, but he could have taught me.”
Like a lot of people of my generation, the Eagles were one of those groups which formed the lifeblood of one’s constant musical support system growing up (for me, through the crazy maze of adolescence)
I am so very thankful to them and to him for all that they have given us.
Et moi aussi.