Musical Tastes

[Mark Yacavone]

Composition

Jackson Browne originally began writing "Take It Easy" in 1971 for his own eponymous debut album but was having difficulty finishing the song. Browne's friend Glenn Frey – who lived in the same [Echo Park] California apartment building as Browne – had heard an early version and later asked Browne about it. Browne then played the unfinished second verse that begins with "Well, I'm a-standin' on a corner in Winslow, Arizona...", and Frey finished the verse with "Such a fine sight to see. It's a girl, my lord, in a flatbed Ford, slowin' down to take a look at me."[6][7] Browne was very happy with the result and suggested that they finish the song together.[8] The resulting song became the first track on the Eagles' debut album and was released as their first single.

Browne told a version of the story in a radio interview: "I knew Glenn Frey from playing these clubs – we kept showing up at the same clubs and singing on the open-mic nights. Glenn happened to come by to say 'hi,' and to hang around when I was in the studio, and I showed him the beginnings of that song, and he asked if I was going to put it on my record and I said it wouldn't be ready in time. He said 'well, we'll put it on, we'll do it,' 'cause he liked it," Browne explained. "But it wasn't finished, and he kept after me to finish it, and finally offered to finish it himself. And after a couple of times when I declined to have him finish my song, I said, 'all right.' I finally thought, 'This is ridiculous. Go ahead and finish it. Do it.' And he finished it in spectacular fashion. And, what's more, arranged it in a way that was far superior to what I had written."[9]