WCSX Classic Cuts
Eagles: “Already Gone”
The Hook: Glenn Frey, who sang it, says it’s a textbook example of a country-rock song.
Album: On the Border
Year: 1974
Writers: Jack Tempchin and Robb Strandlund
Stats: Peaked at number-32 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Background: After two albums recorded in England with producer Glyn Johns, who saw them as more country than rock, the Eagles returned to the States to record their third with a new producer. Glenn Frey says “Already Gone” fit perfectly with the direction they were heading at the time.
Eagles singer-guitarist Glenn Frey on “Already Gone.” OC:…trading licks. :30
“We were on On the Border by then and we were working with Bill Szymczyk by then, so we wanted to rock a little bit more. And I think ‘Already Gone’ is a really great example of what I would call a country rock song. Keith Richards, who loved The [Flying] Burrito Brothers, gave a very good description of what country rock was. It was basically a Chuck Berry beat with major country melodies on top, and that’s exactly what ‘Already Gone’ is. It was a lot of fun at the end, myself and Don Felder trading licks.”
