The songs Eagles wrote with J.D. Souther
The story of the Eagles is a complex one. While they might be best known for the hedonism and infighting that took precedence for much of their career, another intriguing aspect is the songwriting process, which featured many different people. One figure who had a more significant impact on the band’s work than many people give him credit for is J.D. Souther.
Notably, Souther’s musical and personal connection with the band began before they had even formed in 1971. He moved to Los Angeles in the 1960s, and it was there that he met fellow musician and songwriter Glenn Frey, who later became co-lead signer and frontman of Eagles, roles he would share with Don Henley, with whom he wrote most of the group’s material.
After meeting and hitting it off, Souther and Frey became roommates and, naturally, musical collaborators. They started their road together as the comically named folk duo Longbranch Pennywhistle and released their self-titled debut album in 1970 on musical svengali, Jimmy Bowen’s Amos Records. It was their only studio effort together, and the group disbanded later that year.
Later, in 1972, Souther recorded an eponymous solo album and, the following year, founded the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band alongside Chris Hillman and Richie Furay; together, they released two albums, but creative conflict meant that the project was shortlived, ending in 1975. During this time, Frey had already co-founded the Eagles, and it wouldn’t be too long before he was drafting his old friend in occasionally to help co-write classics.
Some of the Eagles’ best-loved works were written in tandem with J.D. Souther. While his co-writing credits don’t appear on all of their studio albums, they do feature on the majority of them, including for ‘Doolin Dalton’ from their 1973 sophomore effort Desperado and their cover of his solo track ‘How Long’, which features on their final album 2007’s Long Road Out of Eden.
However, there are much better-known songs by the band that Souther helped bring to life. These include ‘Best of My Love’, the third and final single from 1974’s On the Border, the yacht rock classic ‘New Kid in Town’ from their 1976 masterpiece Hotel California, and ‘Heartache Tonight’ from 1979’s The Long Run, which saw him come together with Frey, Henley and Bob Seger.
Find the list of songs the Eagles wrote with J.D. Souther below.
The songs Eagles wrote with J.D. Souther:
- ‘Best of My Love’
- ‘Doolin-Dalton’
- ‘Doolin-Dalton/Desperado (Reprise)’
- ‘Heartache Tonight’
- ‘How Long’
- ‘James Dean’
- ‘Last Good Time in Town’
- ‘New Kid in Town’
- ‘Teenage Jail’
- ‘The Sad Café’
- ‘Victim of Love’
- ‘You Never Cry Like a Lover’
