“Apart from everybody”: Which songwriter did Glenn Frey call better than Bruce Springsteen?
There’s always been a certain allure surrounding California for any rocker who dares to make the trip to Los Angeles. The Summer of Love may have been brought to a screeching halt after Altamont, but ‘The City of Angels’ has always remained a hub for anyone with a song in their heart and a guitar strapped across their back looking to make the big time. And while Glenn Frey never claimed to be born and raised on the sun-kissed shores of Santa Monica, he knew that he needed to rechristen himself if he wanted to truly soar with Eagles.
Because listening to songs like ‘Peaceful Easy Feeling’ and ‘Lyin’ Eyes’, they don’t really sound like they’re being sung by someone who spent most of their childhood in Detroit. Despite being a part of the Motor City for most of his teen years, Frey knew something was calling him to the West Coast whenever he listened to bands like The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield. It was only a matter of getting there, but that didn’t mean California was the only place for something rustic.
After all, some of the biggest bands that came up alongside Eagles had a far more rootsy approach to their music from all walks of life. Tom Petty had come to California from Florida, and Fleetwood Mac had half of its lineup come from England when Rumours came out, but if there was any specific retort to that kind of California sunshine, it was the music coming out of the heartland.
While Bruce Springsteen typically gets the title of the godfather of heartland rock, he was far from the first blue-collar musician talking about the hard living done by everyday people. The real heartland music came out of the middle of America, and even though John Cougar Mellencamp did wonders for the genre, Bob Seger was the godfather of that sound before Frey even got the urge to travel West.
Although parts of Seger’s sound are indebted to Motown and old-school rock and roll, his greatest strength was as a storyteller. Whereas Springsteen likes to paint someone a picture the same way Dylan used to do, Seger’s songs sound like they could be sung by anyone who has ever had romantic troubles, whether that’s listening to ‘We’ve Got Tonight’ or him working on his ‘Night Moves’.
And for Frey, that was enough to edge Seger over ‘The Boss’ in many respects, saying, “As he got into the ’70s, the guys in his band wanted it to be a Detroit, heavy driving rock ‘n’ roll thing, but his ballad writing set him apart — even, in my opinion, from Springsteen. These songs, like ‘We’ve Got Tonight’, and ‘Famous Final Scene’ — that ability was really the thing that set him apart from everybody.”
Outside of being a fan, though, Frey also got an education from how Seger worked firsthand. He already got the first chance to sing when working on his song ‘Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man’, but once he got out on the road, he would end up crossing paths with him a few more times when he wrote ‘Heartache Tonight’ off The Long Run later on in his career.
There’s only going to be one Springsteen, so we appreciate the one that we got, but Seger still serves his purpose as the more tender side of what heartland rock represents. He has the grit in his voice when he wants to on tracks like ‘Hollywood Nights’ and ‘Rock and Roll Never Forgets’, but the moments where he shoots for the heart are the ones that will last for a lifetime.
