The Story Behind How the Eagles Unearthed and Finished Jackson Browne’s “Take It Easy”

Jackson Browne is one of the most notable names of the ’70s. Thanks to his hit songs “Somebody’s Baby,” “Running on Empty,” “You’re a Friend of Mine,” and “Boulevard” Browne not only ruled the charts but also circulated the airwaves for the entire decade. Though, it wasn’t just his solo music that did so, as he also partially wrote and gifted the Eagles their classic song, “Take It Easy.”

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Like Bob Dylan and John Prine, Browne was seemingly selfless with his work. Matter of fact, Browne wrote songs for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Gregg Allman, Tom Rush, and Nico. He knew that if it wasn’t for him, it was for somebody else, and consequently, he would give up any one of his songs with no reluctance. That being so, When Jackson Browne couldn’t finish “Take It Easy,” he freely gifted it to his musical contemporaries, Don Henley and Glenn Frey.

Why Jackson Browne Gifted The Eagles’ a Smash Hit

In a 2003 interview with Uncool, Don Henley and Glenn Frey divulged why and how Browne gave up the song. In short, Jackson Browne simply suffered from a massive case of writer’s block. Though, when Henley and Frey came into the picture, the ideas started sprouting like wildflowers.

Henley recalled in his interview, “Jackson had shelved ‘Take It Easy’ because he couldn’t complete it, but it was Glenn who remembered the song from some time earlier and asked Jackson about it one day.” Frey continued, “I told him that I really liked it” and “He started playing it for me and said, ‘Yeah, but I don’t know — I’m stuck.’ So he played the second unfinished verse and I said, ‘It’s a girl, my lord, in a flatbed Ford, slowin’ down to take a look at me.’”

“That was my contribution to ‘Take It Easy,’ really, just finishing the second verse. Jackson was so thrilled. He said, ‘OK! We co-wrote this,’” concluded Glenn Frey. Thanks to Browne’s selflessness as well as Frey and Henley’s willingness, the Eagles scored one of the biggest hits of their career. Following its 1972 release, “Take It Easy” peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained there for 11 weeks.

So, next time you listen to the Eagles’ classic, make sure you remember that the ’70s golden boy, Jackson Browne, was the man who made it all possible.

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