The Eagles Found a Hit Song in Their Mailbox

Most bands classic rock bands had to work hard to write hit songs. Meanwhile, The Eagles found a hit song in their mailbox. The tune in question changed everything for the band, and it’s a good tune to boot.

Someone sent The Eagles a hit song on a tape

During a 2003 interview with The Uncool, The Eagles’ Glenn Frey discussed the origin of the track “Already Gone.” “I got a tape of the song from Jack Tempchin in my mailbox at 1740 La Fontaine CT, the house in Coldwater Canyon where I lived for 16 years,” he remembered. “[Old Hollywood movie star] James Cagney’s brother, Ed, had once owned the house, and it still holds a lot of memories for me. James Cagney, in his later years, sometimes used the house as a hideaway and went there to play the piano and relax. In earlier years, the Cagneys held great parties in that bungalow. A lot of music happened there.”

“‘Already Gone,’ though, arrived in the mail,” Frey recalled. “Jack was a songwriter we liked who was from San Diego, and he’d already written ‘Peaceful Easy Feeling.’ ‘Already Gone’ was one of the first songs we’d later do when we switched producers and started recording in Los Angeles. I had a very strained relationship with [producer] Glyn Johns. I think he got along better with all the other guys in the band. He was so intimidating.”

Why the song was a game-changer

“Already Gone” didn’t become a rock ‘n’ roll radio mainstay like “Take It Easy,” “Witchy Woman,” or “Hotel California.” However, it helped prove that The Eagles had more range than their first two albums, Eagles and Desperado, might suggest. The band’s sound on Eagles and Desperado wasn’t very hard. With the album On the Border, The Eagles dabbled in hard rock, showing off their versatility.

Afterward, The Eagles expanded their sound even more. They dipped their toes into disco (“One of These Nights”), Mexican music (“Hotel California”), and garage rock (“The Greeks Don’t Want No Freaks”). The band’s eclecticism is underrated. Don Henley would carry on that ethos when he started making new wave music during his solo career.

The reaction to The Eagles’ ‘On the Border’ was shocking

“Already Gone” was a modest hit. It peaked at No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for 15 weeks. It spent a long time on the Billboard Hot 100 considering that it never reached the top 20.

“Already Gone” appeared on the album On the Border. That record climbed to No. 17 on the Billboard 200 and charted for 87 weeks. On the Border produced two more hit singles. One was “James Dean,” which peaked at No. 77 and charted for five weeks. The third and final single from On the Border, “The Best of My Love,” became The Eagles’ first chart-topper in the United States. It was No. 1 for one of its 19 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. The success of “The Best of My Love” is shocking since it’s very unusual for the third single from an album to outperform the previous singles.

“Already Gone” is a great song and it just came out of the blue for the band.