Glenn Frey Worried 1 Eagles Song Was Too Cliché
The stereotype of classic rock stars was that they were all cocky, but sometimes they struggled with self-doubt. Glenn Frey initially had issues with one of The Eagles’ songs. In retrospect, he’s so proud of the song — even though he had no right to be.
1 Eagles song is named after an alcoholic drink
During a 2003 interview with The Uncool, The Eagles’ Don Henley discussed how the song “Tequila Sunrise” came together. “I believe that was a Glenn title,” the “Boys of Summer” singer said. “I think he was ambivalent about it because he thought that it was a bit too obvious or too much of a cliché because of the drink that was so popular then.
“I said, ‘No — look at it from a different point of view. You’ve been drinking straight tequila all night, and the sun is coming up!'” he added. “It turned out to be a really great song.”
Henley discussed the way “Tequila Sunrise” evolved. “The changes that Glenn came up with for the bridge are very smart,” he said. “That’s one song I don’t get tired of. ‘Take another shot of courage’ refers to tequila — because we used to call it ‘instant courage.’ We very much wanted to talk to the ladies, but we often didn’t have the nerve, so we’d drink a couple of shots and suddenly it was, ‘Howdy, ma’am.'”
Glenn Frey changed his mind about the song
Frey was ultimately pleased with the track. “I love the song,” he said. “I think the goal of any songwriter is to make a song appear seamless, to never show the struggle.
“Nothing should sound forced,” he added. “‘Tequila Sunrise’ was written fairly quickly, and I don’t think there’s a single chord out of place.”
The words of Henley and Frey are so strange. “Tequila Sunrise” is boring beyond belief. It sounds like the sort of country song someone would write if they had just been introduced to country music and weren’t sure what it was supposed to sound like. There’s a reason why “Tequila Sunrise” is not part of the canon of great classic rock songs. It should have stayed album filler instead of becoming a single.
How The Eagles’ ‘Tequila Sunrise’ performed
“Tequila Sunrise” became a minor hit in the United States. The tune peaked at No. 64 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the chart for eight weeks. The Eagles put the track on the album Desperado. That record climbed to No. 41 on the Billboard 200 and lasted on the chart for 70 weeks.
Desperado produced another minor hit: “Outlaw Man.” That tune reached No. 59 on the Billboard Hot 100 and slated on the chart for eight weeks. Neither “Tequila Sunrise” nor “Outlaw Man” became big hits and they aren’t too well-remembered today. However, the defining song from Desperado is its title track. While the tune was not a hit in the 1970s, it became a popular song on the radio and inspired many covers, including renditions by Linda Ronstadt, Miranda Lambert, and The Carpenters.
“Tequila Sunrise” is a great track in Frey’s mind, even if he initially had some issues with it.
