Over a period of many years, there’s been collaboration between JD Souther and the Eagles. Eagles have recorded a number of songs that were written or co-written by Souther, including ‘Doolin-Dalton‘, ‘Best of My Love‘, ‘Victim of Love‘, ‘New Kid in Town‘ and ‘Heartache Tonight‘. The collaboration actually goes back further in time and pre-dates the band’s formation, as Eagle Glenn Frey and Souther previously shared an apartment and worked together as a duo, going by the name of John David & Glenn, although this eventually changed when they became a trio (with the addition of bass player David Jackson) and the name was changed to Longbranch/Pennywhistle. A solitary album (self-titled) was released in 1969 to little commercial success, and the band split in 1970. Six of the songs on the record were written by Souther, two by Frey, one was co-written by the pair, and there was one cover, James Taylor’s ‘Don’t Talk Now‘. Interestingly, for the Longbranch/Pennywhistle record, the band employed the talents of (now) celebrated musicians such as Ry Cooder (or Ryland P. Cooder as per the record’s sleeve notes), guitarist James Burton, drummer Jim Gordon (of Derek and the Dominos) and Buddy Emmons (also known as ‘Big E’), a pedal steel player.
Souther’s songs were also covered by other artists, including the Chicks, James Taylor and Bonnie Raitt. Another of his songs was ‘How Long‘, which he wrote in 1971 and which featured on his debut album “John David Souther” in 1972, a record on which Frey played. ‘How Long‘ also had a limited release as a single. In those days, there was an unwritten rule that Eagles would not record a song if Souther was to record it himself. ‘How Long‘ however did appear in a number of Eagles live shows in the early 1970s, but the band didn’t record it, that is until the song appeared on the band’s latest (final?) studio album, 2007’s “Long Road Out of Eden” (Eagles’ first studio album in 28 years) and was the second single released from that record. Eagles’ version of the song is an uptempo country rocker with a memorable chorus in the vein of a number of early Eagles songs, with Frey and Don Henley sharing lead vocals in the verses. The song won a Grammy for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals, which was the band’s first Grammy since 1979 (Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, for ‘Heartache Tonight‘).
Apparently, ‘How Long‘ resurfaced when Frey’s kids were watching videos online and found a clip of the Eagles playing the song on a Dutch TV show in the 1970s. The kids, entertained by seeing the vintage clip of their Dad and noting his youthful appearance, showed the clip to their parents and, on viewing the clip, Frey’s wife (Cindy Millican) thought it sounded like a hit, Frey agreed and suggested to the band that they should record it.
According to Souther, the song is written from the point of view of a prisoner whose girlfriend at home was awaiting his return. The lyrics support this: “I’ve been doin’ time in a lonesome prison / Where the sun don’t shine / And just outside the freedom river runs / Out there in that shiny night / With bloodhounds on your mind / Don’t you know it’s the same sad situation” then “How long, how long, Woman, will you weep? / How long, how long, Rock yourself to sleep“.
Eagles’ success with ‘How Long‘ also resulted in a resurgence in Souther’s career following a period out of the public’s gaze, the resurgence included a new LP release, 2008’s “If the World Was You“.
Around the time that Eagles released their cover of ‘How Long‘, Southend country rockers The Ugly Guys also covered the song on their 2007 LP “Cosmic American Music“.
The way that ‘How Long‘ crept onto an Eagles album almost by stealth after all those years raises the question as to what other songs could do the same; during the band’s early years, they performed many songs in the live environment that have never made it onto an Eagles record, these included some cover versions and some originals too. Would the band have any appetite to record again, once their residency at The Sphere in Las Vegas reaches its conclusion? Henley may have some songs left in him and with noted songsmith Vince Gill now a member of the band, perhaps between the band members they could muster enough new songs, supplemented by other songs from their performing history, to put out a credible record. It’s unlikely I agree, but the band has performed U-turns in the past. If, however, “Long Road Out of Eden” turns out to be the final studio recorded chapter, then it was a pretty decent final act, including as it does possibly the band’s finest, most epic song (the title track) since 1976’s ‘Last Resort‘.
