"James Dean" is a song written by Don Henley,

Glenn Frey Glenn Lewis Frey (; November 6, 1948 – January 18, 2016) was an American singer, guitarist and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. Frey was the co-lead singer and frontman for the Eagles, roles he came to share with fellow member Don H ...

, Jackson Browne, and J. D. Souther, and recorded by the American rock band

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...

for their 1974 album ''

On the Border ''On the Border'' is the third studio album by American rock group the Eagles, released in 1974. Apart from two songs produced by Glyn Johns, it was produced by Bill Szymczyk because the group wanted a more rock‑oriented sound instead of the ...

''. It was the second single released from this album, reaching number 77 on the U.S. pop singles chart. The song is about American actor James Dean (1931–1955) who starred in such films as ''

Rebel Without a Cause ''Rebel Without a Cause'' is a 1955 American coming-of-age drama film about emotionally confused suburban, middle-class teenagers. Filmed in the then recently introduced CinemaScope format and directed by Nicholas Ray, it offered both social com ...

'', ''

Giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

'' and '' East of Eden''. The lyrics, "too fast to live, too young to die" refer to the life and abrupt death of Dean in a car crash in 1955.

Bernie Leadon Bernie Leadon (pronounced ''led-un''; born July 19, 1947) is an American singer, musician, songwriter and founding member of the Eagles, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Prior to the Eagles, he was a member ...

played the guitar solo.

Background

"James Dean" was first written as for an album originally intended to have a theme on anti-heroes. According to Glenn Frey, he together with Don Henley, Jackson Browne, and J. D. Souther were jamming together after attending a

Tim Hardin James Timothy Hardin (December 23, 1941 – December 29, 1980) was an American folk and blues musician and composer. As well as releasing his own material, several of his songs, including " If I Were a Carpenter" and "Reason to Believe", beca ...

show at the

Troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairi ...

in 1972, and they came up the idea about doing an album about anti-heroes. From this came the songs "Doolin-Dalton" and "James Dean". The album however evolved into a wild-west themed album ''

Desperado Desperado may refer to: * Outlaw, particularly in the American Old West Books * ''Desperadoes'' (comics), a comic book series * ''Desperadoes'' (novel), a 1979 novel by Ron Hansen * Desperado Publishing, an American independent comic book publ ...

'' which was released in 1973, and "James Dean" was shelved. When recording began for ''On the Border'', the song was immediately pulled off the shelf and completed. The song was written mostly by Jackson Browne according to Henley. The B-side " Good Day in Hell" is notable for being the first Eagles track recorded with

Don Felder Donald William Felder (born September 21, 1947) is an American musician who was the lead guitarist of the rock band Eagles from 1974 until his termination from the band in 2001. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 with th ...

, who joined the band midway through the sessions for the album.

Reception

'' Billboard'' described "James Dean" as "good solid rocker" with "fine vocal harmonies" whose instrumentation is reminiscent of Jackson Browne's 1973 song "

Redneck Friend "Redneck Friend" (or, alternately, "Red Neck Friend") is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Jackson Browne, released as the first single from his 1973 album '' For Everyman'', and notable for its double entendre lyrics and ...

," on which Eagles guitarist

provided backup vocals. '' Cash Box'' said that this is "one of the best rockers to come around in years" and said that "lyrically, the tribute to the legendary film star is letter perfect" and that "musically, well, just try to keep from dancing here."

Personnel

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar * Don Henley – drums, background vocals *

– lead guitar , background vocals * Randy Meisner – bass, background vocals

Charts

External links

References

{{authority control 1974 singles Eagles (band) songs Jackson Browne songs Songs written by Jackson Browne Songs written by Glenn Frey Songs written by Don Henley Songs written by J. D. Souther Song recordings produced by Glyn Johns Asylum Records singles Song recordings produced by Bill Szymczyk 1974 songs Songs about actors Cultural depictions of James Dean