"The Long Run" is a song written by Don Henley and

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 ...

and recorded by the

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 ...

. The sound of the song is viewed as a tribute to the

Stax Streaming API for XML (StAX) is an application programming interface ( API) to read and write XML documents, originating from the Java programming language community. Traditionally, XML APIs are either: * DOM based - the entire document is read i ...

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

sound. It was the title track of their album '' The Long Run'' and was released as a single in November 1979. It reached No. 8 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in early 1980. It was the second of three singles released from ''The Long Run'' album, preceded by "

Heartache Tonight "Heartache Tonight" is a song written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Bob Seger and J. D. Souther, recorded by the Eagles and features Glenn Frey on lead vocals. The track was included on their album '' The Long Run'' and released as a single in 1979. ...

," which reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in November 1979, and followed by "

I Can't Tell You Why "I Can't Tell You Why" is a song by the American rock band Eagles that appeared on their 1979 album '' The Long Run''. It was written by band members Timothy B. Schmit, Glenn Frey and Don Henley. Recorded in March 1978, it was the first song ...

," which also reached No. 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, in the spring of 1980.

Composition

According to Don Henley, "The Long Run" was written in part as a response to press articles that said the Eagles were "passé" as disco was then dominant and punk emerging, inspiring lines such as "Who is gonna make it/ We'll find out in the long run". He also said that irony was part of the inspiration, as the song is about longevity and posterity while the group "was breaking apart, imploding under the pressure of trying to deliver a worthy follow-up to ''

Hotel California "Hotel California" is the title track from the Eagles' album of the same name and was released as a single in February 1977. Writing credits for the song are shared by Don Felder (music), Don Henley, and Glenn Frey (lyrics). Joe Walsh came ...

''". ''

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

'' describes "the Long Run" as "a midtempo rocker with a rather straightforward rhythmic delivery and a catchy lyrical hook towards the end." ''Billboard'' also praised the "tight, well crafted orchestration. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that the song is an "upbeat cut" but that "Don Henley's raspy vocals suggest subtle tension with the theme of survival." In his book ''The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made'', music critic Dave Marsh called the song a complete ripoff of the 1972 R&B record "

Tryin' to Live My Life Without You "Trying to Live My Life Without You" or "Tryin' to Live My Life Without You" is a song written by Eugene Frank Williams, originally popularized by soul singer Otis Clay. In early 1973 it reached #102 on the ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under chart. O ...

Personnel

* Don Henley: lead vocals, drums *

: rhythm guitar, backing vocals *

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr B ...

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

, backing vocals *

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 ...

: slide guitar,

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

, backing vocals *

Timothy B. Schmit Timothy Bruce Schmit (born October 30, 1947) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He has performed as the bassist and vocalist for Poco and the Eagles (band), Eagles, having replaced bassist and vocalist Randy Meisner in both cases ...

: bass guitar, backing vocals * Joe Vitale: electric piano

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions

* American band

Reel Big Fish Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Orange County, California. The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold-certified album ''Turn the Radio Off''. Soon af ...

recorded their own rendition of the song for their 2009 album ''

Fame, Fortune and Fornication ''Fame, Fortune and Fornication'' is a cover album by ska punk band Reel Big Fish. Release In September 2008, they went on a Canadian tour with Less Than Jake, the Flatliners, and the Real Deal. On October 16, 2008, the band announced that th ...

''.

Popular culture

*The song was featured on the TV show ''

WKRP in Cincinnati ''WKRP in Cincinnati'' is an American sitcom television series about the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional radio broadcasting, radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson (director), Hugh Wilson ...

'' on the episode "The Doctor's Daughter". Specifically, Dr. Johnny Fever decides to air the recording and his programming director Andy Travis is hysterical with delight that his popular DJ is playing a then-hit record for once.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Long Run, The 1979 singles Eagles (band) songs Songs written by Glenn Frey Songs written by Don Henley Asylum Records singles Song recordings produced by Bill Szymczyk 1979 songs