Longbranch Pennywhistle was a

country rock Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal s ...

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

group featuring

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 ...

and

John David Souther John David "J. D." Souther (born November 2, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He has written and co-written songs recorded by Linda Ronstadt and the Eagles. Souther is probably best known for his songwriting abilities, especi ...

. They originally performed as "John David & Glenn," but when they added bass player David Jackson, they were encouraged to come up with a new name. Frey suggested "Longbranch," Souther came up with "Pennywhistle," and the names were merged at the suggestion of manager

Doug Weston Alexander Douglas Weston (December 13, 1926 – February 14, 1999) was an American nightclub owner, known as the owner of The Troubadour nightclub in Los Angeles which in the 1960s and 1970s was particularly responsible for promoting many successf ...

. They released a self-titled album in 1969 under

Jimmy Bowen James Albert Bowen (born November 30, 1937) is an American record producer and former rockabilly singer. Bowen brought Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood together, and introduced Sinatra to Mel Tillis for their album, ''Mel & Nancy.'' Early life ...

Amos Records Amos Records was an independent record label established in Los Angeles, California by Jimmy Bowen, in 1968. The label was located on 6565 Sunset Boulevard, and had an additional office branch in New York City. With Bowen producing most of Amos Rec ...

label. Frey had made the migration from

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and Souther from

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...

and were adapting to what would become the California sound. When the Amos Records label dissolved in 1971 the group had already disbanded the year prior. Glenn Frey went on to co-found 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, just ...

and J.D. Souther wrote or co-wrote several of the Eagles' most popular songs, along with hits for

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

. He also recorded a number of hits under his own name, including " Her Town Too" which was a major hit in a duet with

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

. He also was a third of the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band. On March 16, 2018, it was announced that the band's album has been remixed and remastered and would be reissued as part of the Glenn Frey greatest hits collection ''Above The Clouds'' on May 11, 2018. A standalone CD and vinyl record was released on September 28, 2018.

References

External links

Glenn Frey OnlineJ. D. Souther official website

AllMusic's bio on the band
American country rock groups {{US-folk-band-stub