1974 Hit, Recorded While the Band Was Inebriated, Is Still a Soft Rock Anthem

Throughout the 1970s, fans of soft rock were treated to the release of several hits fromthe Eagles, with the most famous ones being “Hotel California,” “Take It Easy,” and “Life in the Fast Lane.” Some enthusiasts of the band may not know that the creation of the beloved song, “On the Border,” off the 1974 album also titled On the Border, happened while the Eagles opted to not be in the clearest of headspaces.

According to Far Out magazine, late frontman of the Eagles, Glenn Frey, shared some insight into the making of “On the Border,” during an interview for Tim Morse‘s 1998 book, Classic Rock Stories: The Stories Behind the Greatest Songs of All Time.

“We decided to get pretty liberated on gin and tonics in order to do that little Temptations bit in the break,” said Frey, who died in 2016 at the age of 67. “We had to be totally uninhibited where we didn’t feel like we were going to sing the blues or anything, but like we were white, stoned punks, drunk out of our minds. We were just gonna go out there and have a good time.”

Don Felder Began Recording With the Eagles During the Making of ‘On the Border’

Ultimate Classic Rockreported that guitarist Don Felder began recording for the band during the production of On the Border, which came out two years after the first Eagles’ album. The publication reported that Frey shared that the band had approached Felder, who was close to original Eagles member Bernie Leadon since they were teenagers, to perform on the album’s ninth track, “Good Day in Hell,” in the 1974 interview with Crawdaddy. In the interview, Frey compared Felder to late The Allman Brothers Band member Duane Allman, who died in 1971 when he was 24.

“I’ve been a Don Felder fan for about a year-and-a-half. Ever since I heard him playing in a dressing room in Boston one night. I saw him at a concert in L.A. and asked if he’d come down and put some slide on ‘Good Day in Hell,’ but with every take he just blew us all away. If he isn’t Duane Allman reincarnate, I don’t know who the f–k is,” said Frey during the 1974 interview.

In addition, Frey suggested he felt more at ease performing in front of an audience with Felder by his side on stage.

“I feel better than ever since he’s joined. It’s much fuller onstage now,” said Frey to Crawdaddy.

Ultimate Classic Rock reported that Felder, who hasn’t been a member of the Eagles since 2001, and Frey didn’t remain close during their musical partnership.