Life in the Fast Lane

"Life in the Fast Lane" is a song written by Joe Walsh, Glenn Frey and Don Henley, and recorded by the American rock band the Eagles on their 1976 studio album Hotel California. It was the third single released from this album, and peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Life in the Fast Lane"
Artwork for Spain release
Single by the Eagles
from the album Hotel California
B-side"The Last Resort"
ReleasedMay 3, 1977
Recorded1976
GenreRock
Length4:46
LabelAsylum
Songwriter(s)Joe Walsh, Glenn Frey, Don Henley
Producer(s)Bill Szymczyk
The Eagles singles chronology
"Hotel California"
(1977)		 "Life in the Fast Lane"
(1977)		 "Please Come Home for Christmas"
(1978)
Audio
"Life in the Fast Lane" on YouTube

Content

The song tells the story of a couple who take their excessive lifestyle to the edge. On In the Studio with Redbeard, Glenn Frey revealed that the title came to him one day when he was riding on the freeway with a drug dealer known as "The Count".[1] Frey asked the dealer to slow down and the response was, "What do you mean? It's life in the fast lane!"[1] In that same interview, Frey indicated that the song's central riff was played by Walsh while the band was warming up in rehearsals and Walsh was told to "keep that; it's a song". Don Henley recalled that the "song actually sprang from the opening guitar riff. One day, at rehearsal, Joe [Walsh] just busted out that crazy riff and I said 'What the hell is that? We've got to figure out to make a song out of that."[1] Henley and Frey, the primary lyricists for the band, then wrote the lyrics for the song.[1]

Critical reception

In 2016, the editors of Rolling Stone rated "Life in the Fast Lane" as the Eagles' eighth-greatest song.[1]

Personnel

Covers and references

Garth Brooks for the 2013 Classic Rock album in the Blame It All on My Roots: Five Decades of Influences compilation.

Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh plays the song on his solo tours.

In 2007, Jill Johnson recorded the song on her album Music Row.[2]

The track "Livin' It Up" on Limp Bizkit's album Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water samples the phrase "life in the fast lane" throughout. Frey, Henley, and Walsh are credited in the "lyrics by" portion of the liner notes.

Rascal Flatts and Carrie Underwood sang the song at the 2007 Grammy Awards.

The song was used as the soundtrack for the roller coaster The Eagles' Life In The Fast Lane, which opened at Hard Rock Park in May 2008.[3][4]

The country music group Williams Riley released their version of the song to country radio on August 23, 2010.

The super group Metal Allegiance released a version of the song with vocals by Alissa White-Gluz.

Charts
Chart (1977) Peak
position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[5] 12
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[6] 41
US Billboard Hot 100[7] 11

References
  1. Eagles: The Ultimate Guide. Rolling Stone. 2016. p. 87.
  2. "Music Row" (in Swedish). Svensk mediedatabas. 2007. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
  3. Cherney, Mike (May 13, 2009). "Freestyle Music Park Fills Out Offerings". The Sun News. Archived from the original on August 16, 2013. Retrieved May 13, 2009.
  4. Jones, Steve (August 11, 2014). "Freestyle rides headed from Myrtle Beach to Vietnam?". myrtlebeachonline. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  5. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5238a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  6. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 5240." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  7. "Eagles Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
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