Well, here's a nice, quiet place! We can do some reading! Let's see what's on the shelf...
Hmmmm... here is a copy of The Mansion On The Hill, by Fred Goodman. There are a
good many quotes from Glenn here, mostly about the earlier days of the Eagles and
the time leading up to the fame and fortune which followed.
And over here, a copy of Rough Mix by Jimmy Bowen. Bowen was president of Amos Records, and there
is a brief mention of Longbranch Pennywhistle. He describes
J.D. as, "a surly, rebel type", while
describing Glenn as, "an easy-going sweetheart". Yeah, well, we knew that!
Check out this dog-eared copy of The Family (Updated Version) by musician, poet and
Fugs
frontman,
Ed Sanders.
A fascinating and unsettling account of the Tate-LaBianca
murder trials, the book mentions Glenn and J.D. in the acknowledgements
section. (Sanders stayed with them while researching the book, an arrangement
which necessitated a rotating schedule whereby they would take turns sitting up at
night with a gun in case The Family came calling.) Also a very funny
anecdote of the day they went to visit Ed
at the Tropicana Hotel. Glenn is thanked for the "Los Angeles Airport
film stake-out". Wonder what that was all about?
Jimmy Buffett, The Man From Margaritaville has plenty of quotes and anecdotes
about Glenn and all of the other Eagles.
Eat Smart, Think Smart by Dr. Robert Haas has a couple brief mentions of Glenn, specifically his soulful songwriting and performances, and
in return Glenn gives his thanks to Dr. Haas in the liner notes for
Soul Searchin'.
Songs In The Rough by
Stephen Bishop features photographs of
sacred relics: the original scraps of
paper that three Eagles' songs were written on, namely Peaceful, Easy Feeling,
Heartache Tonight and Best Of My Love, along with brief interviews with
Jack Tempchin
and J.D. Souther.
There are a lot of other song origins
to be viewed and plenty of interviews with artists. This book covers a wide range of genres.
Unique!
And Then I Wrote, edited by Tom Russell and Sylvia Tyson features many
quotes of Glenn's, and is very interesting because it offers more of his perspective
on songwriting itself than you normally see.
Wanna see the big bunch of sissies that the Eagles beat in that legendary
softball game? There's a photo of the Rolling Stone team in Rolling Stone Magazine:
The Uncensored History by Robert Draper (Doubleday 1990). How could you
resist the chance to get a glimpse of the big macho caustic critics who
were reduced to Jello at the site of mellow-rocking laid-back musicians wearing spiked shoes?
Apparently, the poison pen is not nearly so sharp as a good pair of cleats. It was enough to send
them out to buy soccer cleats, a move that failed miserably
when the soccer cleats failed to break the ground on the field. (Oops!) In The Game That Separated The Men From The Critics the final score
was 15-8! Hey, the Eagles were playing softball that day. . . apparently the Rolling Stone Gonzos
were gathering moss . . .
Dante's take on FARFURNUGEN, Christine by Stephen King quotes Partytown just as Arnie starts to lose it . . .
And finally, here's a copy of 1000 Great Guitarists by Hugh Gregory. While the write up
on Glenn (there are also write-ups on Joe Walsh, Don Felder, and Bernie Leadon) isn't
lengthy, it is great. It is really interesting to read another musician's take on
these guys, proving that critics tend to be wanna-be's. After all, the only viable critique
is one written by someone who has done the same thing as the artist being critiqued.
Page through and you will see many names of guitarists that appear on so many of the
albums from the Southern California music scene, people like Waddy Wachtel, Sneaky Pete, and Danny Kotchmar.