The Eagles Classic You Didn’t Know Bob Seger Co-Wrote
Members of the American soft-rock ensemble The Eagles sit on chairs as the perform on the television show 'Don Kirschner's Rock Concert,' 1979. Bandmembers are (left to right) Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh, and Don Felder. (Photo by Fotos International/Getty Images)
Bob Seger and the Eagles have a history that runs deep, stretching back to the Detroit rock scene of the 1960s. Long before the Eagles became one of the biggest bands in the world, Seger crossed paths with 18-year-old Glenn Frey in 1967. At that time, Frey was still playing local gigs and hadn’t yet made his way to California. Little did they know, their friendship would shape some of the most iconic music of the 1970s.
Seger and Frey hit it off immediately, even though Frey’s mom briefly put a halt to their hangouts when she caught them smoking together. Still, their bond remained strong, and they reconnected after moving to Los Angeles a year later. By then, Frey had joined forces with Don Henley, Randy Meisner, and Bernie Leadon to form the Eagles, while Seger was on his way to becoming a key figure in heartland rock. Their musical collaboration was inevitable.
Jamming in Laurel Canyon: The Birth of a Hit
Years after their first meeting, Frey invited Seger to his home in Laurel Canyon for a jam session. “I was playing bass, and he was playing guitar,” Seger recalled in a 2018 interview with Louder. Frey had a song fragment and was trying to come up with a rhythm. “He wanted to write a shuffle,” Seger explained. As they played around with the groove, Frey hummed the verses, and out of nowhere, the chorus popped into Seger’s head. “I took what he was singing about and jumped right into the chorus.”
The excitement was instant. Frey quickly called up Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh and songwriter JD Souther to help finish the song. With a little lyrical input from Don Henley, within 12 hours, they had created what would become the Eagles’ last number-one single.
“Heartache Tonight” – A Nod to the Old Days
That song? It was none other than “Heartache Tonight,” a mid-tempo hit that has shades of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours era. Released in 1979, the song was a nod to Frey and Seger’s early musical days in Detroit, where Motown ruled the airwaves. The verse melody, in particular, is strikingly similar to Smokey Robinson’s The Tracks of My Tears. Seger later revealed they were listening to records by soul legend Sam Cooke during the jam session. “You can kind of hear it,” Seger told the Detroit Free Press in 2016.
While the song’s groove had a soul influence, Frey’s lead vocals took it in a different direction. His powerhouse performance on “Heartache Tonight” channeled Eric Clapton’s raw energy from the Layla days and the intensity of Lindsey Buckingham. It was a fitting final hit for the Eagles, marking the end of their run as one of the biggest bands of the era.
An Enduring Eagles Hit
Though the Eagles would eventually split, “Heartache Tonight” remains one of their most enduring hits. The song is a testament to the lasting bond between Seger and Frey, who helped shape each other’s careers from their early days in Detroit to their rise as rock legends. Regardless of who or what inspired it, Frey and Seger created a classic that fans still love today.
