How a fever helped the Eagles write a classic song
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For most people, a bout of flu often means one thing: rest and recuperation. That’s mainly because the very thought of being productive in any way is exhausting. But for Don Henley of the Eagles, reading about one of the most influential writers and painters of all time while suffering from a serious illness was an inspiration he couldn’t ignore.
The Eagles’ early days were like a fever dream – performing with Linda Ronstadt was both inspiring and uncertain as they both tried to balance their will to succeed with their musical ability. The fact that many big stars dominated the scene at the time didn’t help either. Ronstadt later recalled: “I had no idea what I was doing. It wasn’t until 1980 that I really started singing.”
Still, there was an indescribable magic to that collaboration, especially when Henley and Glenn Frey realized they wanted to try it on their own. The couple will likely thank Ronstadt for supporting them and encouraging them to try, but the singer insists they did it all on their own. “Yes, I was involved in the formation of the Eagles,” she said. “But their talent and their interaction with each other was what made the difference. I asked my friend John Boylan if he would help me put a band together.”
Although the Eagles are still working to establish a distinctive country-rock sound, their eponymous debut album caught the attention of critics and music fans, for better or for worse. As time went on, it became clearer that it was actually better, considering the handful of songs that stood the test of time well.
One of those tracks is the album’s second single, “Witchy Woman,” which Henley and Bernie Leadon co-wrote and was inspired by a series of “charming and seductive” women who left a lasting impression on them. The song’s genesis dates back to a riff Leadon started playing one day that Henley thought sounded like “a Hollywood film version of Indian music.”
The lyrics, however, came from a biography of Zelda Fitzgerald that Henley was reading at the height of his flu. In his feverish, half-mad state, reading about Fitzgerald’s struggle with her husband’s alcoholism and her own mental health issues gave him a certain kind of inspiration for the kind of women he wanted to incorporate into the song. “I think that just sort of fell into the mix – along with amorphous images of girls I’d met at the Whisky (a Go Go) and the Troubadour,” Henley recalled.
Interestingly, Henley later assured that the women in the song are not being spoken about negatively and that each has developed her own charm and charisma in a unique way. One of these was a roommate he had in the 1970s who practiced “white witchcraft,” meaning she engaged in spiritual activities with positive intentions. Henley, of course, paid little attention to this, saying, “I never took any of it seriously.”
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