#route66: An Eagles Song Is Remembered In The Arizona Town It Made Famous

Take it easy in Winslow’s corner plaza. It’s such a fine sight to see.

by Rich Watson 

Route 66, on its way west to California, passes through a small town in Arizona called Winslow. Its regional airport was designed by Charles Lindbergh and the first Native American woman elected to Congress came from Winslow.

Chances are you’ve heard of the town, though, thanks to a song from the seventies by one of rock and roll’s greatest bands: the Eagles.

Songs set in Arizona 

A few pop songs mention the state of Arizona, or one of its cities, in their lyrics, in passing. Fewer feel like they’re set in Arizona, or at least the southwestern United States. Here are some examples:

• “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” by Glen Campbell. Johnny Rivers recorded it first, but Campbell’s version was the bigger hit, reaching number two on the Billboard Country Chart and winning two Grammys.
• “The Painted Desert” by 10,000 Maniacs. In a Flagstaff trailer court you wrote the line/He kicked a tumbleweed and his mother called him home/Where the Arizona moon met the Arizona sun. A gentle song which captures the spirit of the southwest well.
• “Thumbelina” by The Pretenders. A mother takes her daughter to Tucson to escape a loveless marriage.
• “Hey Willie” by Waylon Jennings. Returning to Phoenix means living a purer, more meaningful life for Jennings and his musical pal Willie (Nelson?).
• “Ghetto Cowboy” by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. A band of thieves and outlaws head for Tucson to spend their stolen loot.

Winslow has a population of only 9005, according to the 2020 Census. Route 66 may have passed through it, but it’s safe to say it got put on the cultural map thanks to the rock group called the Eagles.

The Eagles and “Take It Easy”

I discovered classic rock in high school. The Eagles were one of my favorite groups. I found “Hotel California” fascinating, with mysterious lyrics, beautiful harmonizing and a sweet guitar solo at the end. There’s a Spanish language version of it by the Gipsy Kings that’s also good.

The best-known lineup of the Eagles consists of

• Glenn Frey, vocals and guitar,
• Don Henley, vocals and drums,
• Randy Meisner, vocals and bass, 
• Bernie Leadon, guitar, and
• Don Felder, guitar.

Additional members have included Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmidt, Vince Gill and Frey’s son Deacon. The members play other instruments and trade lead vocals depending on the song.

They began as Linda Ronstadt’s band before venturing out on their own beginning in 1972, with their self-titled debut record. Throughout their career, they’ve sold over 200 million records worldwide. Their 1976 greatest-hits album alone sold 40 million, making it the American record-holder. They have six Grammy wins, including Record of the Year in 1978 for “Hotel California.”

“Take It Easy” was from the debut Eagles record, written by Glenn Frey and Jackson Browne.

Browne initially wrote the song for himself, but it wasn’t going to make his debut album in time. He and Frey lived in the same California apartment building. Frey had heard the song, liked it, and helped Browne finish it. The song went to number 12 on the charts. Browne eventually did record his own version.

Here’s a nice appreciation of the Eagles.

Standin’ on the Corner

Browne has said his car broke down in Winslow once and he had to spend a day there. What would he have seen?

He might’ve stayed at the La Posada Hotel, which dates back to 1929. He might’ve visited McHood Park, where one can swim, fish or hike. If he had stopped there today, he could’ve checked out the Hopi Cultural Center, a museum commemorating the Native tribe called the Hopi.

At the time the Eagles and Browne debuted, however, Winslow struggled, a result of the I-40 interstate highway drawing business and tourism away.

In 1994, the La Posada Foundation spearheaded an effort to revitalize downtown Winslow. Remembering the Eagles song, they changed their name to the Standin’ On the Corner Foundation, utilizing the song’s lyric:

Standin’ on the corner in Winslow, Arizona

It’s such a fine sight to see

It’s a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford

Slowin’ down to take a look at me 

Among other things, they commissioned the creation of a small park at 100 East Second Street, at North Kinsley Avenue. Sculptor Ron Adamson created a statue of a generic seventies dude with a guitar, leaning on a post. Artist John Pugh painted a trompe l’oeil mural of the girl in the Ford on a brick wall (one can buy a brick with an inscription on it). An actual flatbed Ford truck was also included. 

After two years of construction, the park opened in 1999. In 2016, after Frey’s death, a statue of him was added.

A giant Route 66 marker is on the street next to the park.

Every year Winslow holds a music festival at the park. This year’s will be held September 25-26.

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Route 66 attractions in Arizona:

• Wigwam Motel (Holbrook): motel with teepee-shaped rooms.
• Jack Rabbit Trading Post (Joseph City): curio shop advertised with a series of billboards featuring jackrabbit silhouettes.
• Delgadillo’s Snow Cap Drive-In (Seligman): restaurant built from mostly scrap lumber, with a heavily-ornamented Chevy.
• Meteor City (Coconino County): trading post over 5000 feet above sea level.
• Lowell Observatory (Flagstaff): 19th-century observatory where the planet Pluto was discovered.

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Have you been to Winslow? Leave a comment and let me know!

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