B-side "The Last Resort" Format Vinyl record Genre Rock | Released May 3, 1977 Recorded 1976 Length 4:46 | |
"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.
Contents
Content
It tells the story of a couple that takes 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". Frey asked the dealer to slow down and the response was, "What do you mean? It's life in the fast lane!" 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." Henley and Frey then primarily wrote the lyrics.
Critical reception
In 2016, the editors of Rolling Stone Magazine rated "Life in the Fast Lane" as the Eagles' 8th greatest song.