Glenn Frey and J.D. Souther’s meeting that led to Eagles, Digi Mart USA News (Los Angeles): Glenn Frey arrived in Los Angeles in 1967 with an unclear plan to cross into Mexico to buy drugs. On his first day, at his girlfriend’s home, he met J.D.
Souther, and the two connected immediately through their approach to songwriting.
According to the Foro3D article, their partnership grew out of that meeting and produced Longbranch/Pennywhistle, a project that preceded the Eagles. Souther later received songwriting credits on several Eagles tracks, including “How Long” on the band’s return in the 2000s.
The source describes the pairing as an example of a recurring pattern in the music industry, in which a chance encounter between writers with compatible methods leads to shared work. The article says Longbranch/Pennywhistle functioned as a prototype for the Eagles, with similar harmonic approaches and studio methods, and that Souther contributed structure to the compositions.
Frey never made the trip to Mexico. Instead, he stayed in Los Angeles to write with Souther, and the detour, the article notes, produced a duo, a band and several platinum albums.
