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Take It Easy

"Take It Easy" is a song by Eagles. The catalog lists 1972-01-01; this may be an album or version date.

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Catalog dateJan 1, 1972

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Eagles’ “Take It Easy”: the May 1972 debut single that launched the band’s recording career

Co-written by Jackson Browne and Glenn Frey, “Take It Easy” was released as Eagles’ first single on May 1, 1972. The original recording features Frey on lead vocal, Bernie Leadon on lead guitar and banjo, and production by Glyn Johns.

How Browne and Frey finished the song

Jackson Browne and Glenn Frey became neighbors in Los Angeles before either had achieved national success. Browne recalled that he had written roughly half of “Take It Easy,” including its reference to Winslow, Arizona, when Frey offered to help finish it. Browne credited Frey with completing the song’s best-remembered passage and also praised the arrangement the Eagles subsequently created.

Sources: routemagazine.us, latimes.com

The Eagles recording

Eagles recorded “Take It Easy” at Olympic Sound Studios in London in 1972 with Glyn Johns producing. Compilation liner notes identify Glenn Frey as the lead vocalist and Bernie Leadon as the lead guitarist and banjo player. The debut album’s credits list the original quartet as Frey on vocals and guitar, Don Henley on vocals and drums, Leadon on vocals, guitar and banjo, and Randy Meisner on vocals and bass.

Sources: donhenleyonline.com, bernieleadononline.com

Release and legacy

Asylum issued “Take It Easy,” backed with “Get You in the Mood,” as catalog number AS-11005 on May 1, 1972. It was Eagles’ debut single and later opened the band’s self-titled first album. The song reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the group’s first Top 20 hit, and it was subsequently included on Their Greatest Hits 1971–1975.

Sources: 45cat.com, bestclassicbands.com, grammy.com, loc.gov

Documented credits

Written by
Jackson Browne, Glenn Frey
Produced by
Glyn Johns
Lead vocal
Glenn Frey
Lead guitar and banjo
Bernie Leadon
Performed by
Eagles: Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, Randy Meisner
Recorded at
Olympic Sound Studios, London, 1972
Research sources
Last researched 2026-09-23.

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There is more to Eagles.

Eagles are associated with rock, pop, hard rock, classic rock, and folk rock, with representative songs including “Hotel California - 2013 Remaster” and “Take It Easy” in several remastered versions. Follow Eagles on Spotify, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, and explore available Instagram posts, TikTok highlights, and playlists.

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The numbers behind the music

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Deterministic forecast

Spotify royalty estimates

Gross to rightsholders

All time

$2,909,000

Rounded forecast · nearest $1,000

estimated Spotify gross royalties to rightsholders

Inputs and assumptions
As of
Sep 22, 2026
Source
Chartmetric
Formula version
artistsphere_spotify_gross_preview_v1

Each figure multiplies an identity-matched Chartmetric Spotify stream count by a deterministic $0.003 modeled gross rightsholder rate. The estimate is gross to rightsholders before contractual splits, fees, recoupment, and taxes; it is not artist take-home pay.

Trailing 12 months

$430,000

Rounded forecast · nearest $1,000

estimated Spotify gross royalties to rightsholders

Inputs and assumptions
As of
Sep 22, 2026
Source
Chartmetric
Formula version
artistsphere_spotify_gross_preview_v1
Measured period
Sep 22, 2025–Sep 22, 2026

Each figure multiplies an identity-matched Chartmetric Spotify stream count by a deterministic $0.003 modeled gross rightsholder rate. The estimate is gross to rightsholders before contractual splits, fees, recoupment, and taxes; it is not artist take-home pay.

These estimates represent gross royalties to rightsholders before contractual splits, fees, recoupment, and taxes. They do not represent artist take-home pay.

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Explore the modeled all-platform range, estimated revenue sources, and illustrative recording and composition rights splits. These are estimated gross royalties to rightsholders, not artist take-home pay.

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