{"id":630823,"date":"2026-09-20T21:26:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T21:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/630823\/"},"modified":"2026-09-20T21:26:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T21:26:14","slug":"the-1972-eagles-song-written-in-linda-ronstadts-living-room","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/630823\/","title":{"rendered":"The 1972 Eagles song written in Linda Ronstadt\u2019s living room"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/p>\n

Credit: Far Out \/ Showtime \/ The Eagles \/ Larry Bessel \/ Los Angeles Times<\/p>\n

Sun 20 September 2026 16:54, UK <\/p>\n

Being a celebrity musician couple can be a precarious business. You\u2019d only have to ask Sonny and Cher or John Lennon and Yoko Ono about that. <\/p>\n

The trouble is if it all comes crumbling down, you run the risk of your hard-earned career being left in ruins alongside your love life. But very occasionally, if the stars align, those relationships can create moments of magic enough to cement the iconoclastic status in one\u2019s career, even if it does come at the cost of a happily intact marriage. Just take the example of the late Eagles<\/a> songwriter JD Souther.<\/p>\n

Souther dated fellow American singer Linda Ronstadt in the 1970s, during which time he and his Eagles bandmates were working on their biggest hits. Eagles HQ, if you will, took over Souther and Ronstadt\u2019s house in the Camrose-Highland bungalows of the Hollywood Hills. However, Ronstadt claimed it was purely because \u201cwe had a bigger living room than they did\u201d.<\/p>\n

Their home was only one part of a much wider creative community developing around Los Angeles at the time. Ronstadt had already worked with Glenn Frey and Don Henley before the Eagles were formed, recruiting them for her touring band and helping place them in the same musical orbit. <\/p>\n

Souther, meanwhile, became one of their most trusted collaborators, later sharing writing credits on songs such as \u2018Best of My Love\u2019, \u2018New Kid in Town\u2019 and \u2018Heartache Tonight\u2019. Rather than operating as separate artists who occasionally crossed paths, they formed part of a loose musical family in which songs, ideas and harmonies could easily pass from one living room to another.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>Credit: Alamy<\/p>\n

The fruits of the bandmates\u2019 labour \u2013 and the takeover of the bigger living room \u2013 eventually reaped reward when one of the Eagles\u2019 greatest hits was produced there. Ronstadt remembered \u201ccoming home one day, and they had rehearsed \u2018Witchy Woman\u2019, and they had all the harmonies worked out four-part harmonies. It was fantastic. I knew it was gonna be a hit. You could just tell.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the opening brash rip of electric guitar to its funk-infused tone, Ronstadt clearly had a well-trained musical ear. \u2018Witchy Woman\u2019 would feature on the Eagles\u2019 best-known album, Hotel California, and firmly cemented them as gods of rock and roll throughout the test of time.<\/p>\n

Further reading: From The Vault<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the same sentiment could not be applied to Souther and Ronstadt\u2019s relationship, which ended in the years shortly thereafter. However, this is not to say they followed the same path of embittered separation as many Hollywood couples; the pair remained strong friends throughout the decades to come. Souther went as far as to say, in a 2015 interview when asked about Ronstadt, that: \u201cShe\u2019s always the first to hear a new album. She\u2019s the greatest listener: an astute, well-read woman, as well as musical.\u201d<\/p>\n

That affection was also preserved in the music they made during and after their time together. Souther wrote material that Ronstadt recorded throughout her career, while their voices proved naturally suited whenever they appeared alongside one another. Their romantic relationship may have ended, but the creative understanding behind it never completely disappeared. <\/p>\n

In an industry where personal fallouts often resulted in professional doors being slammed shut, their continued friendship offered a far warmer outcome. Ronstadt remained someone whose judgement Souther trusted, while he remained an important figure in the community that helped shape her emergence as one of the defining American voices of the 1970s.<\/p>\n

Not only is it refreshing to hear of the healthy respect and love that the pair evidently maintained in their relationship throughout the years, but it also displays how Ronstadt played a significant role in making the Eagles the stars they were and \u2018Witchy Woman\u2019 the hit it was.<\/p>\n

After the sad news of Souther\u2019s recent passin<\/a>g<\/a>, it\u2019s perhaps more important than ever that his music be given the rightful recognition and iconic status it deserves. The role of Hotel California cannot be understated within that. He and Ronstadt\u2019s relationship may not have lasted, but the impact and lore it created will undoubtedly stand the test of time. Above all else, the story of \u2018Witchy Woman\u2019 teaches us that good things can still come from unsuccessful relationships, that there is still joy to be found in them many years later, and \u2013 perhaps most importantly \u2013 the value of a decent-sized living room.<\/p>\n

ADD AS A PREFERRED SOURCE ON GOOGLE \"\"\/ <\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Credit: Far Out \/ Showtime \/ The Eagles \/ Larry Bessel \/ Los Angeles Times Sun 20 September…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":630824,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[49754,235900,35401,93,61,60,188235,278],"class_list":["post-630823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-1970s","tag-235900","tag-eagles","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-linda-ronstadt","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=630823"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630823\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/630824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=630823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=630823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=630823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}