LEILA FADEL, HOST:
If you listen to us every day...
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Of course.
FADEL: ...Like you should...
INSKEEP: Yeah.
FADEL: ...You would have learned that people tend to play the same songs over and over - sometimes really old songs.
INSKEEP: Yeah. That's a story we had this week, and today, we can honor some old music that I, for one, have played over and over - music by JD Souther.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE BEST OF MY LOVE")
THE EAGLES: (Singing) Oh, sweet darling, you get the best of my love. You get the best of my love.
INSKEEP: Souther has died at the age of 78. He co-wrote some of The Eagles' cherished songs, like "Heartache Tonight," "New Kid In Town" and "Best of My Love."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE BEST OF MY LOVE")
THE EAGLES: (Singing) Ooh.
FADEL: JD Souther was born in Detroit and raised in Amarillo, Texas. He made his way to Los Angeles at just the right time. In the late 1960s and early '70s, songwriters who liked both country and rock music were bouncing ideas off one another.
INSKEEP: Souther was sharing an apartment with Glenn Frey before he started The Eagles. Jackson Browne lived downstairs. Bonnie Raitt and Linda Ronstadt were not far away.
FADEL: Wow.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
JD SOUTHER: You know, looking back, it was - we were pretty lucky. It was a pretty great time.
FADEL: Souther said that to NPR in 2011.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
SOUTHER: And we were all just scuffling, trying to get by, but we didn't have any money. We were all playing open mic nights for free.
FADEL: That changed as The Eagles rose. He wasn't a member, but wrote many lyrics. He also sang on his own. He had a top 10 hit in 1979, "You're Only Lonely."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "YOU'RE ONLY LONELY")
SOUTHER: (Singing) I was there when you were a queen, and I'll be the last one there beside you. So you can call out my name when you're only lonely.
INSKEEP: The Songwriters Hall of Fame inducted Souther, and called him a major influence on a generation - and also an influence on later generations, like mine.
FADEL: Mine, too. We're the same generation.
INSKEEP: Roughly.
FADEL: (Laughter).
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NEW KID IN TOWN")
THE EAGLES: (Singing) Johnny-come-lately... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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