Watch Bruce Springsteen Salute Glenn Frey With a Live Performance of the Eagles’ ‘Take It Easy’
During his tour stop in Chicago last night, Bruce Springsteen made room in his set list for a tribute to Glenn Frey, covering the Eagles classic "Take It Easy" in honor of the band's recently deceased co-founder.
As you can hear in the fan-shot footage above, Springsteen opted for an acoustic rendition of the song, which started with him performing solo before being joined by violinist Soozie Tyrell partway through. Presumably understanding that most people in the audience would understand the meaning behind his song selection, Springsteen also refrained from any long stories or speeches, simply shouting Frey's name to the sound of cheering after he was finished.
After the show, Springsteen's social media accounts sent out a picture of the crowd from his vantage point during his performance of "Take It Easy."
Springsteen's "Take It Easy" cover served as a subtle show of respect that might not have seemed possible when he and the Eagles were coming up during the '70s. Although it wasn't really a rivalry in any meaningful sense, Springsteen's exalted reputation with critics was the polar opposite of the Eagles' usual treatment in the press, and the perceived gulf between them occasionally seemed to rankle the members of the band — as when Don Henley told an interviewer, "I think our songs have more to do with the streets than Bruce Springsteen's."
The performance was later acknowledged by longtime Eagles manager Irving Azoff, who told followers Springsteen is "a class act."
Springsteen recently started his 2016 The River Tour, a run of winter and early spring dates booked to commemorate his classic 1980 album on the heels of The Ties That Bind, a box collecting the original LP alongside live and studio material from the era. Since starting the tour Jan. 16, he's had to offer tributes to two recently deceased contemporaries: During the first show, he said farewell to David Bowie with a performance of "Rebel Rebel."
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