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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Peaceful Easy Feeling
"Peaceful Easy Feeling" is a song written by Jack Tempchin and recorded by the Eagles. It was the third single from the band's 1972 debut album Eagles. The single reached No. 22 on the charts and is one of the band's most popular songs. Glenn Frey sings the lead vocal, with Bernie Leadon providing the main harmony vocal (starting in the beginning of the second verse) and Randy Meisner completing this three-part harmony.

Background

Jack Tempchin wrote the song during a period in which he was performing at folk coffee shops around his hometown of San Diego. A friend had created a poster to advertise his performances, which included fake quotes from famous individuals attesting to Tempchin's talent, which landed in the hands of a shop owner in nearby El Centro. Tempchin slept on the floor of the club the night of his show, and wrote an early version of "Peaceful Easy Feeling" on the back of the poster. Back in San Diego, Tempchin was rooming in a communal-type home with other musicians when inspiration for completing the song hit.

We'd sit in front of the picture window and watch the beautiful girls on the bus stop bench and fall in love with them until their bus came. We talked in those days about how love never seems to show up until you stop looking for it. But, as young guys, we were unable to stop looking for love even for one day.

During a following trip to Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, Tempchin saw a girl with "turquoise earrings against her dark skin," which he incorporated into the song. "I guess I was trying to distill the beauty of every girl I saw into words on paper and then into a song," he later stated. He later completed the song's third verse in the parking lot of the Der Wienerschnitzel fast food establishment in San Diego.

Some time later, Tempchin had moved to Los Angeles and was attempting to break into the music industry alongside Jackson Browne, Glenn Frey, and JD Souther. Frey heard Tempchin's "Peaceful Easy Feeling" and asked if he could develop it further, adding that his new band, the Eagles, had only just formed eight days prior. He presented Tempchin with a cassette demo on the track the next day, who later remarked, "It was so good I couldn’t believe it."

Billboard described the song as "a pop-flavored progressive country effort with lyrics that penetrate and stick in the mind." Record World called it "mellow country folk music at its best."

Personnel

Cover versions

On the 1993 album Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles, country music band Little Texas recorded a cover of "Peaceful Easy Feeling". This cover version charted at No. 74 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs charts and was later included on the band's 1995 Greatest Hits album.

Charts

Chart (1972–1973) Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100) 35
Canadian Adult Contemporary (RPM) 22
US Billboard Hot 100 22
US Easy Listening (Billboard) 20

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) Silver 200,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Masley, Ed (September 30, 2014). "10/1: 5 essential Eagles albums- 'Hotel to 'Border'". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
  2. ^ "Review: Eagles' long, rich history thrills audience at Spokane Arena". The Spokesman-Review. May 31, 2015. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  3. ^ Jack Tempchin (December 21, 2012). "40 Years of 'Peaceful Easy Feeling' - The Story Behind The Song by Jack Tempchin". No Depression. Archived from the original on February 2, 2013. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
  4. ^ "Radio Action and Pick Singles" (PDF). Billboard. December 16, 1972. p. 61. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  5. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. December 16, 1972. p. 1. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  6. ^ "Eagles Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  7. ^ "Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada: Adult Contemporary". RPM. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
  8. ^ "Eagles Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  9. ^ "Eagles Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  10. ^ "British single certifications – Eagles – Peaceful Easy Feeling". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
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