"James Dean" | ||||
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Single by Eagles | ||||
from the album On the Border | ||||
B-side | "Good Day in Hell" | |||
Released | August 14, 1974 | |||
Recorded | 1973 | |||
Genre | Hard rock, rock and roll,[1] rockabilly[2] | |||
Length | 3:36 | |||
Label | Asylum | |||
Songwriter(s) | Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Jackson Browne, J. D. Souther | |||
Producer(s) | Bill Szymczyk | |||
Eagles singles chronology | ||||
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"James Dean" is a song written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Jackson Browne, and J. D. Souther, and recorded by the American rock band Eagles for their 1974 album On the Border. It was the second single released from this album, reaching number 77 on the U.S. pop singles chart.[3]
The song is about American actor James Dean (1931–1955). The lyrics, "too fast to live, too young to die" refer to the life and abrupt death of Dean in a car crash in 1955.[4] Bernie Leadon played the guitar solo.[5]