Interview w/ Randy's bassist Tom Erak

[Delilah]

I didn't put this in the Randy press thread b/c it's not an interview with Randy but with his former bass player Tom Erak. Mr. Erak played on Randy's 3rd solo album and toured with him "all over the world" (I know they toured in Japan but I'd love to know where else they performed). Anyway, mods feel free to move to the press thread if that is more appropriate. It's not clear when this interview took place but the podcast shows a 2016 copyright.

A brief overview:

Randy--I love that guy...He's a funk, R&B bass player...He loved my playing...I didn't know any Eagles songs...[Randy]'s amazing...Nobody's a better singer than him...He's just a shy guy...a really nice--he's a sweet man.

The interviewer tried to bring up Randy's late wife but Mr. Erak cut him off, only saying he "knew her extremely well" and that it was an accident. He gave his interesting perspective about Randy's trip to the desert and taking psychedelics as well as writing credits on TITTL (basically that Randy wrote everything).

It's a long interview and the part that pertains to Randy starts at 59:30 when Mike Flicker, Randy's producer, is being discussed.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D8Ylugy4lSc

[Freypower]

I didn't put this in the Randy press thread b/c it's not an interview with Randy but with his former bass player Tom Erak. Mr. Erak played on Randy's 3rd solo album and toured with him "all over the world" (I know they toured in Japan but I'd love to know where else they performed). Anyway, mods feel free to move to the press thread if that is more appropriate. It's not clear when this interview took place but the podcast shows a 2016 copyright.

A brief overview:


The interviewer tried to bring up Randy's late wife but Mr. Erak cut him off, only saying he "knew her extremely well" and that it was an accident. He gave his interesting perspective about Randy's trip to the desert and taking psychedelics as well as writing credits on TITTL (basically that Randy wrote everything).

It's a long interview and the part that pertains to Randy starts at 59:30 when Mike Flicker, Randy's producer, is being discussed.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D8Ylugy4lSc

I suppose this will not go down well but when Glenn played the song on radio in London in 2012 he stated plainly that he, Glenn, wrote the song on piano. My impression has always been that Randy had the idea for the song but Glenn wrote the music & Don helped with the lyrics.

I don't want an argument. I just felt that I needed to state that there is a contradiction to this claim. So 'they didn't write a word of it or a note of it'.... at the least, that is an exaggeration.

[NightMistBlue]

I didn't put this in the Randy press thread b/c it's not an interview with Randy but with his former bass player Tom Erak. Mr. Erak played on Randy's 3rd solo album and toured with him "all over the world" (I know they toured in Japan but I'd love to know where else they performed). Anyway, mods feel free to move to the press thread if that is more appropriate. It's not clear when this interview took place but the podcast shows a 2016 copyright.

A brief overview:


The interviewer tried to bring up Randy's late wife but Mr. Erak cut him off, only saying he "knew her extremely well" and that it was an accident. He gave his interesting perspective about Randy's trip to the desert and taking psychedelics as well as writing credits on TITTL (basically that Randy wrote everything).

It's a long interview and the part that pertains to Randy starts at 59:30 when Mike Flicker, Randy's producer, is being discussed.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D8Ylugy4lSc

Wow, Delilah - thank you times 65,000! What a find. Pat yourself on the back, young lady!

[VillageGirl]

I suppose this will not go down well but when Glenn played the song on radio in London in 2012 he stated plainly that he, Glenn, wrote the song on piano. My impression has always been that Randy had the idea for the song but Glenn wrote the music & Don helped with the lyrics.

I don't want an argument. I just felt that I needed to state that there is a contradiction to this claim. So 'they didn't write a word of it or a note of it'.... at the least, that is an exaggeration.

Yes, God forbid someone aside from Glenn or Henley get credit. Same old. Not worth an argument.

Just as we can't take this bassist's word for gospel, I don't think we can accept Glenn's word as the absolute truth either.

[NightMistBlue]

I suppose this will not go down well but when Glenn played the song on radio in London in 2012 he stated plainly that he, Glenn, wrote the song on piano. My impression has always been that Randy had the idea for the song but Glenn wrote the music & Don helped with the lyrics.

FP, do you know if this interview is available on audio? Or perhaps someone has transcribed it.

[Freypower]

Yes, God forbid someone aside from Glenn or Henley get credit. Same old. Not worth an argument.

Just as we can't take this bassist's word for gospel, I don't think we can accept Glenn's word as the absolute truth either.

I didn't say Randy didin't deserve any credit. Please read what I actually said. The claim is that Randy wrote ALL of TITTL when I don't believe he ever even said that himself.

[Freypower]

FP, do you know if this interview is available on audio? Or perhaps someone has transcribed it.

I have it on iTunes. What I quoted above is the gist of what was said, which was 'I wrote TITTL on piano' before he played it on piano. Presumably he meant the music. As far as I know the lyrics were by Randy with assistance from Henley.

I said I didn't want an argument.

[UndertheWire]

So what has Randy said about the writing of TITTL? I believe he has acknowledged help from Glenn and Don.

There are lots of possibilities, but an obvious one is that someone who wasn't there when the song was written but who worked with Randy ten years later and is now recalling that a further thirty years on may just have got it wrong.

And no, I don't think anyone has a problem with Randy getting credit for the song, just giving him sole credit goes against what he and others have said through the years.

[VillageGirl]

From what I remember, Randy had said he was alone after a show and started on the lyrics and phrase, "All alone at the end of the evening. When the bright lights have faded to blue". He played around with it and brought it to Glenn and Henley who helped him write the song, so it was a collaboration. It wasn't just Glenn's muse speaking to him, beckoning him to the piano, and out came TITTL.

[Funk 50]

When Glenn performed Take It To The Limit solo on UK radio (26:6:12), he was a bit rusty, playing it on the piano. He told the presenter "I've been playing guitar on it most of the time but I did write it on the piano so I should be able to carve out a reasonable version".

I presume that Randy brought the song to the band and Glenn and Don helped him add a little Eagles magic to it. As it's a piano song, I see Glenn playing the piano as the three of them meticulously worked it up to be a classic track.

Jim Ed Norman plays the piano on the LP version. Glenn initially played piano when Eagles performed Take It To The Limit live, before Tim replaced Randy in the band.

During that radio show, Glenn also performed After Hours, alone at the piano. Despite it being a newly released song, he was under rehearsed for that too and, unapologetically, makes a "couple of clams" during the song.

It was a great thrill to hear Glenn performing solo though.

Thanks for the Tom Erak link. I'd never be able to listen to that for an hour and a half.