Ten Favorite Real People Songs: Doolin-Dalton (#1)

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A couple of weeks ago @teamfreak16 started a countdown of his favorite songs that had a real person's name in the title. I just had to steal that idea!! My thievery, ahem, countdown concludes today with this song, my favorite "real person" song. To nobody's surprise whatsoever, here's the top dog. #1: Doolin-Dalton - Eagles Surprised? Surprised? Surprised? (In John Candy "orange whip?" voice from The Blues Brothers) Didn't think so. I mentioned yesterday, in discussing "Frank and Jesse James," that "historical fiction" is as much about the time in which it's written as the time about which it's written. In this case, the Eagles, on their second album, compared a touring band to a gang of outlaws: the Doolin-Dalton gang. The Eagles did their homework in writing this superb concept album, which still (nearly 45 years later) stands as my favorite Eagles album by a long shot. There's a great deal of historical accuracy on this album, and that's on brilliant display in this song. Bill Dalton was studying to be a lawyer when his brothers were killed in the Coffeyville, Kansas botched bank robbery in 1892. He joined up with Bill Doolin and formed their own gang. While they were technically called the Doolin-Dalton gang, their common nickname at the time was "The Wild Bunch." (There was a movie by that name in the late 60s, which is probably why they didn't use that nickname in the song.) As the song says, Dalton decided to "lay down your law books now, they're no damn good," and went to the "other side" of the law. (His brother, Frank, was a lawman, and never had to deal with his notorious brothers in any legal capacity.) This song -- this entire album -- showed the greatness of the Eagles in every aspect, from songwriting to singing to harmonies. Glenn Frey and Don Henley shared the lead vocal chores. This put them on the road to legendary status. Like the Daltons, with this they "left that peaceful life behind" thanks to the success of this album. Thanks for reading. Doolin-Dalton Written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey, J.D. Souther, and Jackson Browne Recorded by the Eagles From Desperado, 1973 Till your shadow sets you free: