Witchy Woman

Bernie Leadon came over one day and played Don Henley a strange, minor-key riff. Henley said it sounded like a Hollywood version of Indian music, the kind played when the Indians ride up on the ridge. The two put a rough version on a cassette tape. Leadon had begun the song while still in the Flying Burrito Brothers, and after he joined the Eagles he and Henley finished it. It was the only song on the debut album with a Henley credit.

Henley was living in an old house near the Hollywood Bowl with a flatmate, Henry Vine. He had the flu and a high fever, and read a biography of Zelda Fitzgerald whenever the fever eased. She became part of the character, along with girls he had met at the Whisky and the Troubadour. Other influences were books by Carlos Castaneda and a girl he knew who was interested in the occult. The line about the silver spoon may allude to Zelda's absinthe spoon.

Released as the second single from Eagles in 1972, "Witchy Woman" reached number nine on the Billboard pop chart. Henley called it important because it marked the start of his professional songwriting career. The band played it nightly in its early days, and repeatedly at the opening of an art show by Boyd Elder in Venice, Los Angeles.