The music world has had a jarring few weeks, with the passing of one icon after another—Lemmy Kilmister, Natalie Cole, David Bowie, and now Glenn Frey. A number of the artists’ peers and admirers have chosen, naturally, to pay tribute in concert. Recent days have seen both Madonna and Bruce Springsteen cover Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel.” And at his concert last night at Chicago’s United Center, Springsteen honored another rock great with a moving rendition of The Eagles’ “Take It Easy”—the band’s very first single, co-written and originally sung by Frey.
In this fan video, we see Springsteen performing the song on acoustic guitar as the crowd sings along. Springsteen is spotlighted alone on the darkened stage until his bandmate, Soozie Tyrell, joins in for a poignant violin solo. Whereas the Eagles’ studio cut featured four-part harmonies, double-time banjo, and a ringing electric guitar, Springsteen’s take is sparser and slower—appropriate, perhaps, given the circumstances.
