died of a drug overdose in September 1973. Leadon and Parsons had been members of the pioneering country-rock band The Flying Burrito Brothers. In the lyrics, Leadon makes reference to Parsons' song "Hickory Wind" ("like a flower he bloomed till that old hickory wind called him home") which appeared on the Byrds' groundbreaking country-rock album Sweetheart of the Rodeo in 1968, the only Byrds album Parsons appeared on. "On the Border" A hard rock song, the track was inspired by the Watergate scandal and fears of the government overstepping its bounds and infringing on people's privacy. Barely audible at the end of the song, Glenn Frey can be heard whispering "Say Goodnight, Dick," a line made famous by Dan Rowan of Rowan and Martin but in this case referring to Richard Nixon's resignation. Nixon would indeed resign five months after the release of the album. Henley however judged the song they wrote a "clumsy, incoherent attempt" as they were still learning how to write. According to Henley, the song was supposed to be "an R&B-type song" but missed the mark. In the liner notes, T.N.T.S. was credited for the vocals on the track – it refers to Tanqueray 'n' tonic, a drink favored by the producer Szymczyk. According to Henley, the drink "“helped out“ on the hand-clap overdub and the Temptations-like background vocals on the title track" by adding an element of spontaneity to the song. "Ol' 55" David Geffen played to Glenn Frey a demo of three songs by Tom Waits; Frey loved this song and took it to Henley suggesting that they split the vocals on the song. Frey said: "It’s such a car thing. Your first car is like your first apartment. You had a mobile studio apartment! “Ol’ 55” was so Southern California, and yet there was some Detroit in it as well. It was that car thing, and I loved the idea of driving home at sunrise, thinking about what had happened the night before." "Good Day in Hell" According to Henley, the song was written by Frey as a tribute to Danny Whitten and Gram Parsons. He also described the song as another of their "running commentaries on the perils of the music business and the lifestyle that often comes with it". Critical reception In an early review, Janet Maslin of Rolling Stone found the album "competent and commercial", but was disappointed that it