I’ve been to Winslow, Arizona. It’s a smallish town along old Route 66 east of Flagstaff. There’s a sign on one street corner that purports to be the “corner in Winslow, Arizona” from the song, though I don’t know how they would know that. Otherwise, it’s a nice enough place, I guess, but nothing particularly interesting or memorable about it.
I love the Dope - zombie threads that fight my ignorance - with braaaaaainnnnnnns!
ahem, sorry.
Jackson Browne might have identified it for them.
I wonder if the girl in the flatboard Ford still lives around there. 
Don’t forget the 9 year delayed Mod action on the request for a forum change.
Okay, being a music-o-phile or whatever it’s officially called, I’ll throw in what I remember from interviews about the OP and another song in this thread.
China Grove:
Two of the ‘brothers’ come in and a third is at the piano, saying, “Guys, I’ve got this incredible riff that needs a song built around it. Here it is…” and it’s the descending notes in the middle of the song, apparently all on the short black keys*. One of the guys observes that it’s rather Asian/Chinese-sounding* and they start writing about a fictional place called China Grove. In interviews, everyone insists they didn’t know such a place really existed in Texas until well after the song was famous.
*[Traditional Chinese music uses a 5-point scale, rather than our 8-plus sharps/flats. It turns out those 5 points are, in fact, our sharps and flats – from which I assume the riff was demonstrated on only the short black keys of the piano.]
The reason I remember that interview segment is that I was really struck by the odd way of making a song – from the middle of the bridge outward. It seemed/seems odd to me because I always start from the words/sentiment and build melody and other music to fit. Then again, I’m just an amateur and words are my first tool while my musical ability is way down the list of talents. What irks me is that the famous bridge in the middle goes out of its way to mention ‘a samurai sword’ – hey, guys, those are from Japan, not China.
Take It Easy
Jackson Browne and Glenn Frey lived in the same Los Angeles apartment building and knew each other. Jackson is working on his second album while Glenn and his buddies are still backing Linda Ronstadt while trying to establish themselves on their own. Glenn came by to visit Jackson who was struggling to find a rhyme…”I’m a standin’ on the corner….da dah-da dah-da dah-da – but ‘Just Mindin’ my own business’ doesn’t fit the rest of the verse.”
Glenn thinks for a few minutes and suggests, “In Winslow Arizona”
They try it out and Jackson says, “Hey, you helped me finish it! You and your guys can have half this song!”
Jackson puts it on his second album, For Everyman, as the first part of a suite; Glenn and his friends tweak it a bit and release it as the stand-alone first track of their eponymous debut album. The rest, so the cliche’ goes, is history.
The fun part is that, each time I saw them in concert (around San Diego) they’d substitue “…in southern California…” and it really seems to fit better and be a better-known place than Winslow…
That info was from Pink Champagne on Ice a radio broadcast ‘biography’ of the Eagles in the mid-1980’s while they were ‘on vacation’ and nobody thought they’d ever regroup.
–G!
“I’m a standin’ on a corner
Jus’ mindin’ my own business
and it’s such a fine sight to see…”
Aww, that doesn’t work. :mad:
I must disagree. There are a million songs that mention Southern California, and one that mentions Winslow, Arizona. Using a less well-known place is preferable and makes the line that much more unique, IMO.
But the practice of pandering to the home-town crowd like that is a long-standing tradition. I’ve seen the Charlie Daniels Band more than once back in the day, and “You just go and lay your hand on a Chicago Bears fan” doesn’t quite have the same snap as “Pitsburgh Steeler fan.”
According to the entry on songfacts.com:
I am not making this up.
A couple years ago, after a visit to the Grand Canyon, I decided to continue east to check out the Meteor Crater, which is just west of Winslow. After visiting the crater (very cool, BTW), I stopped at the gas station before heading back to the interstate (I-40 ?). (This is the gas station with the big teepee seen in “Starman”, BTW).
Anyway, as I’m pumping gas, there’s this audio-loop ad playing to try to get you to visit Winslow. And I happen to catch: “…have your picture taken with a girl in a flatbed Ford…” and I just died laughing.
Apparently Winslow’s best known for…one corner and the song !
This is just my own belief, but I grew up in San Antonio and always thought they were talking about The Japanese Tea Gardens. I’m sure there’s a grove or two along a walking path that might have inspired the band to write the song. Although, the Gardens are within the city limits.
Just my 2 cents.
Why would a China-obsessed sheriff have a samurai sword?
[sup]I’ll go ahead and provide what I just know is coming…[/sup]
Because he’s a Texan.
Ultimate War Trophy. Thems people hate each other.