James Dean - 2013 Remaster

This song tells the story of actor James Dean, who starred in the movies Giant, Rebel Without A Cause and East Of Eden before dying in a car accident on September 30, 1955 in his Porsche Spyder 550, nicknamed "The Little Bastard." It's one of several Eagles songs that had a theme of either dead heroes or the consequences of a reckless lifestyle. Other songs that touch on these subjects include "Life In The Fast Lane" and "Good Day In Hell."

While the song plays up Dean's "live fast, die young" reputation, it wasn't his lifestyle that killed him: his car accident was not caused by excessive speed and was a case of very bad luck - Dean's passenger and the driver of the other car both survived. Dean was 24 years old when he died.

Jackson Browne and J.D. Souther, who were both friends of the band, helped write this song along with Don Henley and Glenn Frey.