On In the Studio with Redbeard, Glenn Frey revealed that the title came to him one day when he was riding on the freeway with a drug dealer known as "The Count".

"[3] In 2016, the editors of Rolling Stone rated "Life in the Fast Lane" as the Eagles' eighth-greatest song.

[6] In 2007, Swedish country and pop singer Jill Johnson recorded the song on her tenth studio album Music Row.

[7] The song was used as the soundtrack for the roller coaster Eagles' Life in the Fast Lane, which opened at Hard Rock Park in May 2008.

[8][9] On July 25, 2019 the rock band Hinder released their cover of the song as a non album single.