The Eagles
The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. The founding members of the band were Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner. Over the years, the band has gone through several lineup changes, but Frey and Henley remained the core members throughout.
The Eagles are known for their harmonies and a blend of rock, country, and folk music. They had a string of hits in the 1970s, including "Take it Easy," "Desperado," "Hotel California," "New Kid in Town," and "Life in the Fast Lane." These songs have become classics and are still popular today.
The band was known for their intricate arrangements, and each member was a talented musician in their own right. Their live performances were also highly regarded for their energy and tightness.
The Eagles disbanded in 1980, but they reunited in 1994 for a series of concerts and have been performing on and off ever since. In 2016, they lost founding member Glenn Frey, but they continue to tour and record new music with the addition of Deacon Frey, Glenn's son, and Vince Gill.
The Eagles have sold over 150 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling bands of all time. They have won numerous awards, including six Grammy Awards, and have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
For Jennifer, modern-day Eagles fan... -GSH
Eagles I
(1971 -
1974)
- Glenn Frey -
guitar/vocals
- b. Glenn Lewis Frey, November
6, 1948, Detroit, Michigan, USA - formerly with The Mushrooms, The
Four of Us, The Subterraneans, The Heavy Metal Kids,
Bo
Diddley's backup band, Longbranch Pennywhistle (with John
David Souther), and Linda Ronstadt's
backup band.
- Don Henley -
drums/vocals
- b. Donald Hugh Henley, July 22,
1947, Gilmer, Texas, USA - formerly with The Speeds/Four Speeds, Felicity, Shiloh (with
guitarist Al
Perkins) and in Linda Ronstadt's
backup band.
- Randy Meisner -
bass/vocals - b. Randall Herman Meisner, March
8, 1946, Scottsbluff, Nebraska, USA - formerly with The Soul Survivors, The Dynamics,
The
Poor, Poco, Rick Nelson's Stone
Canyon
Band, and Linda Ronstadt's
backup
band.
- Bernie Leadon -
guitar/vocals
- b. Bernard Leadon, July
19, 1947, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA - formerly with The Scottsville Squirrel Barkers, Hearts and Flowers, The
Flying Burrito Brothers, The Dillard
& Clark Expedition, and Linda
Ronstadt's
backup band.
Albums:
- "Eagles"
(1972) - Singles: "Take It Easy" b/w "Get You in the Mood", "Witchy
Woman" b/w "Early Bird", "Peaceful Easy Feeling" b/w "Tryin'"
- "Desperado"
(1973) - Singles: "Tequila Sunrise"
b/w "Twenty-One", "Outlaw Man" b/w "Certain Kind of Fool"
Eagles II
(1974 -
1975)
Albums:
- "On
the Border" (1974) - Singles: "James Dean" b/w "Good Day In Hell", "Already Gone"
b/w "Is It True?", "Best
of My Love" b/w "Ol' 55"
- "One
of These Nights" (1975) - Singles: "One of These Nights"
b/w "Visions",
"Lyin' Eyes" b/w "Too Many
Hands", "Take It to the Limit" b/w "After the Thrill Is Gone"
Bernie Leadon leaves to form the Bernie
Leadon - Michael Georgiades Band, and later became Nashville
session
musician; later joined The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
and formed Run-C&W country band with Russell Smith
(ex-Amazing
Rhythm Aces).
Eagles III
(1975
- 1977)
Album:
- "Hotel
California" (1976) - Singles: "New Kid in Town" b/w "Victim of Love", "Hotel
California" b/w "Pretty Maids All
In A Row", "Life in the Fast Lane" b/w "The Last Resort"
Single: "Please Come Home For
Christmas" b/w "Funky New Year"
Following "Hotel California", Randy
Meisner went solo,
toured
with the Silveradoes in 1981, was a member of the Poco
reunion in 1989-1990, in the 1990's was a member of Black Tie
with Billy
Swan and James Griffin (ex-Bread), and later joined The
World Classic Rockers.
Eagles IV
(1977 -
1980 Split; Reformed in 1994 - 2005)
Albums:
- "The
Long Run" (1979) - Singles: "Heartache Tonight" b/w "Teenage Jail", "The
Long Run" b/w "The Disco Strangler",
"I Can't Tell You Why" b/w "The
Greeks Don't Want No Freaks"
- "Eagles
Live" (1980) - Single: "Seven
Bridges Road" b/w "The Long Run"
- "Hell
Freezes Over" (1994) - Singles: "Get Over It" b/w "Get Over It (Live)", "Learn To Be Still" b/w "Hotel California (Live)" and "Wasted Time (Live)"
Compilations:
- "Their
Greatest Hits" (1975)
- "Greatest
Hits Volume 2" (1982)
- "Best of Eagles" (1985)
- "Selected
Works: 1972-1999" (4-CD box set) (2000) - I have to admit
that I am really annoyed with this compilation, which includes no bonus
tracks of substance (other than the previously-unavailable-on-CD "Please Come Home For Christmas" and
"Funky New Year"), presents Eagles songs in a jumbled and
disjointed order, and fails to include some of my favorite tracks
(e.g., "Bitter Creek", "My Man", the studio version of "'Ol 55", etc.)...and what's the
point of including the worthless "Long
Run Leftovers" and "Random
Victims Part 3", especially while omitting other great
tunes? I refused to buy this.
- "The Very Best Of Eagles"
(2-CDs) (2003)
- "Eagles"
(9-CD box set) (2005)
Glenn Frey solo:
- "No
Fun Aloud" (1982) - Singles: "I Found Somebody" b/w "She Can't Let Go", "The One You
Love", "All Those Lies"
- "The
Allnighter" (1984) - Singles: "Sexy Girl", The Allnighter", "Smuggler's Blues"
- "Soul
Searchin'" (1988) - Singles: "True Love", "Soul Searchin'", "Livin' Right"
- "Strange
Weather: Live In Dublin" (1992)
- "Glenn
Frey Live" (1993)
- "Solo
Collection" (1995) - Singles (not previously released): "The Heat Is On", "You Belong To The City", "Part of Me, Part of You"
- "20th
Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best Of Glenn Frey"
(2000)
Don Henley solo:
- "I
Can't Stand Still" (1982) - Singles: "Johnny Can't Read" b/w "Long Way Home", "Nobody's Business" b/w "Long Way Home", "Dirty Laundry"
b/w "Lilah", "I Can't Stand Still" b/w "Them and Us"
- "Building
the Perfect Beast" (1984) - Single: "The Boys of Summer"
b/w "A Month of Sundays", "All She Wants To Do Is Dance", "Not Enough Love In The World", "Sunset Grill"
- "The
End of the Innocence" (1989) - Singles: "The End of the
Innocence", "The Last
Worthless
Evening", "The Heart of the Matter", "How Bad Do You Want It?", "New York Minute"
- "Actual
Miles: Henley's Greatest Hits" (1995) - Single (not
previously released): "The Garden of
Allah"
- "Inside
Job" (2000)
Randy Meisner solo:
- "Randy
Meisner" (1978)
- "One
More Song" (1980) - Singles: "Deep Inside My Heart", "Hearts On Fire", "Gotta Get Away"
- "Randy
Meisner" (1982) - Single: "Never
Been In Love"
- "Dallas"
(live) (2003)
- "Love Me Or Leave Me
Alone" (2004)
Don Felder solo:
- "Airborne"
(1983)
DVDs and Videos:
- "Hell
Freezes Over'" (1990) - DVD - I understand that the title
for this concert/tour sprung from a question continually asked of The
Eagles after their breakup in 1980 (Q: When will The Eagles get back
together? A: When hell freezes over!!!) Apparently, it
froze over resulting in the release of the excellent "Hell Freezes Over"
CD and this DVD concert. The song list includes: Hotel California (excellent
acoustic version), Tequila Sunrise,
Help Me Through The Night, The Heart Of The Matter, Love Will Keep Us
Alive, Learn To Be Still, Pretty Maids All In A Row, The Girl From
Yesterday, Wasted Time, I Can't Tell You Why, New York Minute, The Last
Resort, Take It Easy, Life In The Fast Lane, In The City, Get Over It,
Desperado, and Seven Bridges
Road. Great performance ... excellent recording and
production. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
- "Farewell
I Tour: Live From Melbourne" (2005) - DVD - OK, so
so it's been ten years since the release of their last concert DVD ("Hell
Freezes Over'")and you think maybe these guys are getting
too old and need to hang it up? I don't think so. This
2-DVD concert recorded live in Melbourne, Australia, in 2004 sparkles
throughout, from the band's performance to the video and audio
production of the DVDs. The Eagles represented here include Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit, and Joe Walsh. There are a LOT of
songs here, including a few new ones, and they're not simply rehashes
of the set list from the "Hell Freezes Over" tour. The songs
included on this DVD concert are: The Long Run, New Kid In Town, Wasted
Time, Peaceful Easy Feeling, I Can't Tell You Why, One Of These Nights,
One Day At A Time, Lyin' Eyes, The Boys Of Summer, In The City, Already
Gone, Tequila Sunrise, Love Will Keep Us Alive, No More Cloudy Days,
Hole In The World, Take It To The Limit, You Belong To The City, Walk
Away, Sunset Grill, Life's Been Good, Dirty Laundry, Funk '49,
Heartache Tonight, Life In The Fast Lane, Hotel California, Rocky
Mountain Way, All She Wants To Do Is Dance, Take It Easy, and Desperado. There is a bonus
interview on the second DVD. Although I was disappointed that Don Felder was not in the lineup for
this concert, Steuart Smith
does a great job filling in. Additional musicians include Will Hollis (keyboards and vocals), Michael Thompson (keyboards,
accordian, and vocals), Scott Grago
(drums and percussion), and The "Mighty Horns" (Greg Smith, Al Garth, Christian Mostert, and Bill Armstrong). The addition
of horns to Eagles music was
very tastefully done, and does not detract from the songs. Let's
all hope there are more "farewell" tours where this came from. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Books:
- "DESPERADOS:
The Roots of Country Rock" (2001)- by John Einarson;
published
by Cooper Square Press
- Let me say right up front that I have been a big fan of country rock
music ever since hearing the "Pickin' Up The Pieces" single from
Poco's
debut album. Poco has remained a
favorite
of mine through the years, although I always believed they were
overlooked
as a significant influence on popular music into the 1970s and the "new
country" movement in the 1990s. Thankfully, this oversight is
corrected
by John Einarson in his book, "DESPERADOS:
The Roots of Country Rock", which traces the history of
country
rock's rise in Southern California from the early days in the late
1960s
up to The Eagles (unquestionably the
most
commercially-viable country rock band of all time). Having
previously
read one of Mr. Einarson's biographies on The
Guess Who, I was anxious to see how he approached my favorite
type
of music...I was not disappointed. "DESPERADOS:
The Roots of Country Rock" is an intricate tale of
musicians
struggling to be heard amidst the psychedelic and hard-rock sounds
flooding
the airwaves at the time...and these early country rockers did make
themselves
heard...The Byrds, The
Flying Burrito Brothers, Gram Parsons,
Emmylou
Harris, Poco, Buffalo
Springfield, Clarence White, The
Eagles, Michael Nesmith (remember The Monkees?...Nesmith
made some great country rock music after that gig was over), The
Dillards, Rick Nelson and The Stone Canyon Band, The
Dillard and Clark Expedition, Linda
Ronstadt, The
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band...the list could go on and on.
This
book covers the early days of country rock from it's beginnings in the
late 1960s to the tragic year of 1973 (when the music world lost two
country
rock pioneers: guitarist-extraordinaire Clarence
White and Gram Parsons) and
examines
the influence this music has had on second-generation country rock
bands
such as Pure Prairie League and Firefall.
In addition, the impact of these early country rockers on the "new
country"
music of the 1980s and the "alternative country" movement of the
late-1990s
and beyond is explored from a "roots" perspective. This is a tale
masterfully woven by Mr. Einarson, based on more than 60 exclusive
interviews
with the originators and innovators of country rock. The amount
of
information and level of detail contained in these 288 pages is
astounding,
and there are 31 black and white photographs (some of which I've never
seen before). The only improvement that I would recommend is the
inclusion of a comprehensive index in the next edition (this would
really
help in finding information on specific artists). Even though
I've
been following country rock music for years, I learned a lot from this
book. The quotes gleaned from Mr. Einarson's interviews during
research
for this book are particularly helpful in understanding the origin and
development of country rock. "DESPERADOS:
The Roots of Country Rock" is required reading for all fans
of country rock or anyone interested in late-1960s to early-1970s
music. Highly recommended.
- "To The Limit: The
Untold Story Of The Eagles" (1998) - by Marc Eliot; published by Little, Brown and Company - If
you're a long-time Eagles fan
(like me) you've probably heard most of this before. I enjoyed
the read, but it is disappointing that Don
Henley was the only Eagle
who provided any real input. Also, I was surprised at all of the
in-fighting and dis-harmony with this band during their heyday. I
am really pleased that they were able to get beyond their differences
enough to give us those two excellent DVDs. The information
regarding the Eagles
management was new to me, and interesting. All in all, this is an
OK book on the Eagles...I'm
still waiting on the definitive biography...
Links:
Back to Home
Date Revised: February 18, 2023
© 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2009 by
Gary S.
Hartman. All
rights reserved.
|