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A brief history of the Eagles 1971 – Present

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The Eagles have been a big part of my music listening for the past decade. I’ve always known the hits, but never really dug into the band’s history or the albums. A discussion with my daughter about incredible harmonies lead me back to the Eagles and the dive into their history.

Since then, Hotel California has been one my most played albums topping my year end Spotify charts for at least three years running.

But what warrants this attention (obsession?) Certainly the songs, and those harmonies are a core reason but once you dig into their history you realise just what a movement this band became. From a meeting at the start of the Seventies, to the world conquering Hotel California less than 7 years later, this is a story that needs to be told.

So here’s my brief history of the Eagles, from 1970 to present.
The band were formed from a cluster of musicians backing the Linda Ronstadt, and with support from their friend Jackson Browne.

Linda was a hugely popular singer stepping out from her band the Stone Poneys to become a solo star. Voted the top female singer of the Seventies and featured on six Rolling Stone covers, a gig with Linda was a potential ticket to the big time.

What became the founding members of the Eagles connected as various musicians came in and out of Rondstadt’s line up. Henley and Frey were the most regular musicians behind Linda, with Leadson and Meseiner sitting in at different times. Only one night on the tour saw all four members play on the same stage.

JD Souther was a close friend of Glenn Frey, and onetime lover and collaborator with Linda. He also shared a house with Jackson Browne, which is how the connection is made.

Jackson Browne was already a published writer, contributing songs to Tom Rush’s classic album The Circle Game. He was also friends with David Geffen who founded Asylum Records.,

What became the Eagles officially signed with Geffen in September 1971 after which they set about finding a band name. ‘the Eagles’ became the consensus after each member approached it from a different angle, for some it sounded like a gang name from West Side Story, for others it was Indian in origin. But one thing was certain, it sounded American and sounded like ‘The Beatles.’

Between September 71 and June 72, the band spent time in Aspen Colorado before heading to Olympic studios in London to recorded their eponymous debut album to positive acclaim. Their subsequent albums showcased a gradual shift to a harder, rockier sound which added to their growing popularity and the bitter personnel changes within the bad.

The Eagles Band Members

The original Eagles band members were Bernie Leadon, Glenn Fry, Don Henley and Randy Meisner. Whilst it was no one person’s group, Henley & Frey certainly had the strongest opinions.

Don Henley Born in Gilmer, Texas, drummer and singer Henley is the most famous solo artist of the group. Before forming the Eagles, he was part of a country-rock band called Shiloh. After the Eagles, he pursued a successful solo career and released hit albums like “Building the Perfect Beast” and the global smash, “Boys of Summer.”

Glenn Frey Detroit born Frey, was a co-founding member of the Eagles. Before teaming up with Don Henley, Frey played with a band called the Mushrooms. After the Eagles, he had a thriving solo career and released popular songs like “The Heat Is On” from Beverly Hills Cop (and the first 7″ single I will admit to buying!) Frey’s contributions to the band included vocals, guitar, and songwriting.

Bernie Leadon born in Minneapolis guitarist, singer and wrtiter Leadon was one of the original band members. Before the Eagles, Leadon was part of the Flying Burrito Brothers, a pioneering country-rock band formed by Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman. The Flying Burrito Brothers played a pivotal role in shaping the country-rock genre, blending traditional country music with rock elements. His experience with the band contributed to his deep understanding of both genres, which he later brought to the Eagles’ signature sound.

Randy Meisner Another founding member, Randy Meisner was born in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. he played with Poco and Rick Nelson’s Stone Canyon Band before meeting the others on tour with Ronsdadt.. After his departure from the Eagles in 1977, he released solo albums and contributed to other musicians’ projects. Randy passed away in July 2023.

For such a big personality and part of the Eagles , it is hard to comprehend that Joe Walsh only joined before the Hotel California sessions. Born in Wichita, Kansas, the singer, songwriter and guitarist in had a successful solo career and was a member of the James Gang before signing onto the band. After his first stint with the Eagles, Walsh continued his solo work and released hit albums like “But Seriously, Folks…” with the huge song, “Life’s Been Good to me So Far” He rejoined the Eagles in 1994 and has been a prominent member ever since.

Don Felder joined Walsh in 1974 for the Hotel California sessions. Born in Gainesville, Florid was a noted session guitarist working with the band Flow before signing on. After leaving the Eagles in 2001, he pursued a solo career and released albums like “Airborne.” Felder’s guitar work played a significant role in the evolution of the band’s sound.

The only band member from California, bassist and vocalist Timothy B. Schmit joined the Eagles in 1977, to replace Randy Meisner. Previously, Schmit was a member of Poco (joining after Leadon departed). Poco were one of the pioneers of modern Americana known for its influential contributions to the country-rock genre. Schmidt’s harmonious vocals were a defining feature of the band’s later hits.

Like Jackson Browne, JD Souther was part of the Eagles wider circle, contributing to 4 great songs even though he was never formally an Eagles band member.

Of the seven studio albums released by the Eagles, only Glenn Frey and Don Henley performed on all seven.

Who wrote the most songs for the Eagles?

Glenn Frey and Don Henley wrote the most songs across their studio albums. Most band members contributed at least one song to the group, with many of their hits written in collaboration with each other.

  1. Don Henley: Co-wrote 46 songs
  2. Glenn Frey: Co-wrote 45 songs
  3. Bernie Leadon: Co-wrote 6 songs
  4. Randy Meisner: Co-wrote 6 songs
  5. Joe Walsh: Co-wrote 5 songs
  6. Don Felder: Co-wrote 4 songs
  7. JD Souther: Co-wrote 4 songs
  8. Timothy B. Schmit: Co-wrote 3 songs

Who sang lead vocals for the Eagles?

The band were blessed with great musicians and also great singers, with many stepping up to take or share lead vocals.

  1. Don Henley: Lead vocals on 24 songs including ‘Hotel California’
  2. Glenn Frey: Lead vocals on 23 songs including ‘Tequila Sunrise’
  3. Randy Meisner: Lead vocals on 7 songs including ‘Take it to the Limit’
  4. Timothy B. Schmit: Lead vocals on 5 songs including ‘I can’t tell you why’
  5. Bernie Leadon: Lead vocals on 4 songs including ‘Bitter Creek’
  6. Joe Walsh: Lead vocals on 2 songs including ‘Pretty Maids all in a Row’
  7. Don Felder: Lead vocals on 1 song – ‘Visions’

The Eagles Albums

Listening to the studio albums takes you on a journey through the Eagles history. From the carefree feeling of Take it Easy, to the country twanging of On the Border through to the Rock classic Hotel California, and the burned out final studio album of the Long Run.

A layout of 4 Eagles albums, on vinyl

the Eagles – first album (1972)

The first, eponymous album ‘Eagles‘ was recorded in 1971 at London’s Olympic Studios, a popular studio for bands including Procul Harum The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, the Jimi Hendrix experience and Led Zeppelin. Produced by Glyn Johns (producer of Let it Be) the album, released in 1972 included two top 20 hits – ‘Take it Easy’, co written with their friend Jackson Browne and ‘Witchy Woman.’ With these two singles, the band presented both a style of laid back Americana, and some killer harmonies that would become a trademark for the bands evolution.

Desperado (1973)

‘Desperado‘, their second album was more ambitious, taking a concept theme of the ‘Old West’ the album was their attempt to be taken more seriously as writers and musicians. Inspiration for songs like ‘Doolin Dalton’ came from the Doolin Dalton Gang – better known as the Wild Bunch.

Despite not being released as a single, the title song Desperado was ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 greatest songs of all time. It’s also one my favourites. In 1975 Linda Rondstadt released her own cover of the title track.

The album cover was also another concept with the band, with friends Jackson Browne and JD Souther dressed as Wild West outlaws. The cover photography was shot by the legendary Henry Diltz. On release it was somewhat of a flop, despite the critical success, and remains their least commercially successful album. The classic Tequila Sunrise failed to chart in the top 50 on it’s release!

Seeking a harder rock sound for their third album, the band turned to Bill Szymczyk as they moved away from two albums with Glyn Johns. An old friend of Bernie Leadon, Don Felder was invited to play guitar on the track “Good day in Hell.” The band were so impressed with his guitar style (his nickname was ‘fingers’) that he was invited to become a full member the following day. Now the Eagles were five strong.

On the Border (1974)

Recorded in London (back at Olympic Studios) and LA’s The Record Plant, the 1974 ‘On the Border‘ album was to include some rockier numbers including James Dean (left over from the previous album sessions) and Already Gone. However, the ballad ‘Best of My Love’ was the single that deliver their first of 5 US number ones, propelling album sales to 2 x platinum (2,000,000 sales) in the US alone.

One of these Nights (1975)

It was their fourth album, ‘One of these Nightsthat transformed the band into global superstars. This was the album that delivered some of their greatest hits which would fuel their superstardom further very soon. With Don Henley and Glenn Frey starting to take most of the writing credits, the album was to feature the hit singles ‘One of these Nights’, their second chart topper, ‘Lyin’ Eyes’ which almost hit the top spot – and ‘Take it to the Limit’

Eagles - One of these Nights Album
One of these Nights – Album Cover

The instrumental track ‘Journey of the Sorcerer, written by Bernie Leadon seems out of place amongst the other lush tracks but found fame for another generation as the theme song for the BBC’s radio adaptation of Douglas Adam’s Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Bernie left the band in December 1975 after feeling disillusioned by his lack of creative input and the bands direct away from his favoured country music to a more rock sound.

Needing a replacement, the band turned to wild guitarist Joe Walsh, already a known figure in the music world. With a new guitarist and a world tour to complete, the band needed some time to recover and find a new direction for their next studio album.

the Eagles Greatest Hits (1976)

The Eagles Greatest Hits (1971 to 1975) – in a piece of genius inspiration, Asylum’s David Geffen released a greatest hits album, collecting all of the singles and some of the best album tracks from the first four albums.

Despite reservations from the band, Don Felder said the band had not been consulted, and Don Henley was unhappy with album tracks like Desperado being played out of context, the album charted straight in at number 4 achieving number one ranking the following week, staying atop the charts for five weeks.

To date the album has sold almost 41 million copies, making it the second most successful album of all time. Only Michael Jackson’s Thriller has sold more. The album in third position of global best sellers was their follow up album, the 1976 monster that was Hotel California.

Hotel California (1976)

For many, Hotel California is simply the greatest album of all time. Released in December 1976, just five years after the group’s formation, this album encapsulated the highs and the lows of success. In the wonderful 2013 documentary, the history of the Eagles Don Henley said the title song was about a journey from innocence to experience (a theme covered decades later by U2.)

The title single and the album became commercial juggernauts ultimately becoming, to date, the third biggest selling album of all time, surpassing Fleetwood Mac’s rumours that was released just two months later in February 1977.

The Long Run (1979)

How do you top one of the greatest and biggest albums of all time. That was the challenge for the Eagles final studio album in the seventies. Entitled, ‘The Long Run’ this 1979 album found the band physically, “emotionally, spiritually and creatively exhausted” after a long tour of the previous album. The band line up was again changing, Randy Meisner left after a bust up on the tour, replaced by Timothy B. Schmidt who would write and sing on their last single from the album, “I can’t tell you why.”

For me this album feels like a band that have run out of steam, despite still delivering a couple of big hits, almost like they knew the best was behind them. The final song, and my favourite, felt like the end of a chapter. Don Henley sings, about the Sade Cafe (a reference to the the legendary Troubadour club),

“Oh, it seemed like a holy place, protected by amazing grace
And we would sing right out loud, the things we could not say
We thought we could change this world with words like love and freedom
We were part of the lonely crowd inside the Sad Café”

In 1980 the band split. When Henley was asked if the band would ever play together again he responded, “when hell freezes over.”

The band members went their own ways, with Don Henley and Glenn Frey achieving the greatest solo visibility of them all.

After a 1993 covers/tribute album ‘Common Threads: The Songs of the Eagles’ which encouraged Henley, Frey, Felder & Walsh to reunite for a video clip for the lead single. The video shoot went so well they started talking about doing more.

Hell Freezes Over (1994)

Hell Froze Over in 1994 with a new tour, aptly named ‘Hell Freezes Over’ which took them around the world for two years. The tour spawned a live album and a return, of sorts.

In 1998 the band were inducted to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and would return to tour in 2001.

Don Felder was fired from the Eagles in 2001, which resulted in lawsuits and counter suits that would rumble on for a few years.

The release of 2003’s ‘Very Best of the Eagles’ brought the band to the attention of a new generation, selling over 3 million copies.

Long Road out of Eden (2007)

‘Long Road out of Eden‘, the first studio album since 1979 was released, online at first, and would later go on to sell 7 million copies, earning the band another 2 Grammy awards. It was also the last studio album from the band.

As the first decade of the new millennium started, the Eagles concluded the Long Road tour and went quiet until 2013 with another tour supporting the release of their documentary, “History of the Eagles” which is worth watching.

The passing of Glenn Frey in 2016 has not stopped the band from touring sporadically. For the year 2021, the band were the 7th highest grossing live act (the Rolling Stones were top) and with sold out gigs receiving rave reviews we can expect some great shows in 2024.

The Long Goodbye Tour

The band have been touring their Long Goodbye, to great acclaim, since last October. They have just announced some UK Manchester dates for June 2024 so hopefully they’ll come down towards London before too long ? You can read more about the new tour on the official website.

I heartily recommend watching the History of the Eagles Parts 1 & II. Such a wild story!