Eagles

Hardly has it been recorded in the history of music that a group, after 14-years of hibernation, resurfaces in the industry to make an outstanding progress by becoming the pacesetters of country-rock music in North America.

The “Eagles” beat all standards to become one of the best-selling artists with best-selling albums in the 1970s. The Los Angeles band have had magnificent hits that will last incontestably beyond the 20th Century.

Pop/rock was the style of the band and unlike other bands that emerged in their time as teenagers or adolescents coming together to play for the love of music, Eagle’s membership consists of professional musicians that had relocated from different parts of the United States with their bands to Los Angeles, California.

The original line-up of the band included Glenn Lewis Frey (Late), Donald Hugh Henley, Bernie Leadon and Randall Herman Meisner.

The line-up as of this writing consists:

• Joseph Fidler Walsh
• Timothy Bruce Schmit
• Deacon Frey (Glenn Frey’s son)
• Vincent Grant Gill
• Donald Hugh Henley (Don Henley, who is the only consistent founding member of the band)

History/Formation

The birth of this legendary band was in 1971. At that time, some members of the band, Glenn (Late) who played the guitar and was on vocals, Henley on drums, Leadon also on guitars and vocals and Meisner Randy (Bass guitar, vocals) were hired by the retired ten-time-Grammy awards winner, Linda Maria Ronstadt, to play for her band.

The young men had been playing for their separate bands, Shiloh, Longbranch Pennywhistle, Stone Canyon and the Flying Burrito Brothers.

Henley and Glenn on one of their tours made a decision to form their own band while recruiting Leadon after Ronstadt had hired him following a suggestion they made. They informed Meisner and started their own band in mid-1971.

They signed their first management deal in September that year with Asylum Records with business magnate and producer David Geffen. Glenn and Henley had personal contracts with another record label, Amos Records, of which David bought them both out of. David sent them to Aspen, Colorado to grow as a band.

They hadn’t gotten a name by their first show in October 1971 but performed with the name Teen King and Emergencies.

The eponymous debut album of the band was recorded in February 1972 in England and was released on the 1st of June 1972.

The band’s success was promising after they made the Top 40 chart in the US and performed to an audience of about 300,000 fans on April 6, 1974 in Ontario at the California Jam festival.

Their success had not been well established until 1975 when they released One of These Nights on June 10 and the beginning of 1976 when they released their album titled Greatest Hits (1971-1975). This is the album that became the highest-selling album in the 20th century in the US with a total of 29 million copies.

The success streak did not end for the band as they continued to release ground breaking records like Hotel California.

The band faced a few team-relational malfunctions during this period that led to Bernie Leadon leaving the band. He was replaced by Joe Walsh soon after.

They were at the peak of their career soaring like the “Eagle” with millions of their singles and records selling, featuring in magazines such as the Rolling Stone and sweeping Grammy Awards. 

1977 was the last year Meisner was featured with the group and Timothy B. Schmit was made his replacement.

After this, the band took two years to release another album “The Long Run” which critics found less satisfying as compared to their other albums.

The band had a concert based on their single, Seven Bridges Road which also made the Top 40 list in the US. It was after this that the Eagles went silent until their reappearance in the spring of 1994 though each member went on to work on their solo albums.

They toured throughout 1996 and released another album Hell Freezes Over, a multi-million seller. They soldiered on releasing their album Best of the Eagles in 2003 of which Don Fedler was not a part of.

Interesting facts about Eagles

The bands ‘Greatest Hits’ were their first ever album to be certified as Platinum.

Beverly Hills Hotel threatened to sue the band for using a picture of their building for the cover of their Hotel California album without their permission.

They became the first ever band to sell arena tickets for more than $100, setting the pace for other bands to increase their ticket prices.

The band sued the American Eagle Foundation in 2001 for using the phone number (800) 2-EAGLES, the domain name eagles.org and for their label name, American Eagle Records, stating that it was causing confusion. The lawsuit was unsuccessful due to the band’s inability to appear in court on several occasions.  

They were inducted into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame in January 1998 after selling many multi-million and record-setting albums all over the United States.

Brief Conclusion

The band throughout the years have not eased up on their career touring between 2013 and 2015 with their album History of the Eagles till Glenn Frey’s death on January 8, 2016.

Events slowed again after Glenn’s death but his son Deacon, soon revived his father’s legacy and the band’s fame has continued to expand.

This group’s ability to combine their genre of music with their individual instrumental skills and powerful vocals has earned them widespread admiration from music lovers across the world. 

Eagles have been regarded by many as “musical geniuses” and there is no doubt that they have soared high and left an indelible mark on the rock music scene.

Top Eagles’ Songs

• “Already Gone”
• “Best of My Love”
• “Busy Being Fabulous”
• “Get Over It”
• “Heartache Tonight”
• “Hole in the World”
• “Hotel California“
• “How Long”
• “I Can’t Tell You Why”
• “I Don’t Want to Hear Any More”
• “James Dean”
• “King of Hollywood”
• “Learn to Be Still”
• “Life in the Fast Lane”
• “Love Will Keep Us Alive”
• “Lyin’ Eyes”
• “New Kid in Town”
• “No More Cloudy Days”
• “One of These Nights“
• “Outlaw Man”
• “Peaceful Easy Feeling”
• “Please Come Home for Christmas”
• “Seven Bridges Road”
• “Take It Easy“
• “Take It to the Limit”
• “Tequila Sunrise“
• “The Girl from Yesterday”
• “The Long Run”
• “What Do I Do with My Heart”
• “Witchy Woman“