Eagles, The

THE EAGLES

Formed: 1971, Los Angeles, California

Members: Glenn Frey, guitar, keyboards, vocals (born Detroit, Michigan, 6 November 1948); Don Henley, drums, vocals (born Gilmer, Texas, 22 July 1947); Timothy B. Schmit, bass (born Sacramento, California, 30 October 1947); Joe Walsh, guitar, vocals (born Wichita, Kansas, 20 November 1947). Former members: Don Felder, guitar, vocals (born Gainesville, Florida, 21 September 1947); Bernie Leadon, guitar, banjo, mandolin, vocals (born Minneapolis, Minnesota, 19 July 1947); Randy Meisner, bass, guitar, vocals (born Scottsbluff, Nebraska, 8 March 1946).

Genre: Rock, Country Rock

Best-selling album since 1990: Eagles: Hell Freezes Over (1994)

Although the Eagles called it quits as a band in 1980, the enduring popularity of their hit singles and the emergence of classic rock as a force on FM radio led them to reunite in 1994, turning them into a popular act of the 1990s. Like other bands of their era, their reunion brought their aging fans back to concert arenas and introduced the group's repertoire of classic hits to young fans. Their first anthology, Eagles: Their Greatest Hits, 1971–1975 (1976), remains the best-selling rock recording of all time. The band is often characterized as emblematic of the excesses of 1970s corporate rock culture, though the group's lyrics reveal their cynicism about the music business and unrestrained 1970s style self-indulgence.

Early Days in California

The Eagles epitomize the laid-back southern California sound of the early 1970s. Drawing on influences such as Crosby, Stills, and Nash, the Byrds, Poco, and the Flying Burrito Brothers, the Eagles blended country rock's twangy banjos and slide guitars with lush vocals, melodic hard rock, and a pop sensibility. The group formed in 1971 when Don Henley and Glenn Frey left singer Linda Ronstadt's backup band. The duo joined forces with Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner and soon released The Eagles (1972). Two successful singles from that album, "Take It Easy" and "Witchy Woman," quickly established the band on the American charts, where they remained during the course of the 1970s. Other Eagles hits, "Best of My Love," "One of These Nights," "New Kid in Town," and "Hotel California," were all number one singles.

From Country Rock to Coliseums

During the course of its career, the band shed its country rock roots for a harder rock edge. Don Felder was added on electric guitar in 1974 and banjo/mandolin player Leadon was replaced with electric guitar rocker Joe Walsh in 1976. Hotel California (1976), widely regarded as the band's masterpiece, examines the dark side and moral costs of hedonism. Creative and personal tensions within the band delayed the completion of the group's final studio recording, The Long Run (1979). Although the record yielded three successful singles, "Heartache Tonight," "The Long Run," and "I Can't Tell You Why," the band broke up one year later, following the release of a live album. All the band's members pursued solo careers, though only Henley's has been notable.

Since their breakup in 1980, the Eagles' reputation with critics has gradually improved while sales of their albums continue to break records. The titles of several songs such as "Life in the Fast Lane" are part of the American lexicon, and there is increasing nostalgia for the era the band has come to represent. An Eagles tribute album, Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles (1993), including tracks performed by Travis Tritt, Clint Black, and Trisha Yearwood, was a commercial success. The album eventually went to number one on the charts and sold more than 3 million copies in the first six months of its release.

Common Thread 's success led Irving Azoff, an executive at Giant Records, to sell the band on the idea of a reunion, which occurred in 1994. The Eagles's first official reunion appearance took place at MTV's studios and was later broadcast. The group played requests from the audience and unveiled four new songs.

Enduring Success

A tour, "Hell Freezes Over," followed the broadcast, as did an album of the same name. In typical Eagles fashion, the record sold more than 7 million copies within months of its release and the accompanying tour in 1994 and 1995 was wildly successful. Despite support from the public, the Eagles have never been a favorite of rock critics. The little critical response generated by the reunion album described it largely as a transparent effort to make cash. The record contains only four new Eagles songs alongside updated versions of their biggest hits, such as "Hotel California" and "Tequila Sunrise." Former band members, such as Meisner, claimed the group re-recorded their classic hits to cheat former members out of royalties. The group's concerts also attracted attention when tour organizers charged and received $115 per ticket, as a means, they claimed, to deter ticket scalpers. Cameron Crowe, a former rock journalist who wrote a Rolling Stone cover story on the Eagles in 1975, seems, in part, to have based his screenplay of the popular film Almost Famous (2000) on his longtime friendship with the band.

The Eagles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Their brief performance at the induction ceremony included all current and former members of the group. Fittingly, the band (this time Felder, Frey, Henley, Schmit, and Walsh) closed the twentieth century with a New Year's Eve show at Staples Center in Los Angeles. A recording of the concert was included as part of a three-disc retrospective, Eagles 1972–1999: Selected Works (2000). In 2002 Felder was suddenly fired from the band and promptly sued his former band for damages. Remaining members planned to release a new studio album in 2003.

The Eagles' reunion album and tour were major events for their legions of fans. It remains clear, however, to critics and to members of the band that their creative peak reached its zenith in 1976 with the release of Hotel California. Eagles members, such as Henley, focus their energy on solo efforts and are content to play the band's classic hits to appreciative crowds during summer reunion tours. The band's impact on American and international popular culture has not lessened since their heyday.

SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY:

Eagles (Asylum, 1972); Desperado (Asylum, 1973); On the Border (Asylum, 1974); One of These Nights (Asylum, 1975); Eagles: Their Greatest Hits, 1971–1975 (Asylum, 1976); Hotel California (Asylum, 1976); The Long Run (Asylum, 1979); Eagles Live (Asylum, 1980); Eagles Greatest Hits, Volume 2 (Asylum, 1982); Hell Freezes Over (Geffen, 1994); Eagles 1972–1999: Selected Works (Elektra/Asylum, 2000).

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

M. Shapiro, The Long Run: The Story of the Eagles (London, 1995); M. Eliot, To the Limit: The Untold Story of the Eagles (New York, 1998).

shawn gillen