The Eagles (music)
The Eagles are an American rock band formed in 1971, recognized as a leading figure in the country rock genre. The original lineup included Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Randy Meisner, and Bernie Leadon, all of whom had experience in the Los Angeles music scene. Their debut album was released in 1972, and they achieved significant commercial success with subsequent albums, including the iconic "Hotel California" in 1976, which won a Grammy Award and featured multiple hit singles. The band disbanded in 1982 but later reunited in the 1990s, producing new material and touring extensively. The Eagles' music often explores themes of fame, disillusionment, and social critique, garnering both acclaim and criticism over the years. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 and remained active until announcing their final tour, "The Long Goodbye," in 2023. The band's legacy continues to influence artists and resonate with fans worldwide.
The Eagles (music)
IDENTIFICATION American rock-and-roll band
DATE 1971–2023
Although there were country- and folk-influenced precursors such as the Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers, the Eagles came to be identified as the quintessential country rock band and achieved greater commercial success than any American group of their time.
Key Figures
- Glenn Frey(1948–2016), guitarist
- Don Henley (1947- ), drummer
- Randy Meisner (1946–2023), bass player
- Bernie Leadon (1947- ), guitarist
- Timothy B. Schmit(1947- ), bass player
- Don Felder(1947- ), guitarist
- Joe Walsh(1947- ), guitarist
The four original members of the Eagles—guitarist Glenn Frey, drummer Don Henley, bass player Randy Meisner, and guitarist Bernie Leadon—met while playing in Linda Ronstadt’s backup band and left to pursue their own career. Each had credentials playing country music in various Los Angeles bands, and after signing with manager David Geffen, they began recording their first eponymous album with British producer Glynn Johns in 1972. A second album under Johns’s direction, Desperado (1973), earned a second gold record. Seeking a harder sound for On the Border (1974), they switched producers and added another guitarist, Don Felder, to their lineup. The album was their fastest selling to date and also went gold, and their fourth record, One of These Nights (1975), went gold in a month, reached number one on the charts, and produced three top-five hits. Leadon soon left the group and was replaced by guitarist Joe Walsh.
Extensive touring left little time for a new record, so Eagles: Their Greatest Hits, 1971-1975 (1976) was released and became their first platinum album. Also in 1976, they issued what many regard as their best album, Hotel California, which went platinum, had three hit singles, and won the 1977 Grammy Award for Record of the Year. Meisner left and was replaced by Timothy B. Schmidt, and in 1979, they released The Long Run, a much-anticipated but ultimately weak album that still enjoyed considerable commercial success. The group disbanded acrimoniously in 1982, with members pursuing individual careers.
Impact
Opinion about the Eagles and their contribution to popular music remains divided. Their detractors claim that they were country imitators who mastered a commercial formula and exploited their listeners with angst-ridden whining. Their fans and many rock critics contend that they crafted intelligent, sophisticated songs that featured beautiful harmonies and taut production. In an era of singer-songwriters, they were something of an anomaly, a band that fought with and still depended upon collective efforts to produce a signature sound and an identifiable point of view.
Unlike bands of the 1960s, which championed themes of love and optimism, the Eagles offered a wary look at the excesses of fame and celebrity, the absence of genuine affection, and the vapidity of social interaction. Often thoroughly self-conscious, their lyrics were nevertheless penetrating critiques that charted the nation’s growing sense of communal scepticism.
Subsequent Events
The Eagles reformed in 1994 and released Hell Freezes Over, a live retrospective with four new songs, but many agree that they have produced nothing to rival their achievement in the 1970s. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2007, the band (minus Felder) reunited to record new material. The resulting album was titled Long Road Out of Eden. An in-depth documentary of the band, History of the Eagles, was released in 2013. Following Frey's death in January 2016, Henley announced that the band would no longer perform together; however, the remaining members of the Eagles continued to tour into 2020, when they paused due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In 2022, Frey left the group officially to begin a solo career; he continued to appear as a guest at a number of performances. In July 2023, the Eagles announced their final tour, The Long Goodbye Tour. The same month, founding bassist Randy Meisner died at the age of seventy-seven.
In July 2022, three men faced legal charges for allegedly conspiring to sell stolen materials from the Eagles, which included handwritten drafted lyrics of the band's hit song “Hotel California" among other songs from the Hotel California album. Don Henley accused the defendants, Glenn Horowitz, Craig Inciardi, and Edward Kosinski, of attempting to sell stolen property despite knowing of its unethical ownership and of Henley's efforts to recover the materials. The lawsuit went to trial in February 2024.
Following Henley's testimony during the trial, he chose to waive his attorney-client privilege, which had allowed some of his earlier communications with his legal team to remain confidential. Henley's decision necessitated his legal team to submit approximately six thousand pages of evidence to defense lawyers and prosecutors amid the trial. Since the defense did not have the opportunity to utilize the documents during Henley's testimony and cross-examination, a state judge agreed that the delayed emergence of evidence compromised the fairness of the trial. As a result, the judge dismissed the charges against the defendants in early March 2024, two weeks after the trial began.
Bibliography
Crowe, Cameron. “The Eagles: Chips Off the Old Buffalo.” Rolling Stone, vol. 196, 25 Sept. 1975. The Uncool, www.theuncool.com/2013/05/13/the-eagles-rolling-stone-75/. Accessed 28 Aug. 2023.
Einarson, John. Desperados: The Roots of Country Rock. Cooper Square Press, 2001.
Eliot, Marc. To the Limit: The Untold Story of the Eagles. Little, Brown, 1998.
Madani, Doha. "3 Men Charged in Scheme to Sell Stolen Eagles Manuscripts, Including Handwritten ‘Hotel California’ Lyrics." NBC News, 12 July 2022, www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/3-men-charged-scheme-sell-stolen-eagles-manuscripts-handwritten-hotel-rcna37931. Accessed 2 Apr. 2024.
Moynihan, Colin. "Charges Dismissed in ‘Hotel California’ Theft Conspiracy Case." The New York Times, 6 Mar. 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/03/06/nyregion/don-henley-eagles-dismissed.html. Accessed 2 Apr. 2024.
Sisario, Ben. "Eagles Join Parade of Acts on Final Tours With a ‘Long Goodbye.’" The New York Times, 10 July 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/07/06/arts/music/eagles-final-tour.html. Accessed 28 Aug. 2023.
Williams, Alex. "Randy Meisner, a Founding Member of the Eagles, Dies at 77." The New York Times, 29 July 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/07/27/arts/music/randy-meisner-dead.html. Accessed 28 Aug. 2023.