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Eagles are an American rock band that was formed in Los Angeles, California in the early 1970s. With five number-one singles and four number-one albums, the Eagles were among the most successful recording artists of the 1970s. At the end of the 20th century, two of their albums, Eagles: Their Greatest Hits 1971–1975 and Hotel California, ranked among the ten best-selling albums according to the Recording Industry Association of America. The best-selling studio album Hotel California is rated as the 37th album in the Rolling Stone list "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and the band was ranked #75 on Rolling Stone's 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. They are also the best-selling American group ever, with Eagles: Their Greatest Hits 1971–1975 being the best-selling album in the U.S. to date.

The Eagles broke up in 1980 and were disbanded for 14 years, but reunited in 1994 for Hell Freezes Over ("For the record, we never broke up. We just took a fourteen year vacation."). They have toured intermittently since then, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

On February 2, 2007, Don Henley announced in Billboard magazine that a new Eagles studio album will be released "in the next 60 to 90 days."

Formation

The band formed in 1971 when Linda Ronstadt's then-manager, John Boylan, extracted Glenn Frey, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner from their previous affiliations. They were short a drummer until Frey phoned Don Henley, whom he had met at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. The band backed up Ronstadt on a two-month tour then decided to form their own band. The new group chose the name "Eagles" as a nod to The Byrds (Leadon had been in The Flying Burrito Brothers with former Byrds bassist Chris Hillman).

Eagles

Their first album, Eagles, was filled with natural, sometimes innocent country rock, and yielded three Top Forty singles. The leadoff single, "Take It Easy", was a song penned by Glenn Frey's friend, neighbor and fellow country rocker, Jackson Browne. Frey heard him playing it and asked if the Eagles could use it. Brown agreed and with a few lyrics added in by Frey, the song was recorded and became a classic, reaching #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and propelling the Eagles to stardom. The single was followed by the bluesy "Witchy Woman" and the soft country rock ballad "Peaceful Easy Feeling"; charting #9 and #22 respectively. Eagles were a major force in popularizing the southern California country rock sound around the nation. Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" ranked Eagles at #374.

Desperado

Their second album, Desperado, was themed on Old West outlaws and introduced the group's penchant for conceptual songwriting. Throughout the album, the story of the notorious Wild West gang, the Doolin-Dalton gang was the main focus, like in the songs, "Doolin-Dalton", "Bittercreek", "Desperado" and "Doolin-Dalton/Desperado". The album wasn't as successful as the first, reaching only #41 on the U.S. pop album charts. Although it yielded the classic "Tequila Sunrise" and "Desperado", the former struggled on the Billboard Hot 100, only reaching #64, while the latter was actually never released as a single. The only other single from the album was "Outlaw Man", which became the highest charting single from Desperado, reaching #59 on the charts. "Desperado" and "Tequila Sunrise" became two of the Eagles' most popular songs, the former commonly being the Eagles' last encore in a concert, while "Outlaw Man" has become an obscure Eagles' A-side. The bluegrass songs, "Twenty-One", "Doolin' Dalton (Instrumental)" and the ballad "Saturday Night" are significant for showcasing guitarist Bernie Leadon's abilities on banjo, fingerpicked guitar and mandolin.

On the Border

The first two albums were produced by Glyn Johns, who previously worked with The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, and The Who. The band wanted to rock, but Johns tended to emphasize the lush side of their double-edged music. On their third album, On the Border, the Eagles' started off with Johns producing, but after completing only two songs, turned to Bill Szymczyk to produce the rest of the album. Szymczyk brought in Don Felder to add slide guitar to a song called "Good Day in Hell", and the band was so impressed that two days later they invited Felder to become the fifth Eagle. He appears on only one other song on the album, the uptempo breakup song "Already Gone", in which he performed the memorable guitar duet with Glenn Frey. On the Border yielded a #1 Billboard single in the song "Best of My Love", which hit the top of the charts on March 1, 1975, becoming the Eagles' first of five chart toppers.

One of These Nights (Leadon leaves)

Their next album, One of These Nights, had an aggressive, sinewy rock stance. The album further displayed the growing strength of the Henley/Frey songwriting team, particularly on the album's title track and the Grammy Award winning "Lyin' Eyes". "One of These Nights" hit #1 on the Billboard chart August 2, 1975. The song itself has often been cited by Frey as his all-time favorite Eagles tune. The album also contains the futuristic sounding instrumental "Journey of the Sorcerer", which is known to many as the theme to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (often surprising Hitchhiker's fans when told that it is an Eagles song). One of These Nights was the first Eagles #1 on the pop album charts. They had reached the summit of rock success, but all was not well with the band internally.

By this time, members of the band had started to fight with each other. Recording and touring had been brutal since the eponymous debut album; tempers were boiling over, and egos were clashing. Between the release of One of These Nights and the subsequent tour, Bernie Leadon left the group, disillusioned with the direction the band's music was taking. They were no longer concentrating on the country rock in which Leadon excelled and the hiring of Don Felder meant that Leadon's role would be significantly diminished. The group quickly replaced Leadon with Joe Walsh, a veteran of such groups as the James Gang and Barnstorm and a solo artist in his own right, in order to continue with their tour schedule.

Meanwhile, in early 1976, Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) was released. It went on to become the best-selling album in U.S. history, selling over 29 million copies to date.

Hotel California (Meisner leaves)

The group's next album, Hotel California, came out in late 1976. "New Kid in Town" was a #1 hit in Billboard on February 26, 1977, and "Hotel California" on May 7, 1977. "Life in the Fast Lane" was also a huge hit, becoming a catchphrase in the process, and established Joe Walsh's position in the band with its more hard-rock sound. The striking, mournful ballad "Wasted Time" closed the first side of the record, while an instrumental reprise of it opened the second side. The album concluded with "The Last Resort", the song Frey, to this day, refers to as Don Henley's greatest work. In all, Hotel California is generally considered to be the band's masterpiece, and has appeared on several lists of the best albums of all time. It is also easily their best-selling studio album, with well over 16 million copies sold to date in the U.S.

During the final leg of the ensuing tour, Randy Meisner decided he had seen enough hotel rooms in his seven years as an Eagle and left the band for the relative quiet of Nebraska to recuperate and begin a solo career. The Eagles replaced Meisner with the man who had succeeded him in Poco, Timothy B. Schmit. The year 1977 saw (what was at the time) the entire Eagles lineup performing instrumental work and backing vocals for Randy Newman's album Little Criminals. However, the album credits them as individual performers rather than as the Eagles, possibly to avoid a contract dispute with the Eagles' record label.

The Long Run

In February 1979, the Eagles went into the studio to produce their final studio album, The Long Run. The album took two years to make, but yielded the group's fifth and last #1 single in Billboard, "Heartache Tonight" (November 10, 1979). The tour to promote the album intensified personality differences between band members, made worse on the night of November 21, 1979, when Henley was arrested for cocaine, quaalude, and marijuana possession after a nude 16-year-old prostitute had drug-related seizures in a hotel room. Henley was subsequently charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. In addition, Glenn Frey and Don Felder had to be separated by police and fellow band members backstage at a 1980 fundraising concert for California Senator Alan Cranston. Frey claimed he confronted Felder after he heard him insult Senator Cranston under his breath.

Break-up

The tour ended on July 31, 1980, in Long Beach, California, when tempers boiled over into what Bill Szymczyk memorably described as "The Long Night At Wrong Beach." Frey and Felder spent the entire show describing to each other the beating each planned to administer backstage — "Only three more songs until I kick your ass, pal," Frey recalls Felder telling him near the end of the band's set. Felder recalls Frey making a similar threat to him just as they began to sing "The Best Of My Love." As soon as the show was over, mayhem broke out. Frey launched an assault on Felder, who protected himself with his guitar. Within seconds, the rest of the band had joined in. A dozen roadies then pulled apart the warring factions.

It appeared to be the end of the Eagles, although the band still owed Warners a live record from the tour. Eagles Live (released in November 1980) was mixed by Frey and Henley on opposite coasts — the two decided they couldn't bear to be in the same state, let alone the same studio, and as Bill Szymczyk put it, the record's perfect three-part harmonies were fixed "courtesy of Federal Express." With credits that listed no fewer than five attorneys, the album's liner notes simply said, "Thank you and goodnight."

After the Eagles

After the breakup of the Eagles, each ex-member tried his hand in a solo career. Joe Walsh had already established himself as a solo artist in the 1970s before and during his time with the Eagles, but it was uncharted waters for the others.

Walsh tried continuing his solo career, which included the hits, 1973's "Rocky Mountain Way" and 1978's "Life's Been Good", but found hits hard to come by after the breakup. 1981's album, There Goes the Neighborhood was considerably successful, but successive albums throughout the 1980s, such as Got Any Gum? proved to be mediocre. During this time he also performed as a session musician for Dan Fogelberg, Steve Winwood and Emerson, Lake and Palmer, among others, and produced and co-wrote Ringo Starr's "Old Wave" album.

Don Henley turned out to have the greatest solo success of the five during this period. In 1982 he released the well-received I Can't Stand Still, featuring the hit "Dirty Laundry". He then released a single, the duet with Stevie Nicks, "Leather and Lace". The first album paled in comparison, though, to his next release: 1984's smash, Building the Perfect Beast. Off of this album came the Hot 100 #5 hit and classic rock radio staple, "Boys of Summer". It also yielded the #9 hit, "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" and "Sunset Grill". He wouldn't release another album for five years, when 1989's The End of the Innocence was released. This album was also a major success including the hits, "The End of the Innocence" and "The Heart of the Matter". His solo career was cut short however because of a contract dispute with his record company which was not resolved until the Eagles reunited in 1994.

Glenn Frey also found solo success in the 1980s. In 1982, he released his first album, No Fun Aloud, which spawned the #14 hit, "The One You Love". He followed up this album with 1984's The Allnighter, which featured the #20 hit, "Sexy Girl". He scored a #2 hit with "The Heat Is On", from the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack. He had another song stall at #2 in 1985 with "You Belong to the City" from the smash hit, Miami Vice soundtrack, which featured another Frey song, "Smuggler's Blues". He also contributed the songs "Flip City" to the Ghostbusters II soundtrack, and "Part of Me, Part of You" to the soundtrack for Thelma and Louise.

In 1982, former rock writer turned filmmaker Cameron Crowe saw his first screenplay turn into a feature length movie, Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Crowe was a fan and had written about The Eagles in one of his articles, and as a result, Henley, Walsh, Schmit, and Felder all contributed solo songs to the film's soundtrack.

Reunion and resumption

Hell Freezes Over

Thirteen years after the breakup, an Eagles country tribute album titled Common Thread: The Songs of The Eagles was released (1993). Travis Tritt insisted on having the Long Run-era Eagles in his video for "Take It Easy", and they complied. After the "Take It Easy" video was completed the following year, the band reunited after years of public speculation that they would. The personnel were the five Long Run-era members — Frey, Henley, Walsh, Felder and Schmit — supplemented by additional players on stage. "We never broke up, we just took a 14-year vacation," announced Frey at the taping of their first live performance in April 1994. The ensuing tour spawned a live album titled Hell Freezes Over (named for Henley's recurring statement that the group would get back together when hell freezes over) which debuted at #1 on the Billboard chart, and two new singles — "Get Over It" and "Love Will Keep Us Alive" which both became top 40 hits. The album itself proved as successful as the reunion tour selling 6 million copies in the US alone. While the tour was briefly interrupted in late 1994 due to Frey's serious recurrence of diverticulitis, it resumed in 1995 and continued into 1996.

In 1998, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. During the induction ceremony, Frey, Henley, Felder, Walsh, and Schmit performed together, and former members Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner rejoined the band for the performance, where the band played "Take It Easy" and "Hotel California". Several subsequent reunion tours would follow (without Leadon or Meisner), notable for their record-setting ticket prices.

The New millenium

Like most bands looking for a gig on December 31, 1999, the Eagles sought out to perform at the Staples Center in Los Angeles for what many (at the time) believed would be their final ever appearance together. The concert is remembered as being one of the best live shows the reunited band ever performed, and was one of the most successful of all 12/31/99 concerts. This concert would mark the last time Don Felder played with the band and these shows (including a planned release of the video) would form a large part of the lawsuit that Felder filed against his former band mates. Interestingly enough, even though the shows say they were recorded during the December 31st show, some of them are obviously from previous Las Vegas engagements earlier in the week. Henley denied this in an online chat, however perhaps the recording of "All She Wants to Do is Dance" was from Vegas because Don inserted the line "...and gamble" after the title phrase.

The concert was eventually released on CD as part of the four-disc Selected Works: 1972-1999 box set, which was released in November 2000. Along with the Millenium concert, the set included the band's hit singles, album tracks, as well as outtakes from The Long Run sessions. Selected Works sold approximately 267,000 copies at about $60 apiece.

Don Felder sues the Eagles

On February 6, 2001, Don Felder was fired from the Eagles. Felder responded by filing two lawsuits against "Eagles, Ltd., a California corporation; Don Henley, an individual; Glenn Frey, an individual; and Does 1-50", alleging wrongful termination, breach of implied-in-fact contract, and breach of fiduciary duty, reportedly seeking $50,000,000 in damages.

In his latter complaint, Felder alleged that from the 1994 Hell Freezes Over tour onward, Henley and Frey had "...insisted that they each receive a higher percentage of the band's profits...", whereas the money had previously been split in five equal portions. Felder also accused them of coercing him into signing an agreement under which Henley and Frey would receive three times as much of the Selected Works: 1972-1999 proceeds than Felder.

On behalf of his clients Henley and Frey, attorney Daniel M. Petrocelli stated:

felt, creatively — chemistry-wise and performance-wise — that he should no longer be part of the band.... They removed him, and they had every legal right to do so. This has been happening with rock 'n' roll bands since day one.

It was also reported that Don Felder usually did not agree with the rest of the band as far as touring or recording schedules. The rest of the band members wanted the freedom to tour or record as they wanted on their own terms.

Henley and Frey then counter-sued Felder for breach of contract, alleging that Felder had written and attempted to sell the rights to a "tell-all" book. No such book has been published.

On January 23, 2002, the Los Angeles County Court consolidated the two complaints. The case was dismissed on May 8, 2007 after being settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.

"Hole in the World"

In 2003 the Eagles released a new greatest hits album The Very Best of the Eagles. The 2-disc compilation was the first that encompassed their entire career, from Eagles to The Long Run (The band's previous compilations, Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) and Eagles Greatest Hits, Vol. 2, only covered portions of their career). The album also included a new single, the September 11-themed "Hole in the World." The album debuted at number 3 on the Billboard charts and eventually gained triple platinum status.

Also in 2003, Warren Zevon, a friend of the Eagles, began work on his final album, The Wind. Henley, Walsh, and Schmit would give instrumental and vocal assistance to the album.

On June 14, 2005, the Eagles released a new 2-DVD set titled Eagles Farewell Tour I: Live from Melbourne featuring two new songs: Glenn Frey's "No More Cloudy Days" and Joe Walsh's "One Day at a Time". A special edition 2006 release exclusive to Wal-Mart and affiliated stores also included a bonus audio CD with three new songs, a studio version of "No More Cloudy Days" plus "Fast Company" and "Do Something".

The Long Road to Eden

As of 2006 the Eagles consist of Frey, Henley, Walsh, and Schmit. On their "Farewell Tour I" they are supplemented by eight additional players: a drummer/percussionist (Scott Crago), guitarist Steuart Smith (to play Felder's parts), two keyboard players (Michael Thompson and Will Hollis), and a four-person horn section (Al Garth, Bill Armstrong, Chris Mostert and Greg Smith) that can also play violin and additional percussion. The band toured Europe in the summer of 2006. In May 2006 the Eagles were interviewed for a 2-hour BBC radio special about their careers, with specifics about each of their albums, and a look to the future.

A new Eagles album — their first new studio album since 1979 — expected to be titled The Long Road To Eden, has been reportedly in production for several years. In an August 2006 interview, Joe Walsh predicted a 2007 release. In a private concert held at the end of January 2007, Don Henley reported that the album would be released "in 60 to 90 days, if it doesn't kill us first." On the 8th of June at Borgata Casino, New Jersey Don said he'd be in AC another night and then head back to LA to finish up the Eagles album. He thought for a second and then said that it would be out on October 30th and no one would be happier than they would. It has also been reported that the new album like the Live DVD set would also be exclusive and only available at Wal-Mart stores.

Band members

Line-ups

Awards

• Eagles have won four Grammy awards:
  • (1975) Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus: "Lyin' Eyes"
  • (1977) Record of the Year: "Hotel California" (single)
  • (1977) Best Arrangement for Voices: "New Kid in Town"
  • (1979) Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group: "Heartache Tonight"
• The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
• On December 7, 1999 the Recording Industry of America honored the group with the Best Selling Album of the Century for Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975).
• Eagles were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001.

Discography

US chart positions are Billboard Hot 100 unless otherwise noted.

Studio albums

1. Eagles (June 1, 1972) (Platinum)
2. Desperado (April 17, 1973) (2x Platinum)
3. On the Border (March 22, 1974) (2x Platinum)
4. One of These Nights (June 10, 1975) (4x Platinum)
5. Hotel California (December 8, 1976) (16x Platinum)
6. The Long Run (September 24, 1979) (7x Platinum)
7. Eagles Bonus CD from Live in Melbourne (December 3, 2006)
8. The Long Road to Eden (October 30, 2007)

Live albums

1. Eagles Live (November 7, 1980) (7x Platinum)
2. Hell Freezes Over (November 8, 1994) (8x Platinum)

Compilation albums

• 1976 Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) #1 US (29x Platinum), #2 UK
• 1982 The Eagles Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 #52 US (11x Platinum)
• 1984 The Best of the Eagles (European) #8 UK
• 1994 The Very Best of The Eagles (1994) (European) #4 UK
• 2000 Selected Works: 1972-1999 (box set) #109 US (1x Platinum)
• 2001 The Very Best of the Eagles (2001) (European) #3 UK
• 2003 The Very Best of the Eagles (2003) #3 US (3x Platinum), #9 UK (called The Complete Greatest Hits in Europe)
• 2005 Eagles Box Set

Hit singles

† – non album single;
‡ – adult contemporary

References

1. "The Immortals: The First Fifty". Rolling Stone Issue 946. Rolling Stone.
2. RIAA Top 100 Albums (US)
3. http://archives.cnn.com/1999/SHOWBIZ/Music/12/08/eagles/ "Eagles hits album named best-selling of century," December 8,1999, CNN
4. Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums
5. "A Peaceful Easy Feeling," "Detroit Free Press," October 14 2003.
6. As reported by the RIAA .
7. For example, Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of "The RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" lists Hotel California as #37.
8. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/donhenley/biography
9. http://www.eaglesfans.com/info/articles/old_devils.htm
10. http://www.eaglesonlinecentral.com/articles/illness.htm
12. ^ Leeds, Jeff (2002-12-08). "Reborn Eagles Lose Peaceful, Easy Feeling". Los Angeles Times. p. C-1. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
13. Atwood, Brett (2001-02-12). "Eagles Sued by Don Felder Over Dismissal". Yahoo! Music. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
14. TheRockRadio.com .
15. May 2006 BBC interview available at
16. Billboard interview
17. http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/02/01/people.eagles.ap/index.html

See also

• Winslow, Arizona has a unique tribute to the Eagles' song "Take It Easy"
• Best selling music artists (worldwide)
• Best selling music artists in the United States

External links

• Eagles Official Website
• Eagles Official MySpace
• Don Henley Website
• Joe Walsh Website
• Timothy B. Schmit Website
• Bernie Leadon Website
• Cameron Crowe's *Rolling Stone article on the Eagles from 1975

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• Eagles (band)
• Musical groups established in 1971
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• American rock music groups
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees
• 1970s music groups
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