I suspect many of you will know my top three legends of pop music. We are on the countdown now to my most favourite music artists, making them my 2nd most favourite legends of pop music.
I have enjoyed every one of their singles, purchased most of theirs, sadly, never had the chance to see them live, but regularly watch their concerts on You-Tube.
As before, common to my top 3 legends, they never do a “bad” song and all their album tracks are great, be it their own or a cover.
I have selected some of my favourites, and Vince Gill is on a few of them, I really do think he is perfect for the band.
The band have had their ups and downs and in-fights a plenty, but they always delivered. These days as far as I am aware, they are all drug free, even Joe, the American equivalent of our own Keith Richards. No flies on them, but you can see where they’ve been!
The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles and six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in North America. Founding members Glenn Frey (guitars, vocals), Don Henley (drums, vocals), Bernie Leadon (guitars, vocals), and Randy Meisner (bass guitar, vocals) were recruited by Linda Ronstadt as band members, some touring with her, and all playing on her third solo album, before venturing out on their own on David Geffen’s new Asylum Records label. Their debut album, Eagles (1972), spawned two top-20 singles in the US and Canada: “Take It Easy” and “Witchy Woman“. The next year’s follow-up album, Desperado, peaked at only number 41 in the US, although the song “Desperado” became a popular track. In 1974, guitarist Don Felder joined, and On the Border produced the top 40 hit “Already Gone” and the Eagles’ first number-one song in the US and Canada, “Best of My Love“, which made the top 15 in Australia, their first hit overseas. In 1975, the album One of These Nights became their first number-one album in the US and a top-10 album in many countries. It included the US number-one hit “One of These Nights“, which was their first top-10 hit outside of North America, and US top-five songs “Lyin’ Eyes” and “Take It to the Limit“. Also in 1975, guitarist and vocalist Joe Walsh replaced Leadon.
Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) (1976) is the best-selling album in the United States, with 38 million sold, and primed the public for the late 1976 release of Hotel California, which would sell more than 26 million copies in the US (ranking 3rd all-time for US sales), and more than 32 million copies worldwide. The album yielded two number-one singles in the US and Canada, “New Kid in Town” and “Hotel California“, the latter of which became their only top-10 hit in the United Kingdom, while also reaching the top 10 in New Zealand and many European countries, including number two in France.
Meisner was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit in 1977. The Eagles released their last studio album for nearly 28 years in 1979 with The Long Run, spawning the North American number-one song “Heartache Tonight“, which became their biggest hit in Australia (number 13), and the North American top-10 hits “The Long Run” and “I Can’t Tell You Why“. The Eagles broke up in 1980 but reunited in 1994 for the album Hell Freezes Over, a mix of live and new studio tracks, and toured consistently. In 2007, the Eagles released Long Road Out of Eden, their sixth number-one album in the US, and in 2008 launched the Long Road Out of Eden Tour. In 2013, they began the extended History of the Eagles Tour in conjunction with the documentary release, History of the Eagles. Following Frey’s death in January 2016, the Eagles re-formed in 2017, with Glenn’s son Deacon Frey and Vince Gill sharing lead vocals for Frey’s songs prior to the former’s departure in 2022.
The Eagles are one of the world’s best-selling bands, having sold more than 200 million records, including 100 million sold in US alone. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 and were ranked number 75 on Rolling Stone’s 2004 list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”.
- Current members are:
Don Henley– lead and backing vocals, drums, percussion, rhythm guitar (1971–1980, 1994–2016, 2017–present) - Joe Walsh– lead and rhythm guitars, backing and lead vocals, keyboards (1975–1980, 1994–2016, 2017–present)
- Timothy B. Schmit– bass guitar, backing and lead vocals, harmonica (1977–1980, 1994–2016, 2017–present)
- Vince Gill– rhythm and lead guitars, backing and lead vocals (2017–present)
- Not sure why but Deacon Frey– rhythm and lead guitars, lead and backing vocals from 2017 left this year 2022.
The featured track is of course Hotel California. This version is from an Eagles in concert on 28th Feb 22 in Philadelphia, PA
Eagles – Take It Easy (Live) at The Capital Centre March 1977.
Eagles – Witchy Woman at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on 28th April 2022
Eagles – Peaceful Easy Feeling Live 1974
Here is a good find: First Known Footage of Eagles Debut Performance On Stage Tequila Sunrise – Popgala ’73 The Netherlands.
Eagles – Already Gone 1994 Live New York
Eagles – Best Of My Love – Live at the Capital Centre 1977
Eagles – One of These Nights – Live, 1977 DC
The Eagles – Lyin’ Eyes – (Live at the capital centre 1977)
Eagles New kid in town live at 1977
Eagles – Heartache Tonight Live 1980 – I do like the harmony from Timothy. He should do more lead vocals in my view.
Eagles – Love Will Keep Us Alive Live 1994, with Timothy on lead vocals.
One of my all-time favourites is this one:
Eagles – Take It To The Limit – super performance with Randy on vocals. Probably the song that made him leave, struggling to hit those notes.
Singalong, enjoy and be happy!
Links to previous Legend articles:
Feature image: “Eagles – Hotel California” by Piano Piano! is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
© Phil the ex test manager 2022
