The Eagles
For Jennifer, modern-day Eagles fan...
Eagles I (1971 - 1974)
  • Glenn Frey - guitar/vocals - b. Glenn Lewis Frey, November 6, 1948, Detroit, Michigan, USA - formerly with The Mushrooms, The Four of Us, The Subterraneans, The Heavy Metal Kids, Bo Diddley's backup band, Longbranch Pennywhistle (with John David Souther), and Linda Ronstadt's backup band.
  • Don Henley - drums/vocals - b. Donald Hugh Henley, July 22, 1947, Gilmer, Texas, USA - formerly with The Speeds/Four Speeds, Felicity, Shiloh (with guitarist Al Perkins) and in Linda Ronstadt's backup band.
  • Randy Meisner - bass/vocals - b. Randall Herman Meisner, March 8, 1946, Scottsbluff, Nebraska, USA - formerly with The Soul Survivors, The Dynamics, The Poor, Poco, Rick Nelson's Stone Canyon Band, and Linda Ronstadt's backup band.
  • Bernie Leadon - guitar/vocals - b. July 19, 1947, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA - formerly with The Scottsville Squirrel Barkers, Hearts and Flowers, The Flying Burrito Brothers, The Dillard & Clark Expedition, and Linda Ronstadt's backup band.
Albums:
  1. "Eagles" (1972) - Singles: "Take It Easy" b/w "Get You in the Mood", "Witchy Woman" b/w "Early Bird", "Peaceful Easy Feeling" b/w "Tryin'"
  2. "Desperado" (1973) - Singles: "Tequila Sunrise" b/w "Twenty-One", "Outlaw Man" b/w "Certain Kind of Fool"
Eagles II (1974 - 1975) Albums:
  1. "On the Border" (1974) - Singles: "James Dean" b/w "Good Day In Hell", "Already Gone" b/w "Is It True?", "Best of My Love" b/w "Ol' 55"
  2. "One of These Nights" (1975) - Singles: "One of These Nights" b/w "Visions", "Lyin' Eyes" b/w "Too Many Hands", "Take It to the Limit" b/w "After the Thrill Is Gone"
Bernie Leadon leaves to form the Bernie Leadon - Michael Georgiades Band, and later became Nashville session musician; later joined The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and formed Run-C&W country band with Russell Smith (ex-Amazing Rhythm Aces). 
Eagles III (1975 - 1977) Album:
  1. "Hotel California" (1976) - Singles: "New Kid in Town" b/w "Victim of Love", "Hotel California" b/w "Pretty Maids All In A Row", "Life in the Fast Lane" b/w "The Last Resort"
Single: "Please Come Home For Christmas" b/w "Funky New Year"
Following "Hotel California", Randy Meisner went solo, toured with the Silveradoes in 1981, was a member of the Poco reunion in 1989-1990, in the 1990's was a member of Black Tie with Billy Swan and James Griffin (ex-Bread), and later joined The World Classic Rockers.
Eagles IV (1977 - 1980 Split; Reformed in 1994 - 2005) Albums:
  1. "The Long Run" (1979) - Singles: "Heartache Tonight" b/w "Teenage Jail", "The Long Run" b/w "The Disco Strangler", "I Can't Tell You Why" b/w "The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks"
  2. "Eagles Live" (1980) - Single: "Seven Bridges Road" b/w "The Long Run"
  3. "Hell Freezes Over" (1994) - Singles: "Get Over It" b/w "Get Over It (Live)", "Learn To Be Still" b/w "Hotel California (Live)" and "Wasted Time (Live)"
Compilations:
  1. "Their Greatest Hits" (1975)
  2. "Greatest Hits Volume 2" (1982)
  3. "Best of Eagles" (1985)
  4. "Selected Works: 1972-1999" (4-CD box set) (2000) - I have to admit that I am really annoyed with this compilation, which includes no bonus tracks of substance (other than the previously-unavailable-on-CD "Please Come Home For Christmas" and "Funky New Year"), presents Eagles songs in a jumbled and disjointed order, and fails to include some of my favorite tracks (e.g., "Bitter Creek", "My Man", the studio version of "'Ol 55", etc.)...and what's the point of including the worthless "Long Run Leftovers" and "Random Victims Part 3", especially while omitting other great tunes?  I refused to buy this.
  5. "The Very Best Of Eagles" (2-CDs) (2003)
  6. "Eagles" (9-CD box set) (2005)
Glenn Frey solo:
  1. "No Fun Aloud" (1982) - Singles: "I Found Somebody" b/w "She Can't Let Go", "The One You Love", "All Those Lies"
  2. "The Allnighter" (1984) - Singles: "Sexy Girl", The Allnighter", "Smuggler's Blues"
  3. "Soul Searchin'" (1988) - Singles: "True Love", "Soul Searchin'", "Livin' Right"
  4. "Strange Weather: Live In Dublin" (1992)
  5. "Glenn Frey Live" (1993)
  6. "Solo Collection" (1995) - Singles (not previously released): "The Heat Is On", "You Belong To The City", "Part of Me, Part of You"
  7. "20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best Of Glenn Frey" (2000)
Don Henley solo:
  1. "I Can't Stand Still" (1982) - Singles: "Johnny Can't Read" b/w "Long Way Home", "Nobody's Business" b/w "Long Way Home", "Dirty Laundry" b/w "Lilah", "I Can't Stand Still" b/w "Them and Us"
  2. "Building the Perfect Beast" (1984) - Single: "The Boys of Summer" b/w "A Month of Sundays", "All She Wants To Do Is Dance", "Not Enough Love In The World", "Sunset Grill"
  3. "The End of the Innocence" (1989) - Singles: "The End of the Innocence", "The Last Worthless Evening", "The Heart of the Matter", "How Bad Do You Want It?", "New York Minute"
  4. "Actual Miles: Henley's Greatest Hits" (1995) - Single (not previously released): "The Garden of Allah"
  5. "Inside Job" (2000)
Randy Meisner solo:
  1. "Randy Meisner" (1978)
  2. "One More Song" (1980) - Singles: "Deep Inside My Heart", "Hearts On Fire", "Gotta Get Away"
  3. "Randy Meisner" (1982) - Single: "Never Been In Love"
  4. "Dallas" (live) (2003)
  5. "Love Me Or Leave Me Alone" (2004)
Don Felder solo:
  1. "Airborne" (1983)
DVDs and Videos:
  1. "Hell Freezes Over'" (1990) - DVD - I understand that the title for this concert/tour sprung from a question continually asked of The Eagles after their breakup in 1980 (Q: When will The Eagles get back together?  A: When hell freezes over!!!)  Apparently, it froze over resulting in the release of the excellent "Hell Freezes Over" CD and this DVD concert.  The song list includes: Hotel California (excellent acoustic version), Tequila Sunrise, Help Me Through The Night, The Heart Of The Matter, Love Will Keep Us Alive, Learn To Be Still, Pretty Maids All In A Row, The Girl From Yesterday, Wasted Time, I Can't Tell You Why, New York Minute, The Last Resort, Take It Easy, Life In The Fast Lane, In The City, Get Over It, Desperado, and Seven Bridges Road.  Great performance ... excellent recording and production.  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
  2. "Farewell I Tour: Live From Melbourne" (2005) - DVD - OK, so so it's been ten years since the release of their last concert DVD ("Hell Freezes Over'")and you think maybe these guys are getting too old and need to hang it up?  I don't think so.  This 2-DVD concert recorded live in Melbourne, Australia, in 2004 sparkles throughout, from the band's performance to the video and audio production of the DVDs.  The Eagles represented here include Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit, and Joe Walsh.  There are a LOT of songs here, including a few new ones, and they're not simply rehashes of the set list from the "Hell Freezes Over" tour.  The songs included on this DVD concert are:  The Long Run, New Kid In Town, Wasted Time, Peaceful Easy Feeling, I Can't Tell You Why, One Of These Nights, One Day At A Time, Lyin' Eyes, The Boys Of Summer, In The City, Already Gone, Tequila Sunrise, Love Will Keep Us Alive, No More Cloudy Days, Hole In The World, Take It To The Limit, You Belong To The City, Walk Away, Sunset Grill, Life's Been Good, Dirty Laundry, Funk '49, Heartache Tonight, Life In The Fast Lane, Hotel California, Rocky Mountain Way, All She Wants To Do Is Dance, Take It Easy, and Desperado.  There is a bonus interview on the second DVD.  Although I was disappointed that Don Felder was not in the lineup for this concert, Steuart Smith does a great job filling in.  Additional musicians include Will Hollis (keyboards and vocals), Michael Thompson (keyboards, accordian, and vocals), Scott Grago (drums and percussion), and The "Mighty Horns" (Greg Smith, Al Garth, Christian Mostert, and Bill Armstrong).  The addition of horns to Eagles music was very tastefully done, and does not detract from the songs.  Let's all hope there are more "farewell" tours where this came from.  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Books:
  • "DESPERADOS: The Roots of Country Rock" (2001)- by John Einarson; published by Cooper Square Press - Let me say right up front that I have been a big fan of country rock music ever since hearing the "Pickin' Up The Pieces" single from Poco's debut album.  Poco has remained a favorite of mine through the years, although I always believed they were overlooked as a significant influence on popular music into the 1970s and the "new country" movement in the 1990s.  Thankfully, this oversight is corrected by John Einarson in his book, "DESPERADOS: The Roots of Country Rock", which traces the history of country rock's rise in Southern California from the early days in the late 1960s up to The Eagles (unquestionably the most commercially-viable country rock band of all time).  Having previously read one of Mr. Einarson's biographies on The Guess Who, I was anxious to see how he approached my favorite type of music...I was not disappointed.  "DESPERADOS: The Roots of Country Rock" is an intricate tale of musicians struggling to be heard amidst the psychedelic and hard-rock sounds flooding the airwaves at the time...and these early country rockers did make themselves heard...The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Poco, Buffalo Springfield, Clarence White, The Eagles, Michael Nesmith (remember The Monkees?...Nesmith made some great country rock music after that gig was over), The Dillards, Rick Nelson and The Stone Canyon Band, The Dillard and Clark Expedition, Linda Ronstadt, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band...the list could go on and on.  This book covers the early days of country rock from it's beginnings in the late 1960s to the tragic year of 1973 (when the music world lost two country rock pioneers: guitarist-extraordinaire Clarence White and Gram Parsons) and examines the influence this music has had on second-generation country rock bands such as Pure Prairie League and Firefall.  In addition, the impact of these early country rockers on the "new country" music of the 1980s and the "alternative country" movement of the late-1990s and beyond is explored from a "roots" perspective.  This is a tale masterfully woven by Mr. Einarson, based on more than 60 exclusive interviews with the originators and innovators of country rock.  The amount of information and level of detail contained in these 288 pages is astounding, and there are 31 black and white photographs (some of which I've never seen before).  The only improvement that I would recommend is the inclusion of a comprehensive index in the next edition (this would really help in finding information on specific artists).  Even though I've been following country rock music for years, I learned a lot from this book.  The quotes gleaned from Mr. Einarson's interviews during research for this book are particularly helpful in understanding the origin and development of country rock. "DESPERADOS: The Roots of Country Rock" is required reading for all fans of country rock or anyone interested in late-1960s to early-1970s music. Highly recommended.
  • "To The Limit: The Untold Story Of The Eagles" (1998) - by Marc Eliot; published by Little, Brown and Company - If you're a long-time Eagles fan (like me) you've probably heard most of this before.  I enjoyed the read, but it is disappointing that Don Henley was the only Eagle who provided any real input.  Also, I was surprised at all of the in-fighting and dis-harmony with this band during their heyday.  I am really pleased that they were able to get beyond their differences enough to give us those two excellent DVDs.  The information regarding the Eagles management was new to me, and interesting.  All in all, this is an OK book on the Eagles...I'm still waiting on the definitive biography...
Links:
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Date Revised: September 7, 2007
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 by Gary S. Hartman.  All rights reserved.