Trivia / Eagles

• All-Star Cast: The whole point of making the band was to get people who were incredibly talented and who'd been 'sidelined' in their previous projects (e.g., being in the backing band of a solo artist). So by the time they began, all four of them were proficient writers, singers and instrumentalists who'd been very much in demand by others.
  • All of the members who were incorporated later were also stars in their own right: Felder was a very popular guitarist in the LA area and had been hired by Crosby, Stills & Nash for a tour (an offer he eventually declined in order to join the Eagles). Walsh was already a successful solo artist and guitar hero (with the James Gang) with international popularity, and Schmit had had over a decade of professional experience in Poco and as a session musician before he joined the band.
  • When they were inducted in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, the seven of them played "Take It Easy" and "Hotel California" together. Watching Randy and Tim singing together the famous "Winslow" bit, and watching Bernie, Joe and Felder on guitar at the same time is just out of this world.
• Black Sheep Hit: Not exactly a hit, but "Journey of the Sorcerer" is really different from their usual material (also, count how many times it's mentioned on this page...).
• Breakup Breakout: Don Henley found considerable success as a solo artist in the 1980s following the band's dissolution, scoring four top ten hits between 1982 and 1989.
• Career Resurrection: One of the catalysts for their nineties comeback was the 1993 album Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles, which had various Country Music artists covering Eagles songs, particularly Travis Tritt's request to have the original lineup make a cameo in his video for "Take It Easy". They had a second resurgence in 2007 with the double album Long Road Out of Eden, whose lead single "How Long" won them their first Grammy since 1979.
• Follow the Leader: The list of soft-rock and even country bands who employ heavily layered harmonies is miles long. The band's harmonies were largely influenced by The Beach Boys and The Byrds, naturally.
• Hostility on the Set: Especially towards the end. Glenn Frey had a reputation for being difficult to say the least, and had a hard time getting along with EVERYBODY in the group (from initial producer Glyn Johns to bandmates Bernie Leadon and Don Felder). Even his relationship with Don Henley (who co-founded the group with him and was arguably his biggest ally in the group) was fraying.
  • During the recording of their final original album, The Long Run, Felder at one point told Frey "When this is all over, I'll kick your ass". Months later, late in the band's last concert, with three songs left, Felder looked at Frey, held up three fingers and said "three songs left", to which Frey replied "I can barely wait". Then the two joined for a harmonious rendition of "The Best of My Love". After the show the knock-down drag-out indeed happened, leaving quite a bit of damage in its waking.
  • And then the band still had to do a live album, which required some studio overdubs. Frey and Henley worked from studios on opposite coasts, unable to even be in the same state with each other. The joke was that the Postal Service deserved a producer credit on the ensuing, well-received Eagles Live.
• Real-Life Relative: Deacon Frey, one of the touring members of the band since 2017, is the son of Glenn Frey.
• Real Song Theme Tune: "Journey of the Sorcerer" was used as the theme for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in its various incarnations.
• The Red Stapler: The song "Tequila Sunrise" popularized the namesake cocktail.
• Troubled Production: While at least one member of Fleetwood Mac had an idea for what to do following a big mid-'70s success, none of the Eagles did. That's why it took them three years to record their followup to Hotel California. Appropriately titled The Long Run, it wound up ending the band's classic years.
  • The main problem was songwriting, ironic for a band that at that point included Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit, both of whom had plenty of experience in that field from their previous gigs, in addition to the core group of Don Felder, Glenn Frey and Don Henley. The former was bristled at feeling like he was treated as a "lesser partner" than Frey and Henley and felt less inclined to collaborate, and the latter two recall serious difficulty sitting down and trying to come up with songs that would meet everyone's expectations for something that would top Hotel California. Their friendship took a serious hit, as they too often had some deadline to meet and couldn't really just sit down with each other and talk. Ultimately, plans for a double album were trimmed down to a single disc.
  • The Long Run was nevertheless a commercial success, giving the band three hit singles. Critics were not as pleased, noting the heavy production gloss and wondering what songs the band had discarded during the process. The burnout and stress from the preceding years of almost incessant recording and touring (both involving plenty of cocaine and other drugs) was also catching up to them, much as it also was for The Doobie Brothers on Minute by Minute at the same time. This, predictably led to interpersonal tensions that came out on the ensuing tour. The Eagles were invited to a benefit concert for Democratic California Senator Alan Cranston, whom Frey and Henley were supporting. Don Felder's skepticism with the band's ties with political campaigns came to a head, with Felder remarking to Cranston's wife, "You're welcome—-I guess" as Cranston thanked the Eagles for their help with a speech. This served to anger the other Eagles, Glenn Frey in particular. At the last show in Long Beach, Felder turned to Frey near the end and said "Three more songs and I get to kick your ass," to which Frey rejoined "I can't wait." They then went back to performing, crooning through "The Best of My Love" in perfect harmony.
  • After the tour, Felder left, leading ultimately to litigation that would not be fully resolved until 2007^note In 2008 he told Howard Stern that whenever he tries to reach out to Frey and Henley, he only hears from their lawyers. The Eagles for all intents and purposes had broken up. But:
  • Frey and Henley, barely talking to each other by this point, had to satisfy the band's remaining contractual obligations. They did this by editing tapes of the tour (and some older shows) into the two-disc Eagles Live. However, they turned down an additional $2 million to record two new songs—they just didn't have it in them anymore.
  • Which might be because they not only couldn't stand to be in the same room with each other. They couldn't stand to be in the same state. Frey went to New York, Henley stayed in California, and with producer Bill Szymczyk as a go-between they approved the final mixes (which significantly included performances of two of Walsh's solo hits). The album needed considerable vocal overdubbing (it was probably the most overdubbed live album ever) and Szymczyk later thanked Federal Express for making it possible.
  • Frey and Henley didn't make up for most of the 1980s. While Henley collaborated with just about all of the other former Eagles in side projects throughout his solo career in the 80s, Frey completely severed ties and wanted nothing to do anything related to Eagles, promptly firing long time manager Irving Azoff and changing his style completely. Frey told an interviewer during that time that the band would get back together "when hell freezes over". Which turned out to be just what they called their 1994 reunion album.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The Long Run was supposed to be a double album.
  • A film based on Hotel California (the song) was proposed, but was not made due to a falling out between the band and the would-be director.
• Working Title: "Mexican Reggae" for "Hotel California".

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