A founding member of the Eagles, Glenn Frey first teamed up with Don Henley in 1970 to tour with Linda Ronstadt. As the tour drew to a close, this two-man nucleus expanded to include Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner and coalesced into the band's original lineup in 1971. The story goes that the band was christened while the four were on a team building peyote binge in the Southwest. Frey pointed to a flock of birds overhead and yelled, "Eagles!"
Over the course of the decade, Frey and the Eagles released six albums and claimed six Grammys. 1998 saw their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 1999, Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) was recognized as the best selling album of the century. During the band's legendary "14-year vacation", Frey launched into a solo career and had success with "The Heat Is On", "You Belong to the City", and my favorite, "Smuggler's Blues". He expanded his CV to include stints on Miami Vice and Wiseguy and on the big screen he played opposite Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire.
With Glenn Frey's death on January 18th of this year, the curtain fell in more ways than one. The fraternity of the Eagles, one of the most storied bands in rockdom, was broken. It was also the end of one of rock's greatest and most creative songwriting collaborations with his band mate, Don Henley.
In 2007, the Eagles's final studio album, Long Road Out of Eden, was released. It hit #1 on the US Billboard 200 and added two more Grammys to the band's collection. This past June, Henley interviewed with Rolling Stone and shared these thoughts on Long Road:
"It's almost as if we knew that record would be our last. But our fans have been wonderful. They've been loyal to the end, and sadly, this is the end. But what a ride... what a crazy, wonderful ride."
Thanks, Glenn, for letting us tag along for that ride.
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