Eagles Formation and early releases: 1971–73

Formation and early releases: 1971–73

The Eagles began in early 1971, when Linda Ronstadt and then-manager John Boylan recruited local musicians Glenn Frey and Don Henley for her band.[5] Henley had moved to Los Angeles from Texas with his band Shiloh (produced by Kenny Rogers),[6] and Frey had come from Michigan and formed Longbranch Pennywhistle; they had met in 1970 at The Troubadour in Los Angeles and became acquainted through their mutual record label, Amos Records.[7][8] Randy Meisner, who had been working with Ricky Nelson's backing band, the Stone Canyon Band, and Bernie Leadon, a veteran of the Flying Burrito Brothers, joined Ronstadt's group of performers for her summer tour promoting the Silk Purse album.[5][9]

These four played live together behind Ronstadt only once for a July concert at Disneyland,[5] but all four appeared on her eponymous album.[10] With Ronstadt's blessing, Henley and Frey asked Leadon and Meisner to form a band and they soon signed with Asylum Records, the new label started by David Geffen.[11] The name of the band was first suggested by Leadon during a peyote and tequila-influenced group outing in the Mojave Desert, when he recalled reading about the Hopis' reverence for the eagle.[12] Steve Martin, a friend of the band from their early days at The Troubadour, recounts in his autobiography that he suggested that they should be referred to as "the Eagles", but Frey insists that the group's name is simply "Eagles".[13] Geffen and partner Elliot Roberts initially managed the band; they were later replaced by Irving Azoff.


The group's eponymous debut album was recorded in England in February 1972 with producer Glyn Johns.[5] Released on June 1, 1972, Eagles was a breakthrough success, yielding three Top 40 singles. The first single and lead track, "Take It Easy", was a song written by Frey with his then-neighbor and fellow country-folk rocker Jackson Browne. Browne had written the majority of the song, up until the line "I'm standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona", where he got stalled. Frey added the next line ("It's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford") and Browne carried on to finish the song. The song reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and propelled the Eagles to stardom. The single was followed by the bluesy "Witchy Woman" and the soft country rock ballad "Peaceful Easy Feeling", charting at number 9 and number 22 respectively. Their second album, Desperado, took Old West outlaws for its theme, drawing comparisons between their lifestyles and modern rock stars. This album was the first to showcase the group's penchant for conceptual songwriting. It was during these recording sessions Henley and Frey first began writing together. They co-wrote eight of the album's eleven songs, including "Tequila Sunrise" and "Desperado", two of the group's most popular songs. The bluegrass songs "Twenty-One", "Doolin–Dalton", and the ballad "Saturday Night" showcase guitarist Bernie Leadon's abilities on the banjo, guitar, and mandolin. The story of the notorious Wild West "Doolin–Dalton" gang is the main thematic focus of the album, as seen in the songs "Doolin–Dalton", "Desperado", "Certain Kind of Fool", Outlaw Man", and "Bitter Creek". The album was less successful than the group's first, reaching only number 41 on the US Billboard 200 and yielding two singles, "Tequila Sunrise", which reached number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100 and "Outlaw Man", which peaked at number 59. With Henley and Frey co-writing the bulk of the album—a pattern that would continue for years to come—the album marked a significant change for the band. The pair also began to dominate in terms of leadership; the early assumption had been that Leadon and Meisner as veteran musicians would have a greater influence on the band.[14]
On the Border and One of These Nights: 1974–75

For their next album, On the Border, Henley and Frey wanted the band to break away from the country rock style and move more towards hard rock. The Eagles initially started with Glyn Johns as the producer for this album, but he tended to emphasize the lush side of their double-edged music. After completing only two songs, the band turned to Bill Szymczyk to produce the rest of the album.[15] Szymczyk wanted a harder-edged guitarist for the song "Good Day in Hell" and the band remembered Bernie Leadon's childhood friend Don Felder, a guitarist who had jammed backstage with the band in 1972 when they opened for Yes in Boston.[16][17] Felder had been nicknamed "Fingers" at the jam by Frey, a name that stuck due to his guitar proficiency.[18] In January 1974, Frey called Felder to add slide guitar to the song "Good Day in Hell" and the band was so impressed that they invited him to join the group as the fifth Eagle the next day.[19][20] He appeared on one other song on the album, the uptempo breakup song "Already Gone", on which he performed a guitar duet with Frey. On the Border yielded a number 1 Billboard single ("Best of My Love"), which hit the top of the charts on March 1, 1975. The song was the Eagles' first of five chart toppers. Showcasing the harder edge of the band's new sound with the addition of Felder, "Already Gone" was also successful, reaching number 32 on the charts. The album included a cover version of the Tom Waits song "Ol' '55" and the single "James Dean", which reached number 77 on the charts.

The band played at the California Jam festival in Ontario, California on April 6, 1974. Attracting more than 300,000 fans and billed as "the Woodstock of the West Coast", the festival featured Black Sabbath, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Deep Purple, Earth, Wind & Fire, Seals & Crofts, Black Oak Arkansas, and Rare Earth.[21] Portions of the show were telecast on ABC television in the United States, exposing the Eagles to a wider audience. Felder missed the show when he was called away to attend the birth of his son; Jackson Browne filled in for him on piano and acoustic guitar.[22]

The Eagles released their fourth studio album, One of These Nights, on June 10, 1975. A breakthrough album for the Eagles, making them international superstars, it was the first in a string of four consecutive number 1 albums. The dominant songwriting partnership of Henley and Frey continued on this album. The first single was the title track, which became their second consecutive chart topper. Frey has said it is his all-time favorite Eagles tune.[citation needed] The second single was "Lyin' Eyes", which reached number 2 on the charts and won the band their first Grammy for "Best Pop Performance by a duo or group with vocal". The final single was "Take It to the Limit", written by Meisner, Henley, and Frey and featuring Meisner on lead vocals. The song reached number 4 on the charts and was the Eagles' first single to be certified gold. The band launched a huge worldwide tour in support of the album. "One of These Nights" was nominated for a Grammy award for Album of the Year. It was their last album to feature founding member Bernie Leadon, who left the group in December of that year.[23] Leadon was disillusioned with the direction the band's music was taking, as their sound was moving from his preferred country to rock and roll.[24] Leadon penned two songs for the album, including "I Wish You Peace", written with girlfriend Patti Davis (daughter of California governor Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan). The instrumental "Journey of the Sorcerer" would later be used as the theme music for the BBC's radio and television versions of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Leadon's replacement, officially announced on December 20, 1975, was guitarist, singer, and keyboardist Joe Walsh, who had been a friend of the band for years. He had previously performed with the James Gang, Barnstorm, and as a solo artist; he was also managed by Azoff and used Szymczyk as his record producer.[23] There was some initial concern as to Walsh's ability to fit in with the band, as he was considered too "wild" for the Eagles, especially by Henley.[23] After the departure of Leadon, the Eagles' early country sound almost completely disappeared, with the band employing a harder sound with the addition of Felder and Walsh.

In early 1976, the band released their first compilation album, Their Greatest Hits 1971–1975. The album became the highest-selling album in U.S. history, with more than 29 million copies sold in the U.S. alone and more than 42 million copies worldwide. The album cemented the group's status as the most successful American band of the decade.