A complete history of the musical group Eagles: biography, line-up, photos and interesting stories

"The Eagles" - one of the biggest and truly iconic rock bands in the history of not only United StatesThe band's concerts attracted thousands of fans at different times. Concerts of the band gathered thousands of fans at different times, compilations and records were sold in millions of copies. A group of talents and the greatest creators was born in the 1970s 20th century. The place of the group's foundation is "City of Angels" (Los Angeles). The main directions in which the Eagles created - country and soft, folk-rock.

In 1976, a collection of the band's hits was compiled and released under the title "Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975". After a while, this compilation brought the performers incredible popularity and love of millions of fans. It became one of the most successful from a commercial point of view. The compilation's circulation totalled 38 million copies. It brought the band fame and money, overtaking Michael Jackson and Britney Spears' best work in terms of copies.

History of creation, composition of the team

The date of the formation of the Eagles 1971. Then 4 of the greatest musicians decided that it was expedient to unite and create a musical rock band. The decision became fateful for all the members of the musical group.

Founders

Randy Meisner, singer and bassist for the Eagles.

The talented Randy was born in Nebraska on 8 March 1946. He moved to the "City of Angels", being a member of another creative collective - "Soul Survivors". Later, the said collective was transformed into "Poor". Randy was one of the members of the team "Poco." (1968), but left the band, wanting to join the Ricky Nelson - "Stone Canyon Band".

Singer, guitarist and mandolinist Bernie Leadon.

Another talented member of the collective is Bernie. He was born in Minnesota on 19 June 1947. He came to the "meeting place" of the future band members in 1967, being one of the members of the collective "Hearst and Flowers". He also worked alongside "Dillard & Clark. and other groups.

Donald Henley - singer and drummer for The Eagles.

The distinguished Henley was born in Texas on 22 July 1947. He came to Los Angeles in the early seventies as a member of the band "Shiloh.".

Vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist Glenn Frey (Glenn Frey)

Glenn was born in Michigan on the 6th of November 1948. He performed in his hometown (Detroit) before moving to Los Angeles. Glenn was able to form a duo due to the talents he possessed "Longbranch Pennywhistle." and release a full-length album in 1969.

They formed the duo with John David Souther, with whom they had worked before founding The Eagles.

Other participants (current composition)

Donald Felder.

He was born on 21 September 1947. He joined the Eagles. in 1974. Directions: solo, rhythm guitar; mandolin, organ, vocals. Left the band in 1980 along with other members, then rejoined at the time of the talent reunion in 1994. Left the band in 2001 due to legal problems and the resulting litigation that took over five years to resolve.

Joe Walsh.

He was born on 20 November 1947. He joined the band in 1975. Directions: lead and rhythm guitar, vocals.

Timothy Schmit.

Born 30 October 1947. He joined the team in 1977. Guitarist, vocalist. The band also features session members.

How it all began

In 1971, Don Henley and Glenn Frye received from Linda RonstadtI was invited to record with Linda, who was a famous performer at the time (she was a country singer, a style that appealed to young boys). Randy and Bernie also had a relationship with Linda: they were musicians on one of her concert tours.

That's how the four talented and truly outstanding founding musicians of The Eagles met. Linda Ronstadt literally brought them together. It was in the summer of 1971 during Disneyland show. The meeting of the young men became fateful for them. After a while, the Eagles reunite to record Linda's new album. This is an important moment in the history of the group. In the autumn of 1971. A contract was signed between the then young and "green" musicians and David Geffen (producer). The contract paved the way for the band to collaborate with "Asylum Records". The label was relatively new at the time, but it brought the musical group great success and popularity.

The Eagles' work

In early 1972, the collective, under the direction of Glyn Jones, a British producer, began to first disc recording. It was in England. In the summer the debut of the musical group took place. The released album entered the top twenty of the most popular and was awarded the gold a year and a few months after its release. The most successful musical works of the album released by the band with the participation of Glyn Jones were the following:

• "Take It Easy."
• "Witchy Woman."
• "Peaceful Easy Feeling."

The Eagles were on tour until early 1973. After a while, they began recording their second album, returning to England. The album was a concept album called "Desperado.". The subject matter was the Wild West. The issue was devoted to the activities of gangsters and gangster groups. It was produced by the same British guy. Glyn Jones. The album released went gold just under two years after its release.

After a tour to coincide with the release of Desperado, the Eagles began discussing with Glynn the possibility and prospects of recording another album. But the negotiations ended unsuccessfully: Glynn was a fan and an ardent a country musicianThe Eagles and Glynn's co-operation was terminated after the recording of the Eagles' recordings. The Eagles and Glynn's co-operation was terminated after the recording of the album, and a conflict of interests and disagreements arose "You Never Cry Like a Lover" and "The Best of My Love.".

After the 1974 tour, the musicians decided to collaborate with the Bill Walsh. They were able to come to an agreement, the producer got busy working on other compositions for the album, which later became the third for the collective. That album was called "On the border.".

It was at this time that the musical collective Don Felder stepped in.He was recommended to the musicians by a new producer. Felder's talents impressed the band members, and they insisted that Don join the Eagles.

The band's third album was best-selling. It was completed in the spring of 1974. At the same time it was released. The album received the gold status in the early summer of the same year. Composition "Already Gone" became so popular that it rapidly entered, literally broke into the Top 20 in June 1974. The success of the single was so overwhelming that in 1975 it topped the so-called "light" charts in February and the pop music chart in March.

In 1975, the musicians released their fourth album. It was called "One of These Nights". Immediately after its release, the album was given a gold status. The record included the popular compositions of "Lyin' Eyes" и "Take it to the Limit". The former won a Grammy in the year her fourth album was released.

Later, the Eagles went on tour around the world. The starting point was the United States, then the band moved on to Europe. In December 1975. Bernie has made a decision about quitting the band. He was replaced by the talented Joe Walsh, who immediately joined the tour. It ended in the East in 1976.

Touring did not give the band an opportunity to continue studio recordings, and the band members had no plans to do so. In 1976 it was decided about the release of a greatest hits compilation. Subsequently, the compilation proved to be the most successful and did not leave the first positions not only in the US charts, but also in the charts of many other countries around the world for a long time.

Released by the band, "Hotel California" became a platinum record in just one week. At the beginning of 1977, it had a circulation of 10 million copies. "New Kid in Town" и "Hotel California" became a hit. The record won a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1977. The disc was nominated for other titles as well. In the spring of 1977 the band went on a new world tour. According to its results Randy made a decision about leaving the Eagles. He was replaced Timothy Schmit.

Work on the sixth album began in the spring of 1978. It continued for over a year. In 1979, the album was released in autumn "Long Run.". "Heartache Tonight" won a Grammy.. On a US tour in 1980, the band recorded a disc of performances.

The beginning of the end

After a tour of the United States the team has stopped creative and musical activities. After two years, the participants made official statement. For the next few years, the musicians received numerous offers to resume their musical careers, but for subjective reasons they turned them down, not wanting to see each other.

Reunion

In the early nineties, Henley and Frye resumed their collaboration, with Walsh and Schmit taking part in the in charity concerts. A few years later, The Eagles started working together again as a full-fledged creative team. In the spring of 1994, the band prepared and recorded the special a concert for "MTV". After that the launch of the tour was announced, which lasted two years until 1996. A little earlier, a musical version of the concert was released, prepared for "MTV". It was called "Hell Freezes Over".

Of note: the collective explained the name by the fact that once upon a time, each of the members imagined a reunion when "hell freezes over."

After another successful performance by the team, its activities "frozen". The Eagles did not appear in front of the public together until early 1998. At that time, they performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Further musical activities

On New Year's Eve in 1999, the Eagles performed at the "Staples Centre." in Los Angeles. In 2000, a recording of the concert was included in the box set "Selected Works: 1982-1999". At this time things were not going well for the band. In February 2001, Felder left the band due to court problems. His case lasted until 2007, at which time it was settled, which has already been noted.

Felder's problems led to "The Eagles became a quartet. They released in 2003 "The Best of The Eagles"The Eagles recorded their seventh album in 2007. In 2007, the Eagles recorded their seventh album, which consisted of two parts. It was called "Long Road Out of Eden" and brought the band success, going multi-platinum. In 2013, a documentary was filmed the film "The Eagles Story". The band announced the start of the tour and was on tour until 2015. Six months later, the collective left Glenn for good. The reason - illness and death.

The band these days

After Glenn's death in 2016, the band started musical activities again in 2017. "Eagles" took an active part in various events, for example, in festivals ("Classic West" and others). In 2018, the start of a new tour was announced. By the end of the year, all the records released by the band were included in a special set called "Legacy.".

2018 also saw a milestone for the band, with the Recording Industry Association of America ("RIAA") recognising the hits compilation as a hit compilation "The Greatest Hits 1971-1975" one of the most commercially successful. According to the RIAA, it became the best-selling compilation in the United States. This created a new wave of excitement around the band.

In 2019, the collective has stated its intention to perform an album "Hotel California" at the MGM Grand Arena in Nevada. Also in 2019, the collective was recognised as one of the highest paid in the world. The corresponding place in the "Forbes" rating is the fourth (earnings of more than 100 million US dollars).