by Michael Bird
Bird’s Eye View
In order to be successful, a musician has to be confident. Rock and roll bands have always been notorious for members having extreme doses of confidence and oversized egos, partnered with greedy, backstabbing behavior. And that’s among the ones who get along.
I recently watched a new documentary titled “History of the Eagles.” Even though this is an official, group-approved release, accompanied by a worldwide tour that is still going strong, the world still knows: the Eagles’ behind-the-scenes dysfunction tops all others.
The group came together organically. Glenn Frey (guitar) and Don Henley (drums) met one another in bar bands, then met up with Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Bob Seger, and others who helped them along. Bernie Leadon (multi-instrumentalist with the Flying Burrito Brothers) and Randy Meisner (bassist for Poco) were looking for a new home, and joined. The Eagles’ first couple of records are landmarks in the country-rock hybrid genre and define the laid-back California sound with which the world would become familiar. By the recording of the third album, Leadon got into a disagreement with Frey over the band’s direction and quit.
Leadon’s friend, Don Felder, joined, and added more of a rock guitar sound to the group. The band had much success and famous after-show parties. The Eagles recruited Joe Walsh from a solo career and the James Gang and became even more rock-oriented with guitar interplay between Walsh and Felder. The band became more successful than ever. Meisner felt the band was straying from its original mission, and did not want to be forced to sing certain songs. Meisner and Frey got into a disagreement and Meisner quit.
Undaunted, the Eagles replaced Meisner with Tim Schmidt, who had replaced Meisner in Poco. The group still sounded good, and the hits kept on coming, but by this point one had to ask – was it still really the Eagles? Technically, with Henley and Frey in the fold, yes, because their song-writing and vocals defined the group’s sound.
The group took a 14-year break, then greed reunited them. A country album was released with covers of Eagles songs; the music world took note of the Eagles contribution. The late-period Eagles reunited to much success, recorded an album and went on tour.
But backstage drama was unfolding, as Frey and Henley forced Felder, Walsh, and Schmit to serve as hired guns, as opposed to being true band members.
Frey and Felder got into one scuffle after another, Felder sued the band, Felder wrote a tell-all book, and … sadly, he became a permanent enemy of the band in which he’d been a part for decades.
I love Don Henley’s voice, but he was revealed as a sourpuss in this movie. Glenn Frey, however, can only politely be described as a complete jerk. Every person who dared to disagree with him was chased out of the band. And today, founding member Bernie Leadon is back in the fold, but in the film appears contractually obligated to only speak well of the gods – Frey and Henley.
The Eagles made some great music of lasting quality; songs we hear every day on the radio. Their style penetrates not only the rock world, but especially, modern country. If you like their music, don’t watch this movie. As rock writer Willie G. Moseley has said, you may want to throw away their latest record in disgust.
