Eagles (band)

The Eagles are an American country rock band. They were formed in Los Angeles in 1971 and for almost a decade were among the most successful American groups and leading protagonists of the 1970s style known as West Coast music. After several reshuffles, the band developed their own typical Eagles sound with their harmonically precise, polyphonic vocals on the musical basis of country music, folk, bluegrass and rock music. With Hotel California they wrote history and one of the most successful titles in rock history.

Their musical heads, Don Henley and Glenn Frey, played a major role in the band's success. Both were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2000. After sometimes considerable disputes and personal quarrels between the musicians, the Eagles disbanded in 1980. After 14 years of separation, during which individual band members pursued successful solo careers, the group reunited in 1994 with further worldwide releases and tours until the summer of 2015. Since the departure of guitarist Don Felder in 2001, the band consisted of only four regular members.

With Glenn Frey's death in early 2016, the Eagles lost one of their two central figures. Henley then initially ruled out a continuation of the Eagles, but revised this statement in spring 2017 with the announcement of a continued collaboration of the remaining band members with live performances and new material. Glenn Frey was replaced by his son Deacon, and the group was expanded back to a quintet with the addition of Vince Gill.

The group has sold over 200 million records worldwide and has had five number one singles and six number one albums on the US charts. With Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 they released the best-selling album in the USA. In addition to Hotel California, their most successful singles include titles such as New Kid in Town, One of These Nights, Life in the Fast Lane and Heartache Tonight. The Eagles have received six Grammy Awards, five American Music Awards, a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, among others. They are ranked 54th on the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists list. The Eagles gave their last concerts in Europe in 2019.

Style and musical focus

The musical roots of the Eagles lie in different styles, which have found different emphases and characteristics in their implementation depending on the album or individual titles and can therefore also be described as hybrid.

On the one hand, this includes country music with its typical compositional patterns, arrangements, polyphonic vocal parts and preferably acoustic instrumentation, sometimes combined with supplementary stylistic means of bluegrass (banjo, dobro, fiddle). Bernie Leadon in particular, as a former member of the Flying Burrito Brothers and Dillard & Clark, was strongly inclined towards this contemporary form of music, played banjo and dobro excellently himself and uses them accordingly in his titles (e.g. Twenty One, Midnight Flyer). The influence of country music is most evident in the album Desperado, but continues with varying degrees through all productions up to the most recent work Long Road Out of Eden (e.g. How Long).

Although a clear presence of electric guitars could be heard from the beginning and on On the Border with a new producer some borrowings from hard rock were made, One of these Nights worked more with the softer elements of pop music (Lyin' Eyes, Take it to the Limit). An emphasis on the harder stylistic means of rock only prevailed with the departure of Bernie Leadon and the entry of Joe Walsh, also here justified by his musical career and instrumental emphasis, for example, of slide guitar playing. These possibilities led to corresponding compositions and arrangements (e.g. Life in the Fast Lane), partly with musical excursions into rock and roll (Get over It).

The fusion of country and rock music into the country rock of the early 1970s was also pursued by bands and artists such as The Byrds, Crosby, Stills and Nash, The Doobie Brothers, Poco and James Taylor. The geographical similarity of the music's origins and the prevailing attitude to life on the Pacific coast of the USA then also led to the establishment of the term West Coast Music. Nevertheless, the band can hardly be confused with any other of the genre, their sound is individual. This Eagles sound is carried by vocal arrangements - often based on the so-called close harmony - which are still the main reason for the high recognition value of the Eagles. Critics, on the other hand, accuse the group of precisely these perfect productions of being superficial and emotionless. Rolling Stone described the Eagles' sound as a mix of "country-tinged vocal harmonies with hard-rock guitars and lyrics - by turns wistful and romantically oversaturated, yet massively broad and depoliticized, unlike the political rock of the 1960s."

It was not until the new millennium that the band took a critical stance on current political and social issues with titles such as Hole in the World (9/11), No more Walks in the Wood (global forest dieback) or I Dreamed There Was No War, thus leaving their domain of sunny lifestyle and "easy going".

Impact and sustainability

In addition to the influence that the Eagles exerted on traditional country and rock musicians such as Vince Gill or Sheryl Crow, they were among the pioneers of a new generation of country music, the New Country, which established itself from the mid-1980s. Its protagonists, such as Garth Brooks, Clint Black or Trisha Yearwood, oriented themselves more towards the elements of pop music, which - especially in Europe - was clearly more suitable for the masses than the traditional stylistic means of country music.

In general, the Eagles' influence on country musicians was significantly greater than on rock musicians. A corresponding expression of appreciation was the 1993 release of Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles, a tribute album by the leading lights of the new-country scene at the time, including Little Texas, Suzy Bogguss, Tanya Tucker, Lorrie Morgan, and Travis Tritt. The album achieved triple platinum status and is considered a major factor in the band's 1994 reunion process. Moreover, judging by their extraordinary success in terms of record sales, name recognition, viewership, and now decades of existence, the Eagles are at a point where they are already guaranteed a high level of influence per se. Musically, tracks like Take it Easy, Desperado, and Hotel California have long been part of American culture, and renowned artists count the Eagles among their most important influences. Henley and Frey are ranked with rock music's most influential songwriting duos, such as John Lennon/Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger/Keith Richards or Elton John/Bernie Taupin.

Another indication of the Eagles' sustainability is the fact that, at the time of their last major world tour from 2013 to 2015, their œuvre consisted of tracks that were for the most part already over 40 years old. Six of their seven studio albums were produced in the 1970s, and only one dates from the new millennium. Nonetheless, interest in their music continues unabated. J. D. Souther believes that their enduring influence is due in part to the fact that the band continues to write exceptional songs after more than 40 years, and that younger generations want to access the 1970s through the Eagles, which they themselves did not experience.

Rolling Stone listed the Eagles as #75 on its list of the 100 Greatest Musicians of All Time.