Eagles cast band
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Over that same timespan the musician also supported Frey and Henley during their respective solo tours. While growing and stretching in artistic ways helps keep the creative spark alive, it also creates challenges in the live setting.
For the Eagles, being able to bring decades worth of dynamic and influential songs to the stage required added musicians.
Impressed by the musician’s impressive acumen, Henley set up a jam session alongside Frey in the hopes of bringing Smith into the Eagles touring band. With five number-one singles and six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in North America.
Founding members-were recruited by Linda Ronstadt as band members, some touring with her, and all playing on her third solo album, before venturing out on their own on David Geffen's new Asylum Records label.
Glenn Frey (guitars, vocals): Born in Detroit, Michigan, on November 6, 1948 and raised in nearby Royal Oak, Frey studied piano at age five, later switched to guitar, and became part of the mid-1960s Detroit rock scene.
He has Irish, English and Scottish ancestry.
Bernie Leadon (guitars, vocals): Born July 19, 1947 In Minneapolis, Minnesota
Randy Meisner (bass guitar, vocals) :Randall Herman Meisner was born in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, the second child and only son of farmers Herman. I’m sure it was.”
He’s released seven solo efforts since, starting in 1984 and most recently in 2022, with Day By Day.
Along the way, he’s successfully battled some health issues. “I’m honored and blessed enough to have contributed to and been a part of a very talented mixture of voices, writing, guitar parts, and production,” he’s said. The musician has enjoyed a similar role with the Eagles, working as the band’s jack-of-all-trades since 2001, including multiple contributions to Long Road Out of Eden.
As one of the most in-demand session musicians in Hollywood, Thompson’s long and impressive resume includes work with many of the biggest names in music.
Eagles Lineup Changes: A Complete Guide
Eagles revolved around the axis of a partnership with Don Henley for most of Glenn Frey's life. As the late great Jimmy Buffett noted when he inducted the Eagles into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, “I was converted instantly into an Eagles fan when I heard ‘Take It Easy’ on the radio.
Since then, he’s been a steady member of the Eagles’ larger faction, appearing on the Hell Freezes Over live LP, the 2003 single “Hole in the World” and the 2007 album Long Road Out of Eden. One of those who auditioned was Scott Crago.
“To fit into a band that’s that big, I don’t think they needed somebody else to come in and compete as being a fifth Eagle, a sixth Eagle,” Crago later recalled in an interview with drumstick company Vic Firth.
“I was the guy just trying to make things OK. I did what I can to keep the peace,” he shared with WBUR public radio, adding, “I think probably the friction was part of the creativity. Meisner left behind three kids he had with his first wife, Jennifer Lee Barton; his second wife, Lana Rae, died from an accidental gunshot in 2016.
Bernie Leadon
Prior to co-founding the Eagles, Bernie Leadon, whom Don Henley has called “one of the greatest country guitar players,” spent time in a number of other bands, including Hearts and Flowers, Dillon & Clark, and the Flying Burrito Brothers.
Here’s a look at the touring members who’ve helped make the band one of rock’s most engaging acts.
John Corey
Corey’s first experience within the Eagles’ orbit came in 1978 when he contributed vocals, guitar and keyboards to the self-titled debut album of former member Randy Meisner.
“I had a bout with throat cancer.… It chipped away at my voice a bit. “Our live show was perfect. “We were two young men who made the pilgrimage to Los Angeles with the same dream: to make our mark in the music industry,” Henley once wrote of his friend and collaborator, “and with perseverance, a deep love of music, our alliance with other great musicians…we built something that has lasted longer than anyone could have dreamed.
His vocal range was astonishing, as is evident on his signature ballad, ‘Take It to the Limit,’” the band said in a released statement. Since his second acrimonious split with the Eagles in 2001, he’s released a string of solo projects, including the song “Heavy Metal (Takin’ a Ride),” which was part of a 1981 animated film of the same name.
He’s chronicled his career’s bumpy history with the band (including some early 2000s lawsuits that were settled out of court) in his 2008 book Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles (1974-2001).
His singles “Hearts On Fire” and “Deep Inside My Heart,” a duet with Kim Carnes, were both minor hits, and he also collaborated with artists such as James Taylor and Dan Fogelberg.
In July 2023, Meisner lost his ongoing battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, passing away at age 77. including Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Hall & Oates, Bob Seger, Stewart Copeland, the Bee Gees, Steve Perry, Phil Collins.
One of his earliest bands was called the Subterraneans, named after Jack Kerouac's novel, and included fellow Dondero High School classmates Doug Edwards (later replaced by Lenny Mintz) on drums, Doug Gunsch and Bill Barnes on guitar, with Jeff Hodge on bass.
Don Henley (drums, vocals): Donald Hugh Henley was born in Gilmer, Texas, and grew up in the small northeast Texas town of Linden.
Walsh has continued to work on his own music through the years, and his last full studio album was 2012’s Analog Man.
Currently, he’s back on the road with the Eagles for their Long Goodbye tour.