One of the sad aspects of growing old is that the people whose music was an important part of my youth keep dying. In the past year or so, we’ve lost too many. B.B. King and Alan Toussaint. Yes founder Chris Squire (Rick, I’m sorry I never posted that tribute you wanted). Billy Joe Royal. The Easybeats’ Stevie Wright. Three Dog Night’s Cory Wells and Jimmy Greenspoon. Just recently, David Bowie.
And today, the Eagles’ Glenn Frey. Don Henley released a wonderful tribute to his friend and bandmate:
“He was like a brother to me; we were family, and like most families, there was some dysfunction. But, the bond we forged 45 years ago was never broken, even during the 14 years that the Eagles were dissolved. We were two young men who made the pilgrimage to Los Angeles with the same dream: to make our mark in the music industry — and with perseverance, a deep love of music, our alliance with other great musicians and our manager, Irving Azoff, we built something that has lasted longer than anyone could have dreamed. But, Glenn was the one who started it all. He was the spark plug, the man with the plan. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of popular music and a work ethic that wouldn’t quit. He was funny, bullheaded, mercurial, generous, deeply talented and driven. He loved is wife and kids more than anything. We are all in a state of shock, disbelief and profound sorrow. We brought our two-year ‘History of the Eagles Tour’ to a triumphant close at the end of July and now he is gone. I’m not sure I believe in fate, but I know that crossing paths with Glenn Lewis Frey in 1970 changed my life forever, and it eventually had an impact on the lives of millions of other people all over the planet. It will be very strange going forward in a world without him in it. But, I will be grateful, every day, that he was in my life. Rest in peace, my brother. You did what you set out to do, and then some.”
A lot of people have forgotten (or are too young to know) that the Eagles began as the backup band for Linda Ronstadt.
One of the best concerts I ever saw was the Eagles playing in a great big field on a farm in East Tennessee somewhere, with a “quadrophonic” sound setup: four giant speaker towers at the four corners of the audience area. IIRC, that was in the summer of 1974, because the playlist was mostly from Desperado and On the Border (my two favorite Eagles albums). The opening act was Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, which sounds inappropriate genre-wise, but it actually worked quite well.
Goodbye, Glenn. You’ll be missed. But you’ve left us with a marvelous legacy.