The trajectory of rock and roll changed in 1970 when burgeoning singer/songwriters Don Henley and Glenn Frey met for the first time. That night inside Los Angeles’ famed nightclub, The Troubadour, led to the pair forging a creative bond that lasted for decades.
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Learn how Eagles bandmates Henley and Frey came together to write some of rock and roll’s most timeless hits below.
The Beginning
Just months after their first meeting, Henley and Frey joined Linda Ronstadt‘s touring band. While on the road together, the pair toyed with the idea of starting their own group. With Ronstadt’s blessing, they recruited two more musicians from her band—guitarist Bernie Leadon and bassist Randy Meisner—to form the Eagles.
“In those days, we didn’t have enough money to put people in separate rooms, so Glenn and Don were rooming together, and they each discovered the other could sing and was a great songwriter,” Ronstadt told Billboard in 2016. “Glenn used to call Don his secret weapon. He said, ‘I’m gonna do a band with Don. We’re gonna do a band together.’ I said, ‘That’s a great idea.'”
The Eagles released their debut self-titled album in 1972, which spawned the hits “Take It Easy,” “Peaceful Easy Feeling,” and “Witchy Woman.” The band’s celebrated follow-up 1972 LP, Desperado, was the true launching point of Henley and Frey’s co-writing relationship. The concept album, which centered around themes of life in the Wild West, features eight songs penned by the pair, including “Tequila Sunrise” and the record’s rueful title track.
Sudden Success
The next six years were filled with both commercial success and creative challenges for the Eagles. Leadon’s longtime friend Don Felder joined the band while making their rock-forward 1974 album On the Border. Leadon began to frequently clash with Frey over the band’s artistic vision, leading him to depart the band shortly after On the Border’s release. Joe Walsh stepped in as guitarist and debuted on the Eagles’ fifth studio album, Hotel California.
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Certified 26 times platinum by the RIAA, Hotel California offers another treasure trove of Frey and Henley tracks, including “New Kid in Town” and Walsh’s co-write “Life in the Fast Lane.” Their winning streak continued with The Long Run, their 1979 LP that arrived as the band began to tear apart at its seams. Meisner left the group and was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit, who teamed up with Henley and Frey to pen the Top 10 single “I Can’t Tell You Why.”
The rapid-fire success of the Eagles ultimately led the band to embark on an indefinite hiatus in 1980. Both Henley and Frey went on to cultivate their own solo careers but kept their friendship strong.
A New Era
In 1994, the Eagles embarked on a lengthy reunion tour and continued to perform together sporadically over the next decade. Long Road Out of Eden, the band’s first full-length album in 28 years, was released in 2007. Henley and Frey rekindled the songwriting magic that first brought them success during those hectic years in the 1970s, penning six tracks together, including the playful “Busy Being Fabulous.”
The following years were filled with live performances and memorable moments, including the release of their authorized documentary film History of the Eagles. Sadly, that joyful new era of the Eagles’ career came to a sudden halt on January 18, 2016, when Frey died of colitis and pneumonia caused by rheumatoid arthritis.
In the months that followed Frey’s passing, Henley stated that he did not think the remaining Eagles members would ever perform together again. Just one year later, Frey’s son, Deacon, and country hitmaker Vince Gill joined the band and began performing sold-out shows across the U.S.
This new version of the Eagles continues to bring Frey’s songs to life on the live stage. For Henley, it’s the personal and rare creative bond the pair shared that will stay with him forever.
(Photo by Gie Knaeps/Getty Images)
