Eagles break-up explained: What was the final straw?
Not every rock band gets to the big leagues without having a few disagreements along the way. It’s easy for anyone to have that sort of band-of-brothers mentality when they are slogging out in nameless clubs across the world, but there are times when people have their egos get the better of them once the money starts rolling in. And when it came to the Eagles’ first major ascent, their disintegration came from everyone in the group trying to be the leader at once.
If there was anyone who was the main leader of the band, it usually came down to both Don Henley and Glenn Frey. Compared to the legends that came before them, they were the Lennon and McCartney of LA country rock, each finishing each other’s sentences when it came time to finish a lyric to songs like ‘Lyin’ Eyes’ or ‘New Kid in Town’. As soon as they were going to release their magnum opus, though, things had already started to take a turn.
Before the band got to work on the next album, they had to deal with Bernie Leadon walking out on the group. He was never used to playing straight-up rock and roll, and since songs like ‘One of These Nights’ were the furthest thing from country music that they had ever gone, he was not going to stick around and watch the band sell out and become millionaires off of songs he didn’t want to play.
They may have had the ultimate upgrade in Joe Walsh, but while Henley and Frey were coming up with the concept for Hotel California, they would become a lot more strict. There was no room for filler on their albums anymore, and no matter how much the band presented themselves as a democracy, the true division of the group came when Don Felder felt betrayed by his bandmates.
So, what was the main problem within the Eagles?
While Henley was clearly the best singer in the group, Felder always wanted to have a chance to sing with his bandmates. Their entire calling card was being able to blend their voices perfectly, but when it came time for Felder to sing ‘Victim of Love’ on Hotel California, the band started to get cold feet, eventually convincing their manager to take the guitarist out to dinner while they stayed behind at the studio and laid down a version with Henley singing.
It was a backstabbing moment for sure, but Henley felt that the only way for them to move forward was for everyone to understand their role in the group, saying, “As long as people understand what they do best, and are content to do that, then everything’s fine, but when every guy in the band wants to be everything, then things start to disintegrate.”
That kind of diss might be a massive hit to one’s ego, but Felder found the time to get over it when working on the tour. There was always the next album to look forward to, but after everyone crawled their way through The Long Run, they were creatively fried, and when they finally took to the road, Felder made the grave mistake of running his mouth too much before one of their shows.
What was the final straw for the band?
During a benefit gig for Senator Alan Cranston, Felder had taken issue with playing a show he wasn’t getting paid for. As the politician went over to the band to thank them for performing, Felder’s reply of ‘You’re welcome, I guess,’ was enough to send Frey into a blinding rage, eventually returning to the backstage area and smashing a beer bottle in the dressing room before going onstage.
All of the fake smiles persisted throughout the gig, but listening to the audio between songs, it was clear that Frey and Felder were at each other’s throats. Many people couldn’t hear it through the crowd noise, but in the isolated audio, it’s easy to hear them going back and forth, with Felder complaining about not getting paid and Frey threatening to kick his ass after the gig was finished.
The night didn’t end in fisticuffs, but as Felder fled off in his car after the show, it was clear that the band was dead, with Timothy B. Schmit later calling Frey and being told everything was over. The group may have gone out with a whimper instead of a proper bang, but it’s better to have had the music they made in their prime.
