Every time a member of Eagles quit the band
Like many great bands in history, the Eagles‘ backstory is a litany of fallouts and walkouts. The Los Angeles soft rock legends forged their name in the musical history books for their free and easy melodies, delicate harmonic compositions and epic guitar solos. A sound that rose from the ashes of conflict in what, for listeners, became a sound that embodied every stop in the journey between harmony and tension.
We usually place the band’s creative leaders, Don Henley and Glenn Frey, at the front of the drama. Throughout the band’s tumultuous journey, they have always been the constants and, as the vocalists on most of the Eagles’ discography, a point of creative consistency throughout their work.
Alongside Henley and Frey in the band’s original line-up were Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner. The former’s guitar playing was deeply rooted in country music sensibilities, and frankly, he had no interest in changing that and was averse to Frey’s vision of the Eagles being a band that shapeshifted between the various corners of rock n roll. Frey described Leadon as “one of the greatest country guitar players, but whenever I wrote a rock and roll song, he was the lead guitarist. When Bernie would write a country song, I was supposed to be the lead guitarist, and I wasn’t a country player by any means”.
Frey’s assessment is a more delicate retrospective take on a creative conflict that was fraught with drama. Leadon’s indifference led to multiple studio walkouts before culminating in a beer-pouring disaster that marked the end of his time with the Eagles. As Frey recalled, “I was talking about where we should be doing, here, there, and everywhere. And Bernie comes over and pours a beer over my head and says, ‘You need to chill out, man’”.
Two years later, in ‘77, fellow founding member Randy Meisner left the band. The bass player provided vocals on their track ‘Take It To The Limit’, which featured a stunning high note near the track’s conclusion. While it was a brilliant feature of the song, it was ultimately the source of Meisner’s exit from the band, whose fear of failing to hit them live continued to rile up a creatively uncompromising Frey.
In the middle of their Hotel California tour, Frey and Meisner finally had it out after Meisner flat-out refused to perform it. It signalled the end of Meisner’s six-year stint in the Eagles, replaced by Timothy Schmitt.
With Henley and Frey watching their fellow founders walk out, the band now comprised Joe Walsh and Don Felder, both playing guitar in the band. Both members joined the Eagles in ‘74 and stayed for their first stint until 1980. During the production of what many would consider the band’s opus Hotel California, tensions between Felder, Frey and Henley reached their most climactic as all musicians battled for creative control over the seminal album.
Writing the track for the tune ‘Victim of Love,’ Felder originally sang the track before swapping the vocals for Henley’s when he left the studio. While Felder wore that betrayal and moved on, a seed of tension was sewn, which would eventually culminate in a famous gig at Long Beach.
When Senator Alan Cranston, for whom the show was in benefit, thanked the band for their appearance, Felder snidely responded, “You’re welcome, Senator… I guess.” The comment enraged Frey, leading to an on-stage fight.
As Frey recalls: “So now we’re onstage, and Felder looks back at me and says, ‘Only three more songs till I kick your ass, pal.’ And I’m saying, ‘Great. I can’t wait,’” Frey later recalled. “We’re out there singing ‘Best of My Love,’ but inside, both of us are thinking, ‘As soon as this is over, I’m gonna kill him.’ That was when I knew I had to get out.” True to their word, the bandmates fought backstage, providing the Eagles with the Hollywood ending they deserved in 1980.
While Joe Walsh individually battled with substance abuse, ultimately putting the band’s reunion on ice, he has remained the only constant alongside Frey and Henley since his introduction to the band in ‘74. The line-up of Henley, Frey, Walsh, Schmitt, and Felder fired up the Eagles melody machine again in ‘94 before Felder was once more ousted from the band in 2001 following ongoing legal battles over the Eagles’ royalty payments.
After Glenn Frey’s passing in 2016, the band continued to play live shows, with his son Deacon Frey joining the fold until ‘22.
