Glenn Frey on the Eagles member who drove the band: “He’s like Duane Allman”
Though members will refute the comparison, when the Eagles first burst onto the scene, they were called The Beatles of America. While for many people, this might seem like a bold claim, their rise to popularity and the way they opened up country rock to the rest of the world was comparable to the Fab Four and their genre-defying approach to music.
Their success was evident from the very start. Once their debut album, Eagles, came out, it was clear that the band had a sound that would stay with people forever, and that has undoubtedly been the case. Even in recent years, as remaining members of the Eagles have embarked on one last tour, they haven’t struggled with selling out arenas, despite it being decades after people were initially exposed to the band.
Glenn Frey became well aware of the band’s influence when they initially split in 1980. Even though the band wasn’t making music anymore, that music still impacted many people and took on a life of its own.
“While the band did break up in 1980, our music continued without us,” he said, “It was becoming increasingly apparent to me that, no matter where I went or what I did, for the rest of my life, I would always be an Eagle.”
There were a number of factors that contributed to the band’s success, but one of the most exciting parts about their music was how much their sound developed over time. As a band that embraced multiple genres, they could lean into different sections of their sound to give fans something new and exciting while expanding on individual elements of their sound.
For instance, once Don Felder joined the band, they expanded upon the rock side of country rock a lot more. On the album Hotel California, fans were given a glimpse of some of the band’s heavier songs that left a lasting impact on fans of rock music. Slash went as far as to say that the album opener, ‘Life In The Fast Lane’, had an “absolutely killer” riff.
Frey once commented on how much of an impact Felder had when he joined the band, going as far as to say he drove the band. “Since we got Felder in the band, we’ve had a much better second half, the rock ‘n’ roll half, in our shows,” he said, “The other part, the vocal-harmony softer part, was always real good, but Felder nails down the harder stuff.”
“He’s like Duane Allman: he drives the band on certain songs,” he continued, “Some slide players, myself included, just slide along with the song, but when Felder plays slide along with the song, but when Felder plays slide he drives the band and the whole thing revolves around him.”
