The musician Don Henley said “never understood” rock: “He never messed with it”
No one gets big in the rock sphere without their credentials getting called into question. Selling out has always been a dirty word in the world of rock and roll, and no matter how many times bands have cut their teeth in the biggest underground circles, it can all be flushed away if they turn their backs on their audience for a second. The Eagles were never necessarily the most adventurous mainstream rock band, but Don Henley argued that Bernie Leadon never understood rock and roll in the first place.
But Leadon was never looking to join a fully-fledged rock and roll outfit in the first place. His upbringing had been in the world of bluegrass and country music, and the fact that one of his main instruments on record was the banjo made it clear that he didn’t see rock and roll as his first major genre.
He still had a passing love of 1960s rock and roll, though, and when he joined former Byrds acolyte Gram Parsons for The Flyin’ Burrito Brothers, his country-infused guitar style seemed to fit right in. Everything was moving smoothly, but once the group stagnated, Leadon got the call from Henley and Glenn Frey, who were looking to put a band together with different pieces of country and rock.
And for a little while, it managed to work incredibly well. The country bends on ‘Peaceful Easy Feeling’ are some of the highlights of the song, and his instrumental ‘Journey of the Sorcerer’ from One of These Nights is probably one of the biggest creative highlights that he ever made in the Eagles.
Then again, it’s not hard to see where his heart was at when listening to his contributions to their records. ‘Bitter Creek’ from Desperado tended to be a dark bluegrass song by way of rock and roll, and while one could argue that ‘My Man’ sounds like an acoustic Rolling Stones song, it’s a lot closer to George Jones than Mick Jagger.
So when the group decided to part ways, Henley argued that it was over the fact that he didn’t understand what they were doing, saying, “Bernie had bluegrass roots. He’d never really messed with rock and roll guitar, and he never really understood how to get that dirty rock and roll sound. He was just not schooled or programmed in that area. We also knew that Joe [Walsh] was so controlled that he could play the ballads with no problem at all, and a lot of people doubted that.”
By the time they cut ties, Leadon wasn’t too broken up about leaving. He had tried his best to add something to One of These Nights, but considering he threatened to break Glenn Frey’s arm if his song ‘I Wish You Peace’ didn’t get on the record, it’s not like they had the Three Musketeers-style mentality anymore.
No, the rest of the decade was going to be focused on getting Walsh acclimated in the group alongside Don Felder, with Hotel California being the closest to straight-ahead rock that they had ever made. Leadon certainly added magic to the Eagles’ early career, but his departure marked the moment they stopped being a country-rock act and started catering to whatever genre suited the song.
