RIP Glenn Frey!
More shocking news from the music world: Glenn Frey, founding member of the legendary musical group The Eagles has died!
TMZ is reporting that the single/songwriter has passed away…
Glenn Frey, a founding member and guitarist of the Eagles, has died … TMZ has learned.
Frey had been battling intestinal issues for months and had surgery in November.
Glenn co-wrote and sang most of the Eagles hits, including “Take It Easy,” “Tequila Sunrise,” “Lyin’ Eyes,” and “Heartache Tonight.”
According to TMZ, the singer “had been fighting intestinal issues for awhile but his condition relapsed before the holidays, forcing the Eagles to pull out of their Kennedy Center Honors appearance in December. At the time, the band said he needed major surgery that would require a lengthy recovery.”
Glenn was 67. RIP.
Here is the entire story:
Frey was a founding member of the eagles, and I posted about their “History Of The Eagles” tour I saw last year…
The Eagles…In The Beginning…
They came to personify “California Rock”, even though none of them came from the west coast….their greatest hits collection was the biggest selling album of all time – and as most bands do, they broke up acrimoniously…and now they are back – touring the country, sharing “The History Of The Eagles!”
From the iconic look of the first album to the first hit, “Take It Easy”, the Eagles were pure california rock…with a 70’s look and vibe that made the band famous…
Earlier this year, the band released an amazing 3-hour documentary that looks candidly at the band – internal strife and all…and now, they are on tour!
Here is a review of The Eagles performing on September 20, 2013 at the United Center in Chicago…
The place is packed, of course…a very laid back crowd it seems, but there is an energy coming from the place that is unmistakable…then the lights go down and two spotlights come up on stage….sorry, this setting was not good for photos…
Don Henley and Glenn Frey begin on stage with just guitars, performing “Saturday Night” from the “Desperado” album…they tell a short story about how they would write together sitting like this, leading to the beginning of the band…and then, an amazing thing happens:
Welcome Back Bernie!
Then they introduce Bernie Leadon! For longtime fans of the band, you know he was an original member, and the first to depart acrimoniously…all covered quite honestly in the terrific Eagles documentary the band just released…more on that in a moment.
There he is on the left…Leadon performs “Train Leaves Here This Morning” from the first album.
Then the trio are joined by Timothy B. Schmidt and Joe Walsh. Henley explains that Leadon wrote a killer song that needed lyrics, so they worked together to write “Witchy Woman”, which they then performed as well…
In the course of the first half of the show, they chronologically took the audience through such big hits as “Best Of My Love” and “One Of These Nights”, and Glenn Frey even dedicated a song to “my ex-wife, the plaintiff”…and then the band performed a beautiful version of “Lyin’ Eyes.”
Leadon played banjo as well as many different guitars, and it was really great to see him on stage with the band.
They also performed a number of more obscure songs, such as “Doolin’ Dalton” and the “Doolin Dalton/Desperado reprise” from the end of that album…
After the break, the band came back with a very interesting first song: “Pretty Maids All In A Row”, written by Joe Walsh. Then they tore into a series of hits, like “Heartache Tonight”, “New Kid In Town”, “I Can’t Tell You Why” and “Take It To The Limit”, which they dedicated to original band member Randy Meisner, who they said has been sick recently…he was missed.
Then, Joe Walsh got quite a workout, performing “In The City” and the solo hits “Life’s Been Good” and “Rocky Mountain Way.” Joe was all over the stage, with virtuoso guitar work and a youthful energy that seemed to drive the others.
The musicians backing them were terrific, and got a nice mention individually from Frey before the band tore into a blistering version of “Life IN The Fast Lane.” The crowd was going crazy, singing along with virtually every song.
When the band returned to the stage, Bernie Leadon was with them again…we raced home after the show and watched the documentary again, and Leadon left on very bad terms, so to see him on stage was really great!
Their encores began with “Hotel California”…here is the end of the song: I want to call attention to the amazing guitar work of Joe Walsh….also note of course that the other guitarist is NOT Don Felder, who sued the band a decade ago and no longer performs with them…
Encore! Encore!
After that beautiful rendition of “Hotel California”, the band returned for their signature song – written for them by Jackson Browne – “Take It Easy” – here is a short snippet that highlights their beautiful harmonies:
The band sounded great – the voices were in great shape, they shared stories about the music and about each other, and Joe Walsh was in top form…interestingly, they didn’t perform a single song from “Long Road Out Of Eden”, even though that album was a big hit…
Another funny thing that speaks to how life has changed since the band formed: see these lights in the crowd? They used to be lighters held up high…now they are cel phones!
An incredible concert from a legendary band…but the band members fought so much at times that the member changes were unavoidable.
Here is a story about the band and their behind-the-scenes turmoil:
https://johnrieber.com/2012/10/04/eagles-no-peaceful-easy-feeling-here-just-heartache-tonight/
As I mentioned, Guitarist Don Felder’s story of life with the Eagles ends very badly, and he ended up suing the band. Here is a link to my story about him, and his book “Heaven And Hell”:
https://johnrieber.com/2012/03/19/beatle-eagle-big-battles-best-music-books-pt-1/
The stories about the band are fascinating, and if you saw the documentary, you know that Glenn Frey was one of the most outspoken members of the band…one example is when he discusses helping Jackson Browne write a line for “Take It Easy”, the band’s first hit…
Jackson Browne gave the band their first hit, and is still making great music, check out his new CD here…
https://johnrieber.com/2014/11/21/never-running-on-empty-brilliant-new-jackson-browne-music/
RIP Glenn Frey!
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johnrieber 
Reblogged this on johnrieber and commented:
More shocking news from the music world…the yeah of Eagles singer Glenn Frey…
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I was at Birmingham UK concert on 29th May I have seen the Eagles 5 times now what is great about their concerts is there all different I personally thought it was FABULOUS they came on stage at 8 o clock & finished at 11 10 the last encore Take it easy they also done a small medley of songs.. I think Joe is one of the best guitar players I know of & I love his voice also at my concert Timmy did 3 songs on his own love his voice too I paid £135 00 for my ticket with ticket master worth every penny cant wait to see them again… thought the programmes were a bit much £15 00 still bought one though
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Thank you for the note! Most if not ALL eagles fans are loving this history show…and yes, some of the collectible stuff is pricy, especially since it doesn’t have much info, just lots of pics…thanks for commenting!
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Hey John, a good read and love your pictures. Can you tell me what time the show starts and ends please? I have a ticket to the opening night in London and I don’t want to miss the encores, but I need to book a train home for an appropriate time!
Cheers,
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The show in Chciago started at 8p with no opening act, and with the encores lasted almost three hours.
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The Over-Rated/Priced, Incomplete History of the Eagles:
The show was not a complete History of the Eagles and was not as much fun as the shows from their previous tours, in my humble opinion.
THE GOOD:
– 2 hour and 40 minute concert featuring 25 songs with a 20-minute intermission.
– Stellar performance with perfect harmony and flawless delivery.
– Bernie Leadon with the band during the first set and the encore.
– Good light show and graphics.
THE BAD:
– $180.00 per ticket, plus all those extra fees. This was pretty much the price for all of the seats in the venue.
– Not one (1) song from the Long Road Out Of Eden recording. I thought this album was considered a part of their history.
– Only one (1) song from the Hell Freezes Over recording (Love Will Keep Us Alive).
– A grand total of three (3) Joe Walsh songs from his solo records and the James Gang (Life’s Been Good, Funk #49 and Rocky Mountain Way). Eagles history? C’mon Man!
– Pre-recorded film from the History documentary between songs.
– No backing string or horn section this time.
– Sound mixed way too low for the size of the crowd and the venue.
– Bernie Leadon only with the band during the first set and the encore.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
I would definitely recommend that you go if you have never seen the Eagles in concert. Otherwise, watch the History documentary and the Farewell-1 concert from Melbourne and save your money because you will probably be disappointed with this show for the outrageous price you have to pay for it.
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Thanks for the comment! At my show they performed “How Long”, and although they didn’t write it, it was on the “Long Road” album. Also, I agree that Joe Walsh was given more solo material than the others, but it seemed he had a LOT of energy. Price is part of the new reality for these types of shows…again, your comment is much appreciated!
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Very good analysis.
Firstly, I also think that there are too much songs of Joe Walsh’s solo career.
I don’t understand why Bernie Leadon sings only Train Leaves This Morning. He is a amazing singer and performer (so much better than Joe) and wrote another great songs like My Man and Early Bird, that, in my point of view, should be in the setlist.
Another thing: there are some great songs that The Eagles simply ignore both in shows an in DVD. Is unforgivable that songs like My Man, Sad Cafe, Hollywood Waltz, Best of My Love and Saturday Night were not even mentioned in a movie about the history Of The Eagles.
The best thing, on the other hand, was the show of the Hotel California tour. Despite being only a part, the songs were awesome.
Sorry my english, I’m brazilian. If there are errors, blame the Google Translate.
Very good post.
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I was there too, was an amazing concert. I loved the fact that they brought bernie back and the way they did it. Glen is softening in his old age. I hope they come back again next year, i’ll be there.
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Did you know what they meant by their comment about returning to Chicago next month? I agree with you that Bernie was a terrific acknowledgement of the past….
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They are playing at the Allstate Arena again next month,
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Thanks for the update!
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I do have a lot of great pictures! You have my permission to replace your duo shot with one of mine that I left in the link below.
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Some of these pictures (close ups) are not from this concert! I know, I was there, was close and took over 120 pictures.
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Well, i pointed out my camera was wide shots and didnt capture the duo on stage well. The two close up shots are used when i specifically mention someone on the stage…sounds you have many great pics!
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