The Eagles

The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles, six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in North America. In addition, they are one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold more than 200 million records worldwide, including 100 million sold in the US alone. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 and were ranked number 75 on Rolling Stone's 2010 list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".Founding members Glenn Frey (guitar, vocals), Don Henley (drums, vocals), Bernie Leadon (guitar, vocals), and Randy Meisner (bass guitar, vocals) had all been recruited by Linda Ronstadt as band members, some touring with her, and all playing on her self-titled third solo studio album (1972), before venturing out on their own as the Eagles on David Geffen's new Asylum Records label. Their debut studio album, Eagles (1972), spawned two top-20 singles in the US and Canada: "Take It Easy" and "Witchy Woman". The next year's follow-up album, Desperado, peaked at only number 41 in the US, although the title song became a popular track. In 1974, guitarist Don Felder joined, and On the Border produced the top-40 hit "Already Gone" and the Eagles' first number-one song in the US and Canada, "Best of My Love", which made the top 15 in Australia, their first hit overseas. In 1975, the album One of These Nights became their first number-one album in the US and a top ten album in many countries. It included the US number-one hit "One of These Nights", which was their first top ten hit outside of North America, and the US top-5 song "Lyin' Eyes" and "Take It to the Limit". Also in 1975, Leadon left the band and was replaced by guitarist and vocalist Joe Walsh.Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) (1976) is the best-selling album in the United States, with 40 million copies sold. This album primed the public for the late 1976 release of Hotel California, which would sell more than 28 million copies in the US (ranking third all-time for US sales), and more than 32 million copies worldwide. The album yielded two number-one singles in the US and Canada, "New Kid in Town" and "Hotel California", the latter of which became their only top-10 hit in the United Kingdom while also reaching the top ten in New Zealand and many European countries, including number two in France.Meisner was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit in 1977. The Eagles released their last studio album for nearly 28 years in 1979 with The Long Run, spawning the North American number-one song "Heartache Tonight", which became their biggest hit in Australia (number 13), and the North American top-10 hits "The Long Run" and "I Can't Tell You Why". The Eagles broke up in 1980 but reunited in 1994 for the album Hell Freezes Over, a mix of live and new studio tracks, and toured consistently. In 2007, the Eagles released Long Road Out of Eden, their sixth number-one album in the US, and in 2008 launched the Long Road Out of Eden Tour. In 2013, they began the extended History of the Eagles Tour in conjunction with the documentary release, History of the Eagles. Following Frey's death in January 2016, the Eagles re-formed in 2017, with Glenn's son, Deacon Frey, and country singer Vince Gill sharing lead vocals for Frey's songs. Deacon left the band in 2022, but returned in 2023 to participate in the band's ongoing final tour. Meisner died in 2023.The Eagles had their origin in early 1971, when Linda Ronstadt and her manager John Boylan recruited musicians Glenn Frey and Don Henley for her band. Henley had moved to Los Angeles from Texas with his band Shiloh to record an album produced by Kenny Rogers, and Frey had come from Michigan and formed Longbranch Pennywhistle; the two then met in 1970 at The Troubadour in Los Angeles and became acquainted through their mutual record label, Amos Records. Randy Meisner, who had been working with Ricky Nelson's backing band, the Stone Canyon Band, and Bernie Leadon, a veteran of the Flying Burrito Brothers, also later joined Ronstadt's group of performers for her summer tour promoting the Silk Purse album.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.