The History of the Eagles

[RPM]

I realize this is all just a good guess but FWIW....

Don Felder is an American musician and songwriter who has a net worth of $60 million dollars.

Timothy B. Schmit is an American musician and songwriter who has a net worth of $15 million dollars.

Don Henley was born in Texas and has an estimated net worth of $200 million dollars.

Glenn Frey was born in Michigan and has an estimated net worth of $70 million dollars.

Joe Walsh was born in Kansas and has an estimated net worth of $65 million dollars

Randy Meisner is an American musician and songwriter who has a net worth of $15 million dollars

Why is Glenn so far below Henley?

[Enigma869]

Why is Glenn so far below Henley?

I suspect it may also have something to do with the fact that although both had some success on their own, Henley had FAR more success as a solo artist that Frey had. Frey had a few hits. Almost everything Henley recorded became a hit.

[slucero]

...and Felder wrote all the music of Hotel California.. Henley wrote the lyrics.

According to everything I've read about this classic son, it wasn't just Henley and Felder. Frey also has a writing credit on the song. Here you are...http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1121 . More information than anyone ever needs to know about any one song.

like I said, Felder wrote the music, Henley the lyrics, Frey has a writing credit because he changed a couple words.

I have Felder's book it s a fascinating read.. this account below is pretty much straight from it.

Don Felder came up with the musical idea for this song. According to his book Heaven and Hell: My Life in The Eagles, he came up with the idea while playing on the beach. He had the chord progressions and basic guitar tracks, which he played for Don Henley and Glenn Frey, who helped finish the song, with Henley adding the lyrics. Felder says they recorded the song about a year after he did the original demo, and in the session, he started to improvise the guitar part at the end. Henley stopped him and demanded that he do it exactly like the demo, so he had to call his housekeeper and have her play the cassette demo over the phone so Felder could remember what he played.

[Rick]

Why is Glenn so far below Henley?

I suspect it may also have something to do with the fact that although both had some success on their own, Henley had FAR more success as a solo artist that Frey had. Frey had a few hits. Almost everything Henley recorded became a hit.

It's great to hear you speak so highly of a Texan.

[Enigma869]

It's great to hear you speak so highly of a Texan.

Love Henley, Rick. I've always thought the guy was immensely talented. I think I love most of his solo stuff as much as I like The Eagles stuff. Dude is one of the most talented musicians that this country has ever seen.

[Enigma869]

Here's a killer review of this documentary from Bill Simmons, an ESPN writer.


The Eagles Greatest Hit

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/956 ... eatest-hit

Ha...now this is classic, and what I was trying to say all along

Felder believed he should be earning as much money as Henley and Frey when, again, he was Don Felder. It was like the 1993 Bulls reuniting, then Horace Grant fighting to be paid as much as Michael and Scottie.

[No Surprize]

Ha...now this is classic, and what I was trying to say all along

Felder believed he should be earning as much money as Henley and Frey when, again, he was Don Felder. It was like the 1993 Bulls reuniting, then Horace Grant fighting to be paid as much as Michael and Scottie.

[/quote]


Who & what makes Bill Simmons the "know it all" of The Eagles. Comparing Felder's contributions to the Eagle's and Grant's to the Bulls? LOL>He Should have said "Before Grant & Pippen came along, Jordan had won nada, zero NBA titles. Just like the Eagle's before "Hotel California" not many people outside of Cali knew of them. Oh sure, They had "Best of my Love" and a song or two here & there, BUT, "Hotel California" put them in the limelight. And without Felder coming up with the idea on his six-string, The Eagles might not have lasted past Hotel California.

[Enigma869]

Who & what makes Bill Simmons the "know it all" of The Eagles. Comparing Felder's contributions to the Eagle's and Grant's to the Bulls? LOL>He Should have said "Before Grant & Pippen came along, Jordan had won nada, zero NBA titles. Just like the Eagle's before "Hotel California" not many people outside of Cali knew of them. Oh sure, They had "Best of my Love" and a song or two here & there, BUT, "Hotel California" put them in the limelight. And without Felder coming up with the idea on his six-string, The Eagles might not have lasted past Hotel California.

You're questioning Bill Simmons and this is your rebuttal? Really? You do realize that The Eagles Greatest Hits 1971-1975 is one of the top selling albums, EVER, right? Hell, just on that one album, there were 10 huge hits for The Eagles, and all 10 came out before "Hotel California" was ever thought of. To suggest that one song made the band is just plain dopey, given they already had monster hits before the song was ever written!

[slucero]

Who & what makes Bill Simmons the "know it all" of The Eagles. Comparing Felder's contributions to the Eagle's and Grant's to the Bulls? LOL>He Should have said "Before Grant & Pippen came along, Jordan had won nada, zero NBA titles. Just like the Eagle's before "Hotel California" not many people outside of Cali knew of them. Oh sure, They had "Best of my Love" and a song or two here & there, BUT, "Hotel California" put them in the limelight. And without Felder coming up with the idea on his six-string, The Eagles might not have lasted past Hotel California.

You're questioning Bill Simmons and this is your rebuttal? Really? You do realize that The Eagles Greatest Hits 1971-1975 is one of the top selling albums, EVER, right? Hell, just on that one album, there were 10 huge hits for The Eagles, and all 10 came out before "Hotel California" was ever thought of. To suggest that one song made the band is just plain dopey, given they already had monster hits before the song was ever written!

You also must realize that:

• 5 of the songs are pre Felder,
• 5 of the songs are after he joined the Eagles during the recording of On The Border... in 1974
• The Eagles GH 1971- 1975 was released February 17, 1976 , ..it was certified Platinum in 1976 by the RIAA, which was for 1 million units shipped, and to date album has sold 42 million worldwide..
• Hotel California was released on December 8, 1976, 10 months after The Eagles GH 1971- 1975

...it's clear the bulk of those sales came post release of Hotel California.

[annie89509]

Fascinating stories about this band … not unlike the soap opera history of the band that brought me to these forums back in ’05. Fleetwood Mack is another with a colorful history that I recently learned about (got re-acquainted with their music a few years ago). The band, Chicago, is next on my info list. These were(are) my 4 favorite bands, their music was what I enjoyed listening to during their (and my) formulative years.

Who knew about the partying, in-fighting and general debauchery back then? I mean, we all heard about the Beatles’ conflicts after their bad split-up. But one must think all successful bands had to go through dysfunctional turmoil to come up with such dynamic songs. Whoever coined the term “sex, drugs and rock n roll” must know what they’re talking about.

[Enigma869]

You also must realize that:

• 5 of the songs are pre Felder,
• 5 of the songs are after he joined the Eagles during the recording of On The Border... in 1974
• The Eagles GH 1971- 1975 was released February 17, 1976 , ..it was certified Platinum in 1976 by the RIAA, which was for 1 million units shipped, and to date album has sold 42 million worldwide..
• Hotel California was released on December 8, 1976, 10 months after The Eagles GH 1971- 1975

...it's clear the bulk of those sales came post release of Hotel California.

Right...and even more of the sales are since the year 2000. What's your point? Sorry, not buying it. There were many SUPERB songs recorded by this band before Felder was a part of it. Holy hell, I feel like I'm now arguing about Ross Valory's significance to Journey. Again, I realize the pro Felder camp is going to attribute Henley and Frey's immense talents to Felder, much like the pro-Schon crowd has always attributed Perry's immense talent to Schon. I think Henley and Frey's record outside of The Eagles speaks for itself! I don't know that Perry would have had the career that he had without joining Journey, and I certainly know that Schon wasn't having his career without Perry! I'm VERY confident that Henley and Frey would have had their careers with or without Felder.

[slucero]

You also must realize that:

• 5 of the songs are pre Felder,
• 5 of the songs are after he joined the Eagles during the recording of On The Border... in 1974
• The Eagles GH 1971- 1975 was released February 17, 1976 , ..it was certified Platinum in 1976 by the RIAA, which was for 1 million units shipped, and to date album has sold 42 million worldwide..
• Hotel California was released on December 8, 1976, 10 months after The Eagles GH 1971- 1975

...it's clear the bulk of those sales came post release of Hotel California.

Right...and even more of the sales are since the year 2000. What's your point? Sorry, not buying it. There were many SUPERB songs recorded by this band before Felder was a part of it. Holy hell, I feel like I'm now arguing about Ross Valory's significance to Journey. Again, I realize the pro Felder camp is going to attribute Henley and Frey's immense talents to Felder, much like the pro-Schon crowd has always attributed Perry's immense talent to Schon. I think Henley and Frey's record outside of The Eagles speaks for itself! I don't know that Perry would have had the career that he had without joining Journey, and I certainly know that Schon wasn't having his career without Perry! I'm VERY confident that Henley and Frey would have had their careers with or without Felder.

The "point" of my post above, is simply a response to your attempt to use the Eagles GH 1971- 1975 sales to validate that the Eagles had "massive hits" (your words) when in fact the album had only been out 10 months, and really hadn't sold much at all, especially in the era of record sales. So in that regard the point is obvious... and speaks for itself..

It's also not really fair to use Henley and Frey's solo careers after the Eagles breakup in 1980 as a measure of Felders' contribution up to the point of Hotel California, because, just like the bulk of Eagles GH 1971- 1975 sales, all of that occurred well after Hotel California's release (4 years for Henley, and 6 years for Frey).

The only real argument that can be made is who the chief songwriters were prior to Felder joining as a full member. Frey has a stronger case as he has multiple credits on the 1st and 2nd albums. Henley however, only has one credit on their 1st album. Either way it is clear that Frey and Henley were collectively the chief songwriters up to the point of Hotel California. On that basis alone, one could easily argue Felders contribution was nil because it was.

But the simple (and more importantly legal) truth is, at the time of Hotel California's release, Felder was a full band member, as was Randy Meisner. It was only later that they gave up their full-member status, which they both agreed to, but legally did not have to. Frey and Henley made it all about songwriting credits, completely discounting every other possible contribution, including friendships.

They simply made it about money.

And for the record:
- My favorite Eagles album is Desperado...
- My favorite Eagles lineup is Frey, Henley, Meisner, Leadon...
- I've already posted I agree with you regarding Felder's contribution.

I don't really consider myself a "pro=Felder" person..

[No Surprize]

And without Felder, their last album was completely pure ass shit on a shingle! Henley had the voice that with that style was perfect. Henley had a successful solo career also, even I bought them cause the fucker can sing. Frey is just more of a dick I guess and it just disgust me that when people have more money than they'll ever fucking spend, they still bitch about money!

[slucero]

And without Felder, their last album was completely pure ass shit on a shingle! Henley had the voice that with that style was perfect. Henley had a successful solo career also, even I bought them cause the fucker can sing. Frey is just more of a dick I guess and it just disgust me that when people have more money than they'll ever fucking spend, they still bitch about money!

Nah, its not because they don't have Felder.. although Felder's additions to the songs would likely have been good. It's just because both Henley and Frey turned 60 when they released Long Road Out Of Eden in 2007. Now, at 66 years old, they also realize that even though their brand is such a guarantee of success AND that they could record themselves pissing and it would go double platinum, they really have nothing more to write about and are getting too old to tour anymore.

There isn't gonna be another Eagles album.

They announced their most recent tour in Feb, 2013, and Henley said that the tour would probably be the band's last major tour and continue until 2015. They've invited Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner back, but not Felder. Leadon is joining them, Meisner is in bad health.

[Enigma869]

Nah, its not because they don't have Felder.. although Felder's additions to the songs would likely have been good. It's just because both Henley and Frey turned 60 when they released Long Road Out Of Eden in 2007. Now, at 66 years old, they also realize that even though their brand is such a guarantee of success AND that they could record themselves pissing and it would go double platinum, they really have nothing more to write about and are getting too old to tour anymore.

There isn't gonna be another Eagles album.

They announced their most recent tour in Feb, 2013, and Henley said that the tour would probably be the band's last major tour and continue until 2015. They've invited Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner back, but not Felder. Leadon is joining them, Meisner is in bad health.

I couldn't agree more, Slucero. Suggesting that The Eagles latest album sucked because of Felder not being there is laughable. There isn't a band on the planet who has been around for 20+ years (and in The Eagles case, twice that long) who is putting out better albums now than they were then. It simply doesn't happen, period, end of story!

[No Surprize]

Nah, its not because they don't have Felder.. although Felder's additions to the songs would likely have been good. It's just because both Henley and Frey turned 60 when they released Long Road Out Of Eden in 2007. Now, at 66 years old, they also realize that even though their brand is such a guarantee of success AND that they could record themselves pissing and it would go double platinum, they really have nothing more to write about and are getting too old to tour anymore.

There isn't gonna be another Eagles album.

They announced their most recent tour in Feb, 2013, and Henley said that the tour would probably be the band's last major tour and continue until 2015. They've invited Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner back, but not Felder. Leadon is joining them, Meisner is in bad health.[/quote]

Yes, I know. Wonder how bad Mesiner health is?

I would pay TOP dollar to see every one of those guys with Felder back on stage on more time.

Holding grudges like Frey does is childish. But of course you can do that when you want for nothing if you choose.

The first concert I ever went to was the Eagles in old Tampa stadium, I was only 13 at the time and was just getting into the
various genre's of music (My mom always listened the Motown artist and my dad country), but my dad loved the Eagle also. What I do remember was Fleetwood Mac opened up for them. I didn't know who the hell they were but was immediately was starstruck from looking at Stevie Nicks and hearing "Say that you love me" for the first time. I remember turning to my dad and saying why haven't you ever bought anything by them so we could listen to them? He said he would and later on he came home with a copy of "Rumours". Once The Eagles took the stage I know it was around 9:30 PM. "One of these night's" was the first tune they played. Total cost of 3 tickets to the show, $37.50.