Hello, We're the Eagles from Los Angeles
On the band and its members
On the band itself
"We had it all planned. We'd watched watched bands like Poco and the Burrito Brothers lose their initial momentum. We were determined not to make the same mistakes. We all felt that this was going to be our best shot. Everybody had to look good, sing good, play good and write good. We wanted it all. Peer respect. AM and FM success. Number one singles and albums, great music and a lot of money. I wanted to make it really bad. I was driven, a man possessed.In a sense I think we were all that way. We didn't just want to be another LA band." (Rolling Stone 1975)"I mean we got the songs. We got the best country guitarist in Bernie Leadon, an’ the best rock and roll player in the world in Felder, an’ the best high-singin’ bass player, an’ the best singin’ drummer an’ I know I’m the grease an’ we are goin’. I know when we’re on, there’s nobody better. An’ that’s all I know." (Phonograph Record 1975)
"I just love rock'n'roll, but all that stuff only makes sense when you do Peaceful Easy Feeling, that puts the James Dean in proper perspective. Y'see the focal point for what we do is a multi-faceted formula. We're not a single-minded band. From Midnight Flyer to On The Border, who could have possibly thought that the same band would do these two songs. But all that keeps your group experience interesting." ("The Eagles" 1975)
"You knew it when you were in a room with the Eagles. There was a certain intensity. Perhaps a lot of it was all bluff because we were really just a bunch of skinny little guys with long hair and patched pants and turquoise." (In Their Own Words)
"[The Eagles] was nine, wild, glorious years. The greatest way a guy could spend his twenties." (Melody Maker 1985)
On relationships within the band
"We fight about everything: playing too loud, facial expressions, drinkin’ too much, stayin’ up too late... Talking in a restaurant. Not saying anything when you shoulda spoke up. The issue is not the important thing; the important thing is that it gets vented. When you’re in a band, when you’re working with a producer, with managers, with a whole lot of other people, it’s all a romantic relationship. When the band don’t get off, the band fights. When a man and his old lady don’t make good love in the space of a certain time, there’s gonna be a fight. It’s gonna get released some way. It’s Creative Tension. We’ve known each other now for a long time, but... it’s still a very frightening experience when you bare your soul to somebody. There’s very few people on this planet you ever do that to, an’ we’re doin’ that to each other constantly. Bein’ in the Eagles is bein’ married to four men. The music is our love life." (Phonograph Record 1975)"We're the Oakland A's of rock & roll. On the field, we can't be beat. But in the clubhouse, well, that's another story." (Rolling Stone 1975)
"Sometimes I wonder if the other guys in the band know how much I like them. How much of a foundation they are. We never even talk about it. We each have our own spaces. We play sometimes and we fight sometimes. I get so caught up in all this – the pressures of being Glenn Frey of the Eagles, the guy who talks a lot – that if Randy or Bernie needed some confidence building, I might be too self-involved to realize it. I worry about that." (Rolling Stone 1975)
"The band was like a fake democracy. Henley and I were making the decisions while at the same time trying to pacify, include, and cajole the others. There was always so much turbulence around our band that it made us serious all the time. There was never a day when all five guys felt good. I'd think, 'Who is gonna blow it today? Who's gonna want to fire everybody?'" (The Long Run)
"I couldn't understand all these disturbances from the others in the band, because I was subordinating myself. Why couldn't somebody else see their way to taking a step back? That really grated on me. They didn't make subordinating myself worthwhile anymore." (The Eagles: Flying High)
"There's a lot of compromise involved in a rock band and trying to make people happy and feel a part of everything that you're doing. It demands a lot of sacrifice and a lot of compromise and a lot of patience and diplomacy." (Jim Ladd Innerview 1982)
"A band is supposed to be equal, but when people emerge as having certain strengths, other people are resentful of them having those strengths. Everybody makes this big deal about Don and I being the problem with the band. But I'm here to tell you right now that Joe Walsh and Don Felder and others created as much turbulence for the band as anybody else did." (Musician Magazine 1984)
"The Eagles had its best chemistry when Don Felder and Joe Walsh were both in the band at the same time. Don and Joe were both tremendously gifted guitar players." (In Their Own Words)
"I really felt that when it came to getting people to play with, you didn't go around picking the nice guys, you found the guys who could play blues and rock 'n' roll, the guys who could take the Eagles up from a country rock band to a serious stadium filler. And it took the combined guitar talents of Joe Walsh and Don Felder to help us achieve that." (In Their Own Words)
"We got along fine. We just disagreed a lot. Tell me one worthwhile relationship that has not had peaks and valleys. That’s really what we’re talking about here. You cannot play music with people for very long if you don’t genuinely like them. And I guarantee you that, over the nine years that the Eagles were together during the 70s, over the three years that we were together during our reunion, the best of times ranked in the 95 percentile and the worst of times ranked in the very small percentile that obviously everybody but the seven of us has dwelt on for a long, long time. Get over it!" (Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony 1998)
"We've always been a funny bunch. People just haven't seen all the laughs. But there's something to be said for having a sense of humor." (Box Set Interview 2000)
"I think having a wife and kids has taught me that the Eagles is a family. Basically we all love each other. We don’t always get along. We aren’t all necessarily having a great day and we don’t always agree but we’ve learned to handle problems a lot better and we all care about each other. It’s about making yourself adjust and we’ve found a way to make it work." (The Sun 2007)
"I have learnt through the course of the Eagles that any worthwhile relationship is going to have its peaks and its valleys. Anyone can deal with the peaks, but the test of your metal is how do you deal with adversity. We have always been a very volatile group of guys. We’re creative, passionate and not short on opinions. But now, we’ve learnt how to accept each other." (The Times of India 2007)
On Don Henley
"Don Henley is like a rock, besides the fact tha he's the best singer I've ever worked with." (Crawdaddy 1974)"It takes Henley for me to finish a song. And it takes me for Henley to finish a song. And it takes all of us to do that for each other. If I was by myself, I know I wouldn't get as much done. [...] I just know that if me and Henley split up, the lyrics to my songs would be weaker and the music to his would be weaker. We put it together real good, an' I ain't givin' that up for nothin’. We're gonna write forever, even if it's only once a year." (Phonograph Record 1975)
"We had me, this guy with a million chords. I would go, 'Well what about this or maybe you like this one.' And then Don would step in... who was real bright and had a good word and story sense." (The Long Run)
"I think I was more for entertainment, and I think Henley was more for trying to get more out of your entertainment dollar. But underneath it all, we were best friends. We talked every day for seven or eight years. Every day, like roommates." (In Their Own Words)
"They sometimes call me and Don the Pressure Brothers." (Crawdaddy 1977)
"It's hard to be friends when every time you're together, you're expected to come up with something brilliant. There are no innocent dinners. Sometimes I'm real active, and sometimes I'm just the guy who holds the fan in the emperor's court. It sounds weird, but he's my longest successful romance - almost eight years now. The trick is to be able to disagree and go on." (Rolling Stone 1979)
"Don was an English literature major and very well-read, but he was very shy. And during the first Eagles album, didn't really have the courage to step forward. But as we got into the second album, I know I encouraged him a lot - he would also say that I did that, too. I'd say, 'Come on, man, it's you and me. I got the chords...' You know, that kind of thing. And I really think those songs, Desperado and Saturday Night, are a great tribute to Don and him starting to write great lyrics." (Jim Ladd Innerview 1982)
"[Building the Perfect Beast is] a brilliant record. I’m really happy for Henley. In fact, I think that whole album he made is a terrific record. I know he worked for a year and a half on it and sweated blood and he deserves all the success he gets. Congratulations, Don!" (Melody Maker 1985)
"[Don and I] might be doing an album together and the combination could be pretty interesting. It's good we're both having hits and making it on our terms." (1985)
"I talk to Don every now and then [...]. It would be nice to see Don and not have to discuss whether there's gonna be a new Eagles Greatest Hits CD or not. We have a chance to be friends, if we just leave the musical pressures out of it. We worked hard together for nine years. We talked on the phone every day. We even lived together in the beginning. There wasn't a decision made about the Eagles that wasn't discussed between him, me, and Irv Azoff, our manager. But we've all grown in different directions." (1988)
"Great artist. Dedicated artist. You know, some people... Don sort of has sometimes a ‘painting the Sistine Chapel’ approach to his work. He’s very exacting, wants everything to be right. Great singer. Underrated drummer. Important artist and activist now. Good friend in the 70s... still a good friend, although we haven’t talked to each other much. But I think he’s an important artist and somebody who brings a lot of credibility to the music business and to songwriting." (Bob Costas Interview 1992)
"We've drifted apart. I love him and love the records he makes -- he's a craftsman -- but most of the time I don't like him! We haven't taken the same path -- he still lives the LA rock'n'roll lifestyle and I don't." (Independent 1992)
"I was kind of the McCartney to Don's Lennon. Don was more topical while I was a little bit more easygoing. I was the one more apt to sit down and write a love song while Don was more apt to chew somebody off. But, even though Don was always portrayed as the serious guy, I know for a fact that he also had a great sense of humor." (The Long Run 1995)
"I think I brought him ideas and a lot of opinions; he brought me poetry -- we were a good team." (Very Best Liner Notes 2003)
"Don was our Teddy Pendergrass. He could stand out there all alone and just wail. [...] Don's singing abilities stretched so many of our boundaries. He could sing the phone book. It didn't matter. We had Golden Throat [laughs appreciatively]." (Very Best Liner Notes 2003)
On Randy Meisner
"Randy is the perfect ribbon for the package. He adds all the top and all the bottom, singing like a lark and giving that growly, Nebraska r&b-oriented bass feel to the country stuff." (Crawdaddy 1974)"When I saw him [with Poco], my tongue just fell right out on the table. I just couldn't believe that anybody could look, sing and play cool all at the same time. It was too much for me." (The Long Run)
"He just likes to sit back and do his thing and let Don and I shoot our mouths off and make fools out of ourselves." (The Long Run)
"He left while touring, supporting [Hotel California.] But that was Randy's personal choice. I understand people quitting bands. I quit four years later (laughs)." (1988)
On Bernie Leadon
"[Bernie is] carrying on the work of Clarence White." (Crawdaddy 1974)
On Don Felder
"I've been a Don Felder fan for about a year-and-a-half. Ever since I heard him playing in a dressing room in Boston one night. I saw him at a concert in L.A., and asked if he'd come down and put some slide on 'Good Day in Hell,' but with every take he just blew us all away. If he isn't Duane Allman reincarnet, I don't know who the fuck is." (Crawdaddy 1974)"Felder's playing put the extra punch we needed in the band. The softer side to our records and live shows was always real good but, especially live, our rock and roll stuff was a little weak. Felder really nails down the hard stuff. From the moment he walked into the studio, he just blew us away. It was just about the best guitar work we had ever heard." (The Long Run 1975)
"Felder kicks our rock stuff in the ass and makes the country songs better with his mandolin playing." ("The Eagles" 1975)
"Don Felder [is] the underrated genius guitar player in our band who didn't have the name of Joe Walsh, but was definitely just an incredible player." (1988)
On Joe Walsh
"Walsh is like an almanac. I could sit down at a piano at any given moment and play every song the Drifters ever recorded. But Joe can do the same thing with Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, and Eric Clapton. I mean, every single blues lick." (In Their Own Words)"Just try to imagine yourself saddled at the hip for over a year and a half to that guy!" (1992)
"[Walsh is] one of the wildest guys I've ever worked with." (Detroit Free Press 1993)
"Joe has gourmet tastes. He's not just the crown prince of the electric guitar. Joe likes fine wine and fine dining. That's why we call this tour 'The Party of Two'; we go out to dinner, the two of us, and just have the best time. We buy a nice French Bordeaux and enjoy it with a fine meal." (1993)
"I've been a James Gang fan forever. I was amazed that I ended up in a band with a guy from the James Gang. SO cool. SO Great Lakes." (Box Set Interview 2000)
On Timothy B. Schmit
"Tim was great, really. He followed the path of least resistance and was a joy to work with, which was great because making The Long Run was such a struggle." (BAM 1982)"Timothy Schmit [is] a sweetheart." (Rocky Mountain News 1992)