The question of “Where can I find my favorite songs online?” has been
there ever since digital music became available on the internet. One of
the obvious answers to that question is streaming music platforms.
Services like Spotify
not only provide you with a huge music catalog to choose from but also a
chance to discover new music and create customized playlists that you
can download to your devices (that is if you pay for the privilege).
Although music streaming services are a popular option, they’re not
the only one. A surprising number of people still opt for listening the
radio. In this article, we explain why you might want to start (or go
back to) listening to internet radio, as well as showing you how to find
the best internet radio stations out there for you.
Why Internet Radio?
Or as some of you may put it, “What’s wrong with Spotify?” Nothing in particular. It’s more of a personal choice question rather than a “right or wrong” type of situation.
However, to unlock some of the best features that Spotify has to offer you have to pay a monthly subscription. You can choose to pay the costly fees or get your free music online elsewhere.
Most
of the internet radio services offer a listener-supported experience,
meaning you won’t get exposed to as many ads as you will while using a
streaming music platform.
What about recommendation algorithms?
You know, when the streaming music platform analyzes the stuff you
already put together in your playlists to help you discover new music
that you’ll supposedly like. Well, sometimes you’re in the mood to just
listen to good music, rather than be a DJ. internet radio stations allow
you to just press Play, sit back, and enjoy music that you know you’ll
love. And you’ll only ever need to do anything if you hear something you
don’t like.
Find Your All-Time Favorites
If you’re
already accustomed to listening to the radio and know what your favorite
stations are, a good first step would be to search for their online
output. Today, most of the radio stations have their own online
presence, so you can enjoy their broadcasts live without having a
physical radio in the house.
Instead
of a playlist, you choose a station that matches your music tastes. You
also get to discover more new music than you would have otherwise. The
best part? All the work is done by someone else and you don’t have to be
your own DJ.
Discover New Radio Stations
For those of you
willing to be exposed not only to new music, but to new radio stations
as well, we bring good news. There are several services available online
designed specifically to help you tune into any radio station from all
four corners of the world.
Price: Free
With Radio Garden you can take an audio trip around the world, listening to a vast number of radio stations as you go.
The
stations are marked out by green dots. Simply rotate the map and click
on the dots to join the broadcast of your choice. You can zoom in and
out to see more or fewer listings. Some places will have more than one
station under one dot. In that case, they’ll appear in the form of a
list in the lower right-hand corner.
The only downside of the
platform is that it doesn’t offer any recommendations, so it might take
some time for you to locate the radio station(s) that fit in with your
tastes.
Price: Free
Last.fm
is one of the pioneers of internet radio, and it still has a devoted
fanbase. A number of genre-based stations, as well as great artist and
track suggestions, will help you find the music that suits both your
tastes and mood. All based on your previous activity on the site.
Use one of the numerous apps, music players, and services from the site to track your music and make your listening experience on Last.fm more personalized.
Price: Free
internetRadio
is another platform with dozens of thousands of radio stations sorted
by popularity, genre, and era. You can find anything from Smooth Jazz to
Japanese and Psychedelic music pieces in seconds. There’s even an
option to create your own radio station and host your broadcasts on the platform.
Have a look at the “featured” and “popular” lists if you’re looking
for other user picks. You can see what’s playing right now before you
start listening in, as well as how many people are tuned into the
station at that moment.
Price: Free or $1/month for TuneIn Pro (iOS, Android, and BlackBerry only)
TuneIn
also allows you to search the globe by location, genre, station type,
or even a station’s name before you start listening.
You can browse your music (and podcasts) both on the web and on your smartphone. A free mobile app is available for Android, iPhone or iPad,
BlackBerry, WebOS, and Windows Phone. For an upgraded real-life radio
experience you can pay $1/month and get a premium version. It allows you
to record live radio and play it back later, pause live radio, rewind
broadcasts, and more.
Price: Free or $4/month for Slacker Plus or $10/month for Slacker Premium
Slacker
Radio is all about personalization. It has an impressive music library
with genre-specific channels and playlists curated by actual human
DJs. As you listen you can customize your stations by giving Slacker
feedback about what you like and removing the artists that you don’t
enjoy. The stations are constantly rotating and playlists evolve with
new tunes added and old, unloved tunes removed. In this way the platform
straddles the line between letting you tune into someone else’s station
and setting up your own playlist full of songs you love.
Similar to TuneIn, it has mobile apps available for iOS, Android, BlackBerry, WebOS, and Windows Phone.
Customized Internet Radio
If
you’re anything like me you’ll sometimes find yourself having an issue
with a radio station’s output. The problem is you don’t want to commit
to Spotify, where you’re completely in control. Thankfully, there’s a
middle-ground solution for you: customized internet radio stations.
Price: Free or $5/month for iHeartRadio Plus or $10/month for iHeartRadio All Access (both come with a free 30-day trial)
Use
iHeartRadio’s interactive welcome screen to inform the platform all
about your favorite genres. You’ll then have various stations
recommended to you. You can also type in the name of your favorite
artist to get a list of stations broadcasting their songs at that
moment.
You can use an ad-supported version of the source for
free. However, to skip commercials and access the platform’s cool
Spotify-like features you have to pay $5–$10/month. Available both on
the web and mobile apps.
Price: Free or $5/month for Pandora Plus with a free 7-day trial or $10/month for Pandora Premium with a free 60-day trial
Pandora is still technically an internet radio site. One that promises to deliver new music
based on the songs you already enjoy. All you need to do is give
Pandora the name of the artist or a song that you like, and you can then
sit back and enjoy similar music that Pandora thinks you’ll love. You
can further help Pandora get to know you by giving a thumbs-up or a
thumbs-down to individual tracks.
Like Spotify, Pandora only
allows you to skip a certain number of songs within a given time
period. Pandora mobile apps are available for Android, iOS, BlackBerry,
and WebOS.
Should You Stay or Should You Go?
“There are
only two kinds of people: those who use music streaming services and
those who listen to internet radio,” said no one ever. Until me, just
now.
Which one is right for you comes down to what sort of music
you enjoy and what you’re in the mood for. internet radio offers a
different way of listening, and it has some serious perks attached, like
being constantly exposed to new music, and (for the most part) being
free.
With this information at hand you should have all the
knowledge needed to begin the search for your favorite radio stations.
But before you go, we’d like to hear your thoughts. How
often do you listen to internet radio? What makes you choose internet
radio over music streaming services? What’s your favorite internet radio
station? And how did you find it? Please let us know in the comments
below! Source: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/find-best-internet-radio-stations/
The Mamas & the Papas were an American folk rockvocal group that recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968, and were a defining force in the music scene of the Counterculture of the 1960s. The band reunited briefly in 1971. The group was composed of John Phillips, Denny Doherty, Cass Elliot, and Michelle Phillipsnée Gilliam. Their sound was based on vocal harmonies arranged by John Phillips,[2] the songwriter, musician, and leader of the group who adapted folk to the new beat style of the early sixties.
They released a total of five studio albums and seventeen singles over a four-year period, six of which made the Billboard top ten, and have sold close to 40 million records worldwide.[3] The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 for their contributions to the music industry.[1]
Background and formation
The
group was formed by husband and wife John and Michelle Phillips,
formerly of the New Journeymen, and Denny Doherty, formerly of the Mugwumps. Both of these earlier acts were folk
groups active from 1964 to 1965. The last member to join was Cass
Elliot, Doherty's bandmate in the Mugwumps, who had to overcome John
Phillips' concern that her voice was too low for his arrangements, that
her physical appearance would be an obstacle to the band's success, and
that her temperament was incompatible with his.[4] The group considered calling itself the Magic Cyrcle before switching to the Mamas and the Papas as apparently inspired by the Hells Angels, whose female associates were called "mamas".[5][6]
The quartet spent the period from early spring to midsummer 1965 in
the Virgin Islands "to rehearse and just put everything together", as
John Phillips later recalled.[7] Phillips acknowledged that he was reluctant to abandon folk music.[8] Others, including Doherty and guitarist Eric Hord, have said he hung on to it "like death".[9]Roger McGuinn's
more measured view is that "It was hard for John to break out of folk
music, because I think he was real good at it, conservative, and
successful, too."[10]
Phillips also acknowledged that it was Doherty and Elliot who awakened
him to the potential of contemporary pop, as epitomized by the Beatles. While previously, the New Journeymen had played acoustic folk, with banjo; and the Mugwumps played something closer to folk rock, with bass and drums.[11][12] Their rehearsals in the Virgin Islands were "the first time that we tried playing electric".[13][14]
The band then traveled from New York to Los Angeles for an audition with Lou Adler, co-owner of Dunhill Records. The audition was arranged by Barry McGuire,
who had befriended Cass Elliot and John Phillips independently over the
previous two years, and who had recently signed with Dunhill himself.[15][16]
It led to "a deal in which they would record two albums a year for the
next five years", with a royalty of 5 percent on 90 percent of retail
sales.[17][18] Dunhill also tied the band to management and publishing deals, commonly known as a "triple hat" relationship.[19][20]
Cass Elliot's membership was not formalized until the paperwork was
signed, with Adler, Michelle Phillips, and Doherty overruling John
Phillips.[21]
Career
1965: Beginnings and debut
The Mamas and the Papas made their inaugural recording singing backing vocals on McGuire's album This Precious Time, although they had already released a single of their own by the time the album appeared in December 1965.[22] This single was "Go Where You Wanna Go", which was given a limited release in November but failed to chart.[23] There are few copies of this single extant and the follow-up, "California Dreamin'", has the same B-side, suggesting that "Go Where You Wanna Go" had been withdrawn.[24][25] "California Dreamin'" was released in December, supported by a full-page ad in Billboard on the 18th of that month.[26]
It peaked at number four in the United States and number twenty-three
in the United Kingdom. "Go Where You Wanna Go" was subsequently covered
by the 5th Dimension, who included it on their album Up, Up and Away and it became a Top 20 pop hit for them.
Their second album, The Mamas & the Papas, is sometimes referred to as Cass, John, Michelle, Dennie,
whose names appear thus above the band's name on the cover, including
the unexplained misspelling of Doherty's first name. Recording was
reportedly interrupted when Michelle Phillips became indiscreet about
her affair with Gene Clark of the Byrds.[27][28]
A liaison the previous year between Michelle Phillips and Denny Doherty
had been forgiven by her husband John Phillips; Doherty and John
Phillips had reconciled and written "I Saw Her Again" about the episode.[29][30] They later disagreed about how much Doherty contributed to the song.[31][32] But after Michelle's affair with Clark, John Phillips was determined to fire her.[33]
After consulting their attorney and record label, he, Elliot, and
Doherty served Michelle Phillips with a letter expelling her from the
group on June 28, 1966.[27]
Jill Gibson was hired to replace Michelle. Gibson was a visual artist and singer-songwriter who had recorded with Jan and Dean.[34] After being introduced to the band by its producer, Lou Adler, she was soon taking part in concerts (at Forest Hills, New York, Denver, Colorado, and Phoenix, Arizona)[35] television appearances (Hollywood Palace on ABC), and recording sessions[36]
While Gibson was a quick study and well regarded, the three original
members concluded that she lacked her predecessor's "stage charisma and
grittier edge", and Michelle Phillips was reinstated on August 23, 1966.[37][38] "Jill Gibson, so nearly a full-time Mama, left and was paid a lump sum from the group's funds."[39] The Mamas & the Papas peaked at number four in the US,
continuing the band's success, but only made number twenty-four in the
UK. "I Saw Her Again" was released as a single in June 1966 and reached
number five in the US and number eleven in the UK. There is a false
start to the final chorus of the song at 2'42". While mixing the record,
Bones Howe inadvertently punched in the coda
vocals too early. He then rewound the tape and inserted the vocals in
their proper position. On playback, the mistaken early entry could still
be heard, making it sound as though Doherty repeated the first three
words, singing "I saw her ... I saw her again last night". Lou Adler liked the effect, and told Howe to leave it in the final mix.[40] "That has to be a mistake: nobody's that clever," Paul McCartney told the group.[41] The device was imitated by John Sebastian in the Lovin' Spoonful song, "Darlin' Be Home Soon" (1966), and by Kenny Loggins in the song "I'm Alright" (1980). "Words of Love" was the second single from the album, appearing in November 1966. In the US it was released as a double A-side with "Dancing in the Street" and reached number five ("Dancing in the Street," which had been a hit two years earlier for Martha and the Vandellas, struggled to number seventy-three). In the UK it was backed with "I Can't Wait" and peaked at number forty-seven.
With Michelle Phillips reinstated, the group embarked on a small tour
on the East coast to promote the record in the fall of 1966, playing a
series of precarious and reportedly bizarre shows. At a September 1966
concert at Fordham University
in New York City, the band was noted by Gus Duffy and Jim Mason of
their co-headlining band, Webster's New Word, as being clearly "high,
drunk, or tripping.
When they got on stage, it was clear that these people shouldn't be on
stage... They tumbled onto the stage, shambled around, and just got
nowhere.[42]
1967: The Mamas & the Papas Deliver
The Mamas & the Papas on ABC's The Songmakers, 1967
After completing their brief East coast tour, the group started work immediately on its third album, The Mamas & The Papas Deliver, which was recorded in the autumn of 1966. The first single from the album, "Look Through My Window", was released in September 1966 (before the last single from The Mamas and the Papas). It reached number twenty-four in the US, but did not chart in the UK. The second single, "Dedicated to the One I Love"
(February 1967), did much better, peaking at number two in both the US
and the UK. That success helped the album, also released in February
1967, reach number two in the US and number four in the UK. The third
single, "Creeque Alley" (April 1967), chronicled the band's early history. It peaked at number five in the US and number nine in the UK.
The strain on the group was apparent when they performed indifferently at the first Monterey International Pop Festival in June 1967, as can be heard on Historic Performances Recorded at the Monterey International Pop Festival
(1970). The band was badly under-rehearsed – partly because John and
Michelle Phillips and Lou Adler were preoccupied with organizing the
festival, partly because Doherty arrived at the last minute from another
sojourn in the Virgin Islands,[43][44][45] and partly, it is said, because he was drinking heavily in the aftermath of his affair with Michelle Phillips.[46] They rallied for their performance before 18,000 people at the Hollywood Bowl in August (with Jimi Hendrix
as the opener), which both John and Michelle Phillips would remember as
the apex of the band's career: "There would never be anything quite
like it again."[47][48]
Deliver was followed in October 1967 by the non-album single "Glad to Be Unhappy",
which reached number twenty-six in the US. "Dancing Bear" from the
group's second album was released as a single in November. It peaked at
number fifty-one in the US. Neither of these singles charted in the UK.
1968: The Papas & the Mamas
The Mamas and the Papas cut their first three albums at United Western Recorders in Hollywood,[49]
while the group's subsequent releases were recorded at the eight-track
studio John and Michelle Phillips built at their home in Bel Air – this
at a time when four-track recording was still the norm.[50][51]
John Phillips said, "I got the idea to transform the attic into my own
recording studio, so I could stay high all the time and never have to
worry about studio time. I began assembling the state-of-the-art
equipment and ran the cost up to about a hundred grand."[52]
While this gave him the autonomy he craved, it also removed the
external discipline that may have been beneficial to a man who described
himself as an "obsessive perfectionist".[24] Doherty, Elliot, and Adler all found the arrangement uncongenial, with Elliot later complaining to Rolling Stone
(October 26, 1968): "We spent one whole month on one song, just the
vocals for 'The Love of Ivy' took one whole month. I did my [debut solo]
album in three weeks, a total of ten days in the studio. Live with the
band, not prerecorded tracks sitting there with earphones."[53]
The recording sessions for the fourth album eventually stalled
completely, and in September 1967 John Phillips called a press
conference to announce that The Mamas and the Papas were taking a break,
which they confirmed on the Ed Sullivan Show on the 24th of that month.[54][55][56]
The plan was to give concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London and the Olympia in Paris, before taking time out on Majorca to "get the muse going again", as John Phillips put it.[57][58]
When they docked at Southampton on October 5, Elliot was arrested on a
charge of having stolen two blankets and a hotel key worth ten guineas
(US$28) when in England the previous February. Elliot was transferred to
London, strip-searched, and spent a night in custody, before the case
was dismissed in the West London Magistrates' Court the next day.[59]
The hotel was actually less interested in the blankets than in an
unpaid bill; it transpired that Elliot had entrusted the money to her
companion, Pic Dawson (1943–1986),[60][61] who neglected to settle the account.[62]
The police, in turn, were less interested in the blankets or the bill
than in Dawson, who was suspected of international drug trafficking and
was "the sole subject" of their questioning.[63]
Later, at a party hosted by the band to celebrate Elliot's acquittal, John Phillips interrupted Elliot as she was telling Mick Jagger
about her arrest and trial: "Mick, she's got it all wrong, that's not
how it was at all." Elliot "screamed" at Phillips "before storming out
of the room".[64][65]
Elliot was ready to quit, the Royal Albert Hall and Olympia dates were
cancelled, and the four went their separate ways; John and Michelle
Phillips to Morocco, Doherty back to the United States, and Elliot
either back to the United States (according to John Phillips) or to a
rendezvous in Paris with Pic Dawson (according to Michelle Phillips).[65][66] In an interview with Melody Maker,
Elliot unilaterally announced that The Mamas and the Papas had
disbanded: "We thought this trip would give the group some stimulation,
but this has not been so."[67]
In fact, Phillips and Elliot did patch things up sufficiently to complete The Papas & The Mamas,
which was released in May 1968. It was relatively successful in both
the UK and US, although it was their first not to go gold or reach the
top ten in America. "12:30 (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon)" had been released as a single in August 1967;[2] it peaked at number twenty in the US, but failed to chart in the UK. After the second single, "Safe in My Garden" (May 1968), made it only to number fifty-three, Dunhill released Elliot's solo feature from the album, a cover of "Dream a Little Dream of Me", as a single credited to "Mama Cass with the Mamas and the Papas" in June 1968 – against John Phillips' wishes.[68]
It reached number twelve in the US and became the band's first single
to chart in the UK after five failures, peaking at number eleven. It was
the only Mamas and Papas single to chart higher in the UK than in the
US. The fourth and final single from The Papas and the Mamas
was "For the Love of Ivy" (July 1968), which peaked at number
eighty-one in the US and did not chart in the UK. For the second time,
Dunhill returned to their earlier work for a single. In this case it was
"Do You Wanna Dance" from the debut album, released as a single in
October 1968. It failed to chart in the UK and reached number
seventy-six in the US.[69]
1968–69: Break-up and People Like Us
The
success of "Dream a Little Dream of Me" confirmed Elliot's desire to
embark on a solo career, and by the end of 1968 it appeared that the
group had split. Its chart performance had become increasingly erratic,
with three of its last four singles failing on both sides of the
Atlantic. As John Phillips recalled, "Times had changed. The Beatles
showed the way. Music itself was heading toward a technological and
compositional complexity that would leave many of us behind. It was
tough to keep up."[70]
The group "made it official" at the beginning of 1969: "Dunhill
released us from our contracts and we were history, though we still owed
the label another album."[71] Elliot (billed as Mama Cass) had released her solo debut Dream a Little Dream in 1968, Phillips released John Phillips (John, the Wolf King of L.A.) in 1970, and Denny Doherty followed with Watcha Gonna Do? in 1971.
Dunhill maintained momentum by releasing The Best of the Mamas and the Papas: Farewell to the First Golden Era in 1967, Golden Era Vol. 2 in 1968, 16 of Their Greatest Hits
in 1969, and the Monterey live album in 1970. It was also determined to
get the promised last LP, for which it had given the band an extension
until September 1971.[72]
It warned that each member of the group would be sued for $250,000 if
they did not deliver (about $1.4 million apiece in 2010 values).[73][74]
There was suit and counter suit but these were settled out of court and
it was reported that the band would record under John Phillips's own
label, Warlock Records, distributed by Dunhill.[75]
Phillips wrote another collection of songs, which was arranged,
rehearsed, and recorded in fits and starts over about a year, depending
on the availability of the other group members: "It was rare we were all
together. Most tracks were dubbed, one vocal at a time."[76]
The Mamas and the Papas' last album of new material, People Like Us,
was released in November 1971. The only single, "Step Out" (January
1972), reached number eighty-one in the US. The album peaked at number
eighty-four on the Billboard 200,
making it the only Mamas and Papas LP not to reach the top twenty in
the US. Neither single nor album charted in the UK. Contractual
obligations fulfilled, the band's split was now final.
Cass Elliot had a successful solo career, touring the U.S. and
Europe; appearing frequently on television, including in two specials (The Mama Cass Television Program on ABC in January 1969 and Don't Call Me Mama Anymore
on CBS in September 1973); and producing hits such as "Make Your Own
Kind of Music" and "It's Getting Better". That said, she never surpassed
her two Dunhill albums, Dream a Little Dream (1968) and Bubblegum, Lemonade, and ... Something for Mama (1969). None of the three albums she recorded for RCA – Cass Elliot (1972), The Road Is No Place for a Lady (1972), and Don't Call Me Mama Anymore (1973) – produced a charting single.
Elliot died of heart failure in London on July 29, 1974, after completing a two-week engagement at the Palladium.
The shows were mostly sold out and prompted standing ovations. Her
former bandmates and Lou Adler attended her funeral in Los Angeles.
Elliot was survived by her only child, Owen Vanessa Elliot (b. 1967).
John Phillips' country-influenced solo album, John Phillips (John, the Wolf King of L.A.),
was not a commercial success, despite featuring the single
"Mississippi", which reached number thirty-two in the US. Nevertheless,
it continues to enjoy critical favor. Rolling Stone gave it four stars when it was reissued in 2006, calling it “a genuine lost treasure”.[77] Denny Doherty said that if the Mamas and the Papas had recorded the album, it might have been their best.[78] Phillips wrote songs for the soundtrack to Brewster McCloud (Robert Altman, 1970)[79] and original music for the soundtracks to Myra Breckinridge (Michael Sarne,1970)[80] and The Man Who Fell to Earth (Nicolas Roeg, 1976).[81] He also wrote the ill-fated stage musical Man on the Moon (1975) and songs with and for other artists, including most of the tracks on the album Romance Is on the Rise (1974) by his then wife Geneviève Waïte, which he also produced;[82] and "Kokomo" (1988), which was a number-one hit for the Beach Boys.
Phillips was lost to heroin addiction through much of the 1970s, a
period that culminated in his arrest and conviction in 1980 on a charge
of conspiring to distribute narcotics, for which he spent a month in
jail in 1981.[83][84][85] In later years he performed with the New Mamas and the Papas
(see below) and appeared in revival shows and television specials. He
told his side of the Mamas and Papas' story in the memoir Papa John (1986),[86] and in the PBS television documentary, Straight Shooter: The True Story of John Phillips and the Mamas and the Papas (1988).[87] John Phillips died of heart failure in Los Angeles on March 18, 2001.[88]
Two albums were released immediately after his death: Pay Pack and Follow (April 2001), which included material recorded in London and New York with members of the Rolling Stones in 1976 and 1977;[89][90] and Phillips 66
(August 2001), an album of new material and reworkings that "takes its
title from the age Phillips would have been when the album was
originally slated for its release".[91] A later archival series on Varèse Sarabande included a reissue of John Phillips (John, the Wolf King of L.A.) with bonus tracks (2006); the sessions he recorded for Columbia with the Crusaders in 1972 and 1973, released as Jack of Diamonds (2007);[92] his preferred mix of the Rolling Stones sessions, released with other material as Pussycat (2008);[93] and his demos for Man on the Moon, released as Andy Warhol Presents Man on the Moon: The John Phillips Space Musical (2009).[94]
Phillips had five children:
the businessman Jeffrey Phillips (b. 1957) and the actor and singer Laura Mackenzie Phillips (b. 1959) by his first wife Susan Adams Phillips;
Denny Doherty's solo career faltered after the appearance of Whatcha Gonna Do? in 1971. The follow-up, Waiting for a Song
(1974), was not released in the US, although a 2001 reissue by Varèse
Sarabande gained wider distribution and the album is now available as a
digital download. It features Michelle Phillips and Cass Elliot as
backing vocalists, the latter in what proved to be her last recorded
performances. A single from the album, "You'll Never Know", made the adult contemporary charts. Doherty then turned to the stage, making a disastrous start in John Phillips’ Man on the Moon (1975). In 1977, he returned to his birthplace, Halifax, Nova Scotia, and started playing legitimate roles, including Shakespeare, at the Neptune Theatre under the tutelage of John Neville.[97][98] This led to television work, beginning with a variety program, Denny's Sho*, which ran for one season in 1978. He went on to host and voice parts in the children's program, Theodore Tugboat, and to act in various series, including twenty-two episodes of the drama Pit Pony.[99] Doherty also performed with the New Mamas and the Papas
(see below). An alcoholic through the 1960s and 1970s, Doherty
recovered in the early 1980s and stayed sober for the remainder of his
life.[100][101]In 1996, he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.[97]
Doherty answered John Phillips' PBS documentary with the autobiographical stage musical Dream a Little Dream (the Nearly True Story of the Mamas and the Papas), which he wrote with Paul Ledoux and performed sporadically, starting in Halifax in 1997,[102] and eventually reaching the off-Broadway Village Theater in New York in 2003.[103] The original cast recording – featuring Doherty and supporting band – was released by Lewlacow in 1999.[104]
Doherty died of an abdominal aortic aneurysm at his home in Mississauga, Ontario, on January 19, 2007.[105] He was survived by his three children, Jessica Woods, Emberly Doherty, and John Doherty. A documentary by Paul Ledoux, Here I Am: Denny Doherty and the Mamas and the Papas, premiered at Halifax's Atlantic Film Festival in September 2009 and screened on the Bravo cable network as part of the Great Canadian Biographies series in February 2010.[106][107]
Phillips published a memoir, California Dreamin', in 1986,[109]
the same year John Phillips published his. Reading the two books
together was, according to one reviewer, "like reading the transcripts
in a divorce trial."[110] As the co-writer and owner of the copyright to California Dreamin', Phillips was an important contributor to the 2005 PBS television documentary California Dreamin': The Songs of the Mamas and the Papas.[111]
The New Mamas and the Papas
The
New Mamas and the Papas were a by-product of John Phillips' desire to
"round out the picture of reform" as he awaited sentencing on narcotics
charges in 1980.[112] He invited his children Jeffrey and Mackenzie,
both living in Los Angeles, and Denny Doherty, who was living in
Canada, to join him at the Fair Oaks Hospital in Summit, New Jersey,
where he was undergoing rehabilitation. The children arrived around
Thanksgiving and Doherty around Christmas. The idea of reviving the
group was born at this time, with Phillips and Doherty in their original
roles, Mackenzie Phillips taking Michelle Phillips' part and Elaine
"Spanky" McFarlane of Spanky and Our Gang taking the part of Cass Elliot.[113]
Little progress was made until after Phillips had been sentenced and
served his time in jail. The quartet began rehearsing in earnest and
recording demos in the summer of 1981. Their first performances were in
March 1982, when they were praised for their "verve and expertise", the
"impressive precision" of the harmonies, and the "feeling ... of genuine
celebration" on stage.[114]
The group toured the United States, including residencies in Las
Vegas and Atlantic City, but lost $150,000 in their first eighteen
months. Phillips called a halt in August 1983 and the New Mamas and the
Papas did not perform again until February 1985.[115]
They then resumed touring, with concerts in Europe, East Asia, and
South America, as well as in Canada and the United States; at their
height, they were playing up to 280 nights a year.[116]
John Phillips stayed off heroin, but remained addicted to alcohol,
cocaine, and pills, as did his daughter. This affected the group's
performance, as they were occasionally booed off stage.[117]
Doherty quit in 1987 and was replaced by Scott McKenzie (1939–2012). In 1991, Mackenzie Phillips was replaced by Laurie Beebe Lewis,[118] a former vocalist with the Buckinghams
who had earlier (1986–1987) temped with the band when Mackenzie
Phillips was pregnant. John Phillips dropped out after a liver
transplant in 1992 and Doherty returned. Lewis and McFarlane left in
1993, to be replaced by Lisa Brescia and Deb Lyons. The band continued to perform with varying line-ups, including Barry McGuire
(1997–1998) and the recovering Phillips, until 1998, by which time,
according to one critic, "the jingle singers who sang those fabulous
Cass, Michelle, John, and Denny parts were an aural cartoon".[119]
In 1998 the lineup was Phillips, Scott McKenzie, Chrissy Faith, David
Baker and Janelle Sadler. After Phillips and McKenzie retired
permanently from touring, another singer, Mark Williamson, was brought
in.
Phillips wanted the New Mamas and the Papas to make an album, "but I just couldn't bring myself to commit to it".[120][121]Varèse Sarabande released the 1981 demos with other material as Many Mamas, Many Papas in 2010. Beyond that, the band is represented on record only by live albums of uncertain provenance, including The Mamas and the Papas Reunion Live (1987) featuring the Phillips-Doherty-Phillips-McFarlane line-up and released by Teichiku in Japan;[104] and Dreamin' Live
(2005) on a label called Legacy (not the Columbia-Sony imprint), which
features John and Mackenzie Phillips, Spanky McFarlane, and (probably)
Scott McKenzie.[122]
Members
John Phillips – Vocals, guitar (1982–1992, 1995–1998)
In 1986, John and Michelle Phillips were featured in the music video for the Beach Boys' second recording of "California Dreamin'", which appeared on the album Made in U.S.A.
Denny Doherty was unavailable. The Mamas and the Papas' own version of
"California Dreamin'" was reissued in the UK and peaked at number nine
in 1997. The song received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 2001.
The Mamas and the Papas were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame
in 2000, and the Hit Parade Hall of Fame in 2009. Cass Elliot and
Michelle Phillips, as "the Mamas", were ranked number twenty-one on the
VH1 network's list of the 100 Greatest Women of Rock.
In a review by Matthew Greenwald, he stated, "One of the best
anthologies of the Mamas & the Papas, A Gathering of Flowers was put
together immediately after the group's demise, and gives the listener
an excellent overview of one of the most revolutionary and appealing
groups to emerge from the folk-rock era. Although it may seem slim at
first, with only 20 tracks spread out over two LPs, there is much more
to be found. In between most cuts there are not only rehearsals and
outtakes, but also interview snippets from John Phillips and Cass
Elliot. These interviews create an aural documentary of the group in
between great cuts like "California Dreamin'," "Monday, Monday," "I Saw
Her Again," and others. Excellent liner notes by Andy Wickham and a
generous collection of rare photos top this collection off in grand
style." This anthology was never produced on CD but was available on
vinyl and cassette tape for many years. Some companies are offering a
CDR ripped version of this engaging look into the history of the Mamas
& the Papas, normally including the source material to preserve
copyrights.
The band finally received a box set when the four-CD Complete Anthology
was released in the UK in September 2004 and in the US in January 2005.
It contains the five studio albums, the live album from Monterey,
selections from their solo work, and rarities including their first
sessions with Barry McGuire, all in "uniformly excellent" sound.[123] A blogger on BBC Music called it "a treasure chest of pop gold".[124]
In addition to the three documentaries (Straight Shooter, California Dreamin' and Here I Am), Doherty's musical, and the memoirs by John, Michelle, and Mackenzie Phillips, the group is the subject of Doug Hall's The Mamas and the Papas: California Dreamin' (2000)[125] and Matthew Greenwald's Go Where You Wanna Go: The Oral History of the Mamas and the Papas (2002).[126] Cass Elliot is the subject of Jon Johnson's Make Your Own Kind of Music: A Career Retrospective of Cass Elliot (1987)[127] and Eddi Fiegel's Dream a Little Dream of Me: The Life of Mama Cass Elliot (2005).[128] John Phillips' estate has authorized Chris Campion to write a biography of the group's leader, provisionally called Wolfking.[129][130][131]
Fox acquired the rights to make a film about the Mamas and the Papas in 2000.[132] It was reported in 2007 that "The right script is in the process of being written."[133] Peter Fitzpatrick's stage musical, Flowerchildren: The Mamas and Papas Story, was produced by Magnormos in Melbourne, Australia, in 2011 and revived in 2013.[134][135]
Below are 5 videos to enjoy the music of the Eagles-
The Eagles talk about reforming:
Take It Easy - Live - Nevada 08-30-2014
New Kid In Town - Live at the Capital Centre, Margo, MD, 03-21-1977
Hotel California - Live at the Capital Centre, Margo, MD, 03-21-1977
How Long - Music Video from the Long Road Out of Eden Album:
The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. The founding members were Glenn Frey (lead guitar, lead vocals), Don Henley (drums, lead vocals), Bernie Leadon (guitars, vocals) and Randy Meisner (bass guitar, vocals). With five number-one singles, six Grammy Awards, five American Music Awards,
and six number-one albums, the Eagles were one of the most successful
musical acts of the 1970s. At the end of the 20th century, two of their
albums, Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) and Hotel California, were ranked among the 20 best-selling albums in the United States according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Hotel California is ranked 37th in Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" and the band was ranked number 75 on the magazine's 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[1]
The Eagles are one of the world's best-selling bands of all time, having sold more than 150 million records[2]—100 million in the U.S. alone—including 42 million copies of Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) and 32 million copies of Hotel California. Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) was the best selling album of the 20th century in the U.S.[3] They are the fifth-highest-selling music act and the highest-selling American band in U.S. history.
The band released their debut album, Eagles, in 1972, which spawned three top 40 singles: "Take It Easy," "Witchy Woman," and "Peaceful Easy Feeling." Their next album, Desperado
(1973), was less successful than the first, only reaching number 41 on
the charts; neither of its singles reached the top 40. However, the
album does contain what would go on to be two of the band's most popular
tracks: "Desperado" and "Tequila Sunrise." The band released On the Border in 1974, adding guitarist Don Felder as the fifth member midway through the recording of the album. The album generated two top 40 singles: "Already Gone" and their first number one, "Best of My Love."
Their 1975 album One of These Nights included three top 10 singles: "One of These Nights," "Lyin' Eyes," and "Take It to the Limit," the first hitting the top of the charts. Guitarist and vocalist Joe Walsh
also joined the band in 1975 replacing Leadon. The Eagles continued
that success and hit their commercial peak in late 1976 with the release
of Hotel California, which would go on to sell more than 16
million copies in the U.S. alone and more than 32 million copies
worldwide. The album yielded two number-one singles, "New Kid in Town" and "Hotel California." Meisner left the band in 1977 and was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit. They released their last studio album for nearly 28 years in 1979 with The Long Run, which spawned three top 10 singles: "Heartache Tonight," "The Long Run," and "I Can't Tell You Why," the lead single being another chart-topping hit.
The Eagles disbanded in July 1980 but reunited in 1994 for the album Hell Freezes Over, a mix of live and new studio tracks. They toured consistently and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2007, the Eagles released Long Road Out of Eden, their first full studio album in 28 years and their sixth number-one album. The next year they launched the Long Road Out of Eden Tour in support of the album. In 2013, they began the extended History of the Eagles Tour in conjunction with the band's documentary release, History of the Eagles.
Following the death of Frey in January 2016, Henley stated in several
interviews that he did not think the band would perform again. However,
in March 2017 it was announced that the Eagles would be headlining two
concerts in July 2017.
1971–1973: Formation and early releases
The Eagles began in early 1971, when Linda Ronstadt and her then-manager John Boylan recruited local musicians Glenn Frey and Don Henley for her band.[4] Henley had moved to Los Angeles from Texas with his band Shiloh to record an album produced by Kenny Rogers,[5] and Frey had come from Michigan and formed Longbranch Pennywhistle; they had met in 1970 at The Troubadour in Los Angeles and became acquainted through their mutual record label, Amos Records.[6][7]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.[4][8]
While on the tour, Frey and Henley decided to form a band together
and informed Ronstadt of their intention. Frey later credited Ronstadt
with suggesting Leadon for the band, and arranging for Leadon to play
for her so Frey and Henley could approach him about forming a band
together. They also pitched the idea to Meisner and brought him on
board.[9] These four played live together behind Ronstadt only once for a July concert at Disneyland,[4] but all four appeared on her eponymous album.[10] It was later proposed that J. D. Souther should join the band, but Meisner objected.[11] The four were signed in September 1971 to Asylum Records, the new label started by David Geffen, who was introduced to Frey by Jackson Browne.[12] Geffen bought out Frey's and Henley's contracts with Amos Records, and sent the four to Aspen, Colorado to develop as a band.[13]
Having not settled on a band name yet, they performed their first show
in October 1971 under the name of Teen King and the Emergencies at a
club called The Gallery in Aspen.[14][15] Don Felder credited Leadon with originating the name of Eagles for the band during a peyote and tequila-influenced group outing in the Mojave Desert, when he recalled reading about the Hopis' reverence for the eagle.[16]
Accounts however vary, and J.D. Souther suggested that the idea came
when Frey shouted out, "Eagles!" when they saw eagles flying above.[17]Steve Martin,
a friend of the band from their early days at The Troubadour, recounts
in his autobiography that he suggested that they should be referred to
as "the Eagles," but Frey insists that the group's name is simply
"Eagles."[18] Geffen and partner Elliot Roberts initially managed the band; they were later replaced by Irving Azoff while the Eagles were recording their third album.
The group's eponymous debut album was recorded in England in February 1972 with producer Glyn Johns.[4] Johns was impressed by the harmony singing of the band,[20] and he has been credited with shaping the band into "the country-rock band with those high-flyin' harmonies."[21] Released on June 1, 1972, Eagles was a breakthrough success, yielding three Top 40 singles. The first single and lead track, "Take It Easy," was a song written by Frey with his then-neighbor and fellow country-folk rocker Jackson Browne.
Browne had written the first verse of the song, but got stalled on the
second verse after the line "I'm standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona."
Frey completed the verse with "It's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford,
slowin' down to take a look at me," and Browne carried on to finish the
song.[22] The song reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and propelled the Eagles to stardom. The single was followed by the bluesy "Witchy Woman" and the soft country rock ballad "Peaceful Easy Feeling," charting at number 9 and number 22 respectively. The group supported the album with a US tour as the opening act for Yes.
Their second album, Desperado, took Old West
outlaws for its theme, drawing comparisons between their lifestyles and
modern rock stars. This album was the first to showcase the group's
penchant for conceptual songwriting. It was during these recording
sessions Henley and Frey first began writing together. They co-wrote
eight of the album's eleven songs, including "Tequila Sunrise" and "Desperado," two of the group's most popular songs. The bluegrass songs "Twenty-One," "Doolin–Dalton,"
and the ballad "Saturday Night" showcase guitarist Bernie Leadon's
abilities on the banjo, guitar, and mandolin. The story of the notorious
Wild West "Doolin–Dalton" gang is the main thematic focus of the album, as seen in the songs "Doolin–Dalton," "Desperado," "Certain Kind of Fool," "Outlaw Man," and "Bitter Creek." The album was less successful than the group's first, reaching only number 41 on the US Billboard 200 and yielding two singles, "Tequila Sunrise," which reached number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100
and "Outlaw Man," which peaked at number 59. With Henley and Frey
co-writing the bulk of the album—a pattern that would continue for years
to come—the album marked a significant change for the band. The pair
also began to dominate in terms of leadership; the early assumption had
been that Leadon and Meisner as veteran musicians would have a greater
influence on the band.[23]
1973–1975: On the Border and One of These Nights
For their next album, On the Border, Henley and Frey wanted the band to break away from the country rock style and move more towards hard rock. The Eagles initially started with Glyn Johns
as the producer for this album, but he tended to emphasize the lush
side of their double-edged music. After completing only two usable
songs, the band turned to Bill Szymczyk to produce the rest of the album.[24][25] Szymczyk wanted a harder-edged guitarist for the song "Good Day in Hell" and the band remembered Bernie Leadon's childhood friend Don Felder, a guitarist who had jammed backstage with the band in 1972 when they opened for Yes in Boston.[26] Felder had been nicknamed "Fingers" at the jam by Frey, a name that stuck due to his guitar proficiency.[27] In January 1974, Frey called Felder to add slide guitar
to the song "Good Day in Hell" and the band was so impressed that they
invited him to join the group as the fifth Eagle the next day.[28] He appeared on one other song on the album, the uptempo breakup song "Already Gone,"
on which he performed a guitar duet with Frey. "Already Gone" was
released as the first single from the album and it reached number 32 on
the charts. On the Border yielded a number 1 Billboard single ("Best of My Love"), which hit the top of the charts on March 1, 1975. The song was the Eagles' first of five chart toppers.[29] The album included a cover version of the Tom Waits song "Ol' '55" and the single "James Dean," which reached number 77 on the charts.
The band played at the California Jam festival in Ontario, California on April 6, 1974. Attracting more than 300,000 fans and billed as "the Woodstock of the West Coast," the festival featured Black Sabbath, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Deep Purple, Earth, Wind & Fire, Seals & Crofts, Black Oak Arkansas, and Rare Earth.[30] Portions of the show were telecast on ABC
television in the United States, exposing the Eagles to a wider
audience. Felder missed the show when he was called away to attend the
birth of his son; Jackson Browne filled in for him on piano and acoustic
guitar.[31]
The Eagles released their fourth studio album, One of These Nights,
on June 10, 1975. A breakthrough album for the Eagles, making them
international superstars, it was the first in a string of four
consecutive number 1 albums. The dominant songwriting partnership of
Henley and Frey continued on this album. The first single was the title
track, which became their second consecutive chart topper. Frey has said
it is his all-time favorite Eagles tune.[32] The second single was "Lyin' Eyes,"
which reached number 2 on the charts and won the band their first
Grammy for "Best Pop Performance by a duo or group with vocal." The
final single, "Take It to the Limit,"
was written by Meisner, Henley, and Frey, and it is the only Eagles
single to feature Meisner on lead vocals. The song reached number 4 on
the charts. The band launched a huge worldwide tour in support of the
album, and the album was nominated for a Grammy award for Album of the
Year. The group was featured on the cover of the September 25, 1975
issue of Rolling Stone magazine and on September 28, the band joined Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, and Toots and the Maytals for a show in front of 55,000 people at Anaheim Stadium.[33] One of These Nights was their last album to feature founding
member Bernie Leadon. Leadon wrote or co-wrote three songs for the
album, including "I Wish You Peace," written with girlfriend Patti Davis (daughter of California governorRonald Reagan and Nancy Reagan); and the instrumental "Journey of the Sorcerer," which would later be used as the theme music for the BBC's radio and television versions of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Leadon was disillusioned with the direction the band's music was taking
and his loss of creative control as their sound was moving from his
preferred country to rock and roll.[34]
His dissatisfaction, principally with Frey, boiled over one night when
Frey was talking animatedly about the direction they should take next,
and Leadon poured a beer over Frey's head, and said: "You need to chill
out, man!"[35][36] On December 20, 1975, after months of denials, it was announced that Leadon had left the band.[34]
1975–1977: Major success with Hotel California
Leadon's replacement, officially announced on December 20, 1975, was guitarist, singer, and keyboardist Joe Walsh, who had been a friend of the band for some years. He had previously performed with James Gang, Barnstorm, and as a solo artist; he was also managed by Azoff and used Szymczyk as his record producer.[37]
There was some initial concern as to Walsh's ability to fit in with the
band, as he was considered too "wild" for the Eagles, especially by
Henley.[37]
After the departure of Leadon, the Eagles' early country sound almost
completely disappeared, with the band employing a harder sound with the
addition of Felder and Walsh; however, Felder also had to play banjo, pedal steel and mandolin on future tours, something that had previously been Leadon's domain.[38]
In early 1976, the band released their first compilation album, Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975). The album became the highest-selling album of the 20th century in the United States,[39] and has since sold 29 million copies in the U.S. and 42 million copies worldwide.[40][41] It stayed the biggest seller of all time until it was taken over by Michael Jackson's Thriller following the artist's death in 2009.[41] The album cemented the group's status as the most successful American band of the decade.
The following album, Hotel California,
released on December 8, 1976, was the band's fifth studio album and the
first to feature Walsh. The album took a year and a half to complete, a
process which, along with touring, drained the band. The album's first
single, "New Kid in Town," became the Eagles' third number-one single.
The second single was the title track,
which topped the charts in May 1977 and became the Eagles' signature
song. It features Henley on lead vocals, with a guitar duet performed by
Felder and Walsh. The song was written by Felder, Henley, and Frey,
with Felder writing all the music. The mysterious lyrics have been
interpreted in many ways, some of them controversial. Rumors even
started in certain quarters that the song was about Satanism. The rumor
was dismissed by the band and later by Henley in the documentary film History of the Eagles. Henley told 60 Minutes
in 2007 that "it's basically a song about the dark underbelly of the
American Dream and about excess in America, which was something we knew
about."[42]
With its hard rock sound, "Life in the Fast Lane" was also a major success that established Walsh's position in the band. The third and final single from Hotel California,
it reached number 11 on the charts. The ballad "Wasted Time" closes the
first side of the album, while an instrumental reprise of it opens the
second side. The album concludes with "The Last Resort,"
a song that Frey once referred to as "Henley's opus," but which Henley
described as "fairly pedestrian" and "never fully realized, musically
speaking."[22]
The run-out groove
on side two has the words "V.O.L. Is Five-Piece Live" etched into the
vinyl, which means that the instrumental track for the song "Victim of
Love" was recorded live in the studio, with no overdubs. Henley confirms
this in the liner notes of The Very Best Of. However, the song was a point of contention between Don Felder
and the rest of the band. In the 2013 documentary, Felder claimed that
he had been promised the lead vocal on "Victim of Love," for which he
had written most of the music. After many unproductive attempts to
record Felder's vocal, band manager Irving Azoff was delegated to take Felder out for a meal, removing him from the mix while Don Henley overdubbed his lead vocal. Hotel California appeared at number 37 on Rolling Stone's list of the best albums of all time,[43] and is the band's best-selling studio album, with more than 17 million copies sold in the U.S. alone[44] and more than 32 million copies worldwide.[45]
The album won Grammys for "Record of the Year" ("Hotel California") and "Best Arrangement for Voices" ("New Kid in Town"). Hotel California topped the charts and was nominated for Album of the Year at the 1978 Grammy Awards, but lost to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours.
The huge worldwide tour in support of the album further drained the
band members and strained their personal and creative relationships. Hotel California is the last album to feature founding member
Randy Meisner, who abruptly left the band after the 1977 tour. The
Eagles had been touring continuously for eleven months; the band was
suffering from the strain of the tour, and Meisner's stomach ulcers had flared up by the time they arrived in Knoxville in June 1977.[46]
Meisner had been struggling to hit the crucial high notes in his
signature song, "Take It To the Limit," and was unwilling to perform the
song, Frey and Meisner then became engaged in arguments about Meisner's
reluctance to perform.[47] Meisner decided to not sing the song as an encore at the Knoxville concert because he had been up late and caught the flu.[47][48]
Frey and Meisner then got into an angry physical confrontation
backstage, and Meisner left the venue. After the incident, Meisner was
frozen out from the band,[46]
and he decided to leave the group at the end of the tour and return to
Nebraska to be with his family. His last performance was in East Troy, Wisconsin on September 3, 1977.[49] The band replaced Meisner with the same musician who had succeeded him in Poco, Timothy B. Schmit, after agreeing that Schmit was the only candidate.[50]
In 1977, the group, minus Don Felder, performed instrumental work and backing vocals for Randy Newman's album Little Criminals, including "Short People," which has backup vocals by Frey and Schmit.
1977–1980: The Long Run, breakup
The Eagles went into the recording studio in 1977 to begin work on their next album, The Long Run.
The album took two years to complete. It was originally intended to be a
double album, but the band members were unable to write enough songs. The Long Run was released on September 24, 1979. Considered a disappointment by some critics for failing to live up to Hotel California,
it proved a huge commercial hit nonetheless; the album topped the
charts and sold seven million copies. In addition, it included three Top
10 singles. "Heartache Tonight" became their last single to top the Hot 100, on November 10, 1979. The title track and "I Can't Tell You Why" both reached number 8. The band won their fourth Grammy for "Heartache Tonight." "In The City"
by Walsh and "The Sad Cafe" became live staples. The band also recorded
two Christmas songs during these sessions, "Funky New Year" and "Please Come Home for Christmas," which was released as a single in 1978 and reached number 18 on the charts.
Frey, Henley and Schmit contributed backup vocals for the single release of "Look What You've Done to Me" by Boz Scaggs. A different version with female backing vocals appears on the Urban Cowboy soundtrack, along with the Eagles' 1975 hit "Lyin' Eyes."
On July 31, 1980, in Long Beach, California, tempers boiled over into what has been described as the "Long Night at Wrong Beach."[51][52]
The animosity between Felder and Frey boiled over before the show
began, when Felder said, "You're welcome – I guess" to California
Senator Alan Cranston's wife as the politician was thanking the band backstage for performing a benefit for his reelection.[53]
Frey and Felder spent the entire show telling each other about the
beating each planned to administer backstage. "Only three more songs
until I kick your ass, pal," Frey recalled Felder telling him near the
end of the band's set.[54] Felder recalls Frey telling him during "Best of My Love," "I'm gonna kick your ass when we get off the stage."[51][55]
It appeared to be the end of the Eagles, but the band still had a commitment with Elektra Records to make a live record from the tour. Eagles Live
(released in November 1980) was mixed on opposite coasts. Frey had
already left the band and would remain in Los Angeles, while the other
band members each worked on their parts in Miami.[56] "We were fixing three-part harmonies courtesy of Federal Express," said producer Bill Szymczyk.[5] Frey refused to speak to the other Eagles, and he fired Irving Azoff as his manager.[56]
With credits that listed five attorneys, the album's liner notes simply
said, "Thank you and goodnight." A single released from the album – "Seven Bridges Road" – had been a live concert staple for the band. It was written by Steve Young in an arrangement created by Iain Matthews for his Valley Hi album in 1973. The song reached number 21 on the charts in 1980, becoming the Eagles' last Top 40 single until 1994.
1980–1994: Hiatus
After
the Eagles broke up, the former members pursued solo careers. Elektra,
the band's long-time record label, owned the rights to solo albums
created by members of the Eagles (though several of them moved to
different labels in ensuing years). Walsh had established himself as a
solo artist in the 1970s, before and during his time with the Eagles,
but it was uncharted waters for the others. Walsh released a successful
album in 1981, There Goes the Neighborhood, but subsequent albums throughout the 1980s, such as Got Any Gum? were less well received. During this period Walsh performed as a session musician for Dan Fogelberg, Steve Winwood, John Entwistle, Richard Marx and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, among others, and produced and co-wrote Ringo Starr's Old Wave album.
Henley achieved arguably the greatest commercial solo success of any former Eagle. In 1981, he sang a duet with Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac fame, "Leather and Lace." In 1982, he released I Can't Stand Still, featuring the hit "Dirty Laundry." This album would pale in comparison to his next release, Building the Perfect Beast (1984), which features the classic rock radio staples "The Boys of Summer" (a Billboard number 5 hit), "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" (number 9), "Not Enough Love in the World" (number 34) and "Sunset Grill" (number 22). Henley's next album, The End of the Innocence (1989), was also a major success. It includes "The End of the Innocence," "The Last Worthless Evening" and "The Heart of the Matter."
His solo career was cut short due to a contract dispute with his record
company, which was finally resolved when the Eagles reunited in 1994.
Frey also achieved solo success in the 1980s. In 1982, he released his first album, No Fun Aloud, which spawned the number 15 hit, "The One You Love." The Allnighter (1984) featured the number 20 hit "Sexy Girl." He reached number 2 on the charts with "The Heat Is On" from the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack. He had another number 2 single in 1985 with "You Belong to the City" from the Miami Vice soundtrack, which featured another Frey song, "Smuggler's Blues."
He appeared as "Jimmy" in the episode titled after the song and
contributed riffs to the episode's soundtrack. He also contributed the
songs "Flip City" to the Ghostbusters II soundtrack and "Part of Me, Part of You" to the soundtrack for Thelma & Louise.
Music writer turned filmmaker Cameron Crowe,
an Eagles fan, had written articles about Poco and the Eagles during
his journalism career. In 1982 his first screenplay was produced as the
feature-length movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
The film was co-produced by Eagles manager Azoff, who also co-produced
the soundtrack album, released by Elektra. Henley, Walsh, Schmit and
Felder all contributed solo songs to the film's soundtrack. The band
playing at the dance toward the end of the movie covers the Eagles song "Life in the Fast Lane."
Felder also released a solo album and contributed two songs to the soundtrack of the movie Heavy Metal:
"Heavy Metal (Takin' a Ride)" (with Henley and Schmit providing backing
vocals) and "All of You." He also had a minor hit called "Bad Girls"
off his solo album Airborne.
Schmit had a prolific solo career after the band's initial breakup. He had a hit song on the Fast Times at Ridgemont High soundtrack with "So Much in Love." He contributed vocals to the Crosby, Stills & Nash album Daylight Again on the songs "Southern Cross" and "Wasted on the Way" when that band needed an extra vocalist due to David Crosby's drug overindulgence. Schmit sang backup vocals on Toto's Toto IV album, including the song "I Won't Hold You Back" and appeared with the group on their 1982 European tour. He spent three years (1983–1985) as a member of Jimmy Buffett's
Coral Reefer band and coined the term "Parrotheads" for Buffett's
die-hard fans. He had a Top 40 solo hit in 1987 with "Boys' Night Out"
and a top-30 Adult Contemporary hit with "Don't Give Up," both from his
album Timothy B. Schmit appeared with Meisner and Walsh on Richard Marx's debut single "Don't Mean Nothing." In 1992, Schmit and Walsh toured as members of Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band and appeared on the live video from the Montreux Jazz Festival. Schmit released two solo albums, Playin' It Cool in 1984 and Tell Me the Truth in 1990. He was the only Eagle to appear on the 1993 Eagles tribute album Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles, singing backing vocals on Vince Gill's cover of "I Can't Tell You Why."
Meisner hit the top 40 three times, including the number 19 "Hearts on Fire" in 1981.
1994–2001: Reunion, Hell Freezes Over
An Eagles country tribute album, titled Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles, was released in 1993, 13 years after the breakup. Travis Tritt insisted on having the Long Run-era
Eagles in his video for "Take It Easy" and they agreed. Following years
of public speculation, the band formally reunited the following year.
The lineup comprised the five Long Run-era members—Frey, Henley, Walsh, Felder, and Schmit—supplemented by Scott Crago (drums), John Corey (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals), Timothy Drury (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals), and former Loggins and Messina sideman Al Garth (sax, violin) on stage.
"For the record, we never broke up, we just took a 14-year vacation,"
announced Henley at their first live performance in April 1994. The
ensuing tour spawned a live album titled Hell Freezes Over
(named for Henley's recurring statement that the group would get back
together "when hell freezes over"), which debuted at number 1 on the Billboard album chart. It included four new studio songs, with "Get Over It" and "Love Will Keep Us Alive"
both becoming Top 40 hits. The album proved as successful as the tour,
selling six million copies in the U.S. The tour was interrupted in
September 1994 because of Frey's serious recurrence of diverticulitis, but it resumed in 1995 and continued into 1996.[57] In 1998, the Eagles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
For the induction ceremony, all seven Eagles members (Frey, Henley,
Felder, Walsh, Schmit, Leadon, and Meisner) played together for two
songs, "Take It Easy" and "Hotel California." Several subsequent reunion
tours followed (without Leadon or Meisner), notable for their
record-setting ticket prices.[58][59]
The Eagles performed at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on December 28 and 29, 1999, followed by a concert at the Staples Center
in Los Angeles on December 31. These concerts marked the last time
Felder played with the band and the shows (including a planned video
release) would later form a part of a lawsuit filed by Felder against
his former band mates. The concert recordings were released on CD as
part of the four-disc Selected Works: 1972–1999 box set in November 2000. Along with the concert, this set included the band's hit singles, album tracks and outtakes from The Long Run sessions. Selected Works received platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2002.[60] The group resumed touring in 2001, with a line-up consisting of Frey, Henley, Walsh, and Schmit, along with Steuart Smith
(guitars, mandolin, keyboards, backing vocals; essentially taking over
Felder's role), Michael Thompson (keyboards, trombone), Will Hollis
(keyboards, backing vocals), Scott Crago (drums, percussion), Bill Armstrong (Horns), Al Garth (sax, violin), Christian Mostert (sax), and Greg Smith (sax, percussion).
2001–2007: Don Felder sues, hiatus
On
February 6, 2001, Don Felder was fired from the Eagles. He responded by
filing two lawsuits against "Eagles, Ltd.," a California corporation;
Don Henley, an individual; Glenn Frey, an individual; and "Does
1–50," alleging wrongful termination, breach of implied-in-fact
contract and breach of fiduciary duty, reportedly seeking $50 million in
damages.[61][62] Felder alleged that from the 1994 Hell Freezes Over
tour onward, Henley and Frey had .".. insisted that they each receive a
higher percentage of the band's profits ...," whereas the money had
previously been split in five equal portions. Felder accused them of
coercing him into signing an agreement under which Henley and Frey would
receive three times as much of the Selected Works: 1972–1999 proceeds.
On behalf of Henley and Frey, attorney Daniel M. Petrocelli
responded by saying "[Henley and Frey] felt—creatively, chemistry-wise
and performance-wise—that he should no longer be part of the band ...
They removed him, and they had every legal right to do so. This has been
happening with rock 'n' roll bands since day one.[61] Henley and Frey then countersued Felder for breach of contract, alleging that Felder had written a "tell-all" book, Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles (1974–2001). The initial U.S. release was canceled after publisher Hyperion Books
backed out in September 2001, when an entire print run of the book had
to be recalled for cuts and changes. The American edition was published
by John Wiley & Sons
on April 28, 2008, with Felder embarking on a full publicity campaign
surrounding its release. The book was published in the United Kingdom on
November 1, 2007.[63]
On January 23, 2002, the Los Angeles County Court consolidated the two complaints, set a trial date for September 2006,[64] and the single case was dismissed on May 8, 2007, after being settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.[64]
In 2003, the Eagles released a greatest hits album, The Very Best Of.[65] The two-disc compilation was the first that encompassed their entire career from Eagles to Hell Freezes Over.
It debuted at number 3 on the Billboard charts and eventually gained
triple platinum status. The album included a new single, the September 11 attacks-themed "Hole in the World." Also in 2003, Warren Zevon, a longtime Eagles friend, began work on his final album, The Wind, with the assistance of Henley, Walsh, and Schmit.
On June 14, 2005, the Eagles released a new 2-DVD set, Farewell 1 Tour-Live from Melbourne,
featuring two new songs: Frey's "No More Cloudy Days" and Walsh's "One
Day at a Time." A special edition 2006 release, exclusive to Walmart
and affiliated stores, includes a bonus audio CD with three new songs: a
studio version of "No More Cloudy Days," "Fast Company," and "Do
Something."[66]
2007–2013: Long Road Out of Eden world tour
In 2007, the Eagles consisted of Frey, Henley, Walsh, and Schmit. On August 20, 2007, "How Long," written by J. D. Souther, was released as a single to radio with an accompanying online video at Yahoo! Music. It debuted on television on Country Music Television during the Top 20 Countdown
on August 23, 2007. The band had performed the song as part of their
live sets in the early to mid-1970s, but did not record it at the time
because Souther wanted to reserve it for use on his first solo album.
Souther had previously worked with the Eagles, co-writing some of their
biggest hits, including "Best of My Love," "Victim of Love," "Heartache
Tonight," and "New Kid in Town."
On October 30, 2007, the Eagles released Long Road Out of Eden,
their first album of all-new material since 1979. For the first year
after the album's release, it was available in the U.S. only via the
band's website, at Walmart, and at Sam's Club stores.[67] It was commercially available through traditional retail outlets in other countries. The album debuted at number 1 in the U.S.,[68]
the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands, and Norway. It
became their third studio album and seventh release overall to be
certified at least seven times platinum by the RIAA.[69] Henley told CNN that "This is probably the last Eagles album that we'll ever make."[70]
The Eagles made their awards show debut on November 7, 2007, when they performed "How Long" live at the Country Music Association Awards.
Eagles performing in Berlin, 2009
On January 28, 2008, the second single of Long Road Out of Eden was released. "Busy Being Fabulous" peaked at number 28 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart[71] and at number 12 on the U.S. BillboardHot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.[71] The Eagles won their fifth Grammy in 2008, in the category Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "How Long."
On March 20, 2008, the Eagles launched their world tour in support of Long Road Out of Eden at The O2 Arena in London. The Long Road Out of Eden Tour concluded the American portion of the tour at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah
on May 9, 2009. It was the first concert ever held in the new soccer
stadium. The tour travelled to Europe, with its final concert date on
July 22, 2009, in Lisbon. The band spent the summer of 2010 touring North American stadiums with the Dixie Chicks and Keith Urban. The tour expanded to England as the headline act of the Hop Farm Festival on July 1, 2011.
Asked in November 2010 whether the Eagles were planning a follow-up to Long Road Out of Eden,
Schmit replied, "My first reaction would be: no way. But I said that
before the last one, so you never really know. Bands are a fragile
entity and you never know what's going to happen. It took a long time to
do that last album, over a span of years, really, and it took a lot out
of us. We took a year off at one point. I'm not sure if we're able to
do that again. I wouldn't close the door on it, but I don't know."[72] Walsh said in 2010 that there might be one more album before the band "wraps it up."[73]
Frey later stated in a 2012 interview that the band has had discussions
about releasing an EP of potentially 4–6 songs that may contain both
original and cover material.[74]
2013–present: History of the Eagles documentary and tour, Frey's death and dissolution, and second reformation
History of the Eagles tour, 2014, joined by Bernie Leadon (second from left). Henley on drums not pictured.
In February 2013, the Eagles released a career-spanning documentary called History of the Eagles and began the supporting tour with 11 US arena dates from July 6 to 25.[75] Henley said that the tour, which expanded internationally and continued until July 29, 2015,[76]
"could very well be our last...we're gonna include at least one former
band member in this tour and kinda go back to the roots, and how we
created some of these songs. We're gonna break it down to the
fundamentals and then take it up to where it is now."[77]
Original Eagles guitarist Bernie Leadon also appeared on the tour.
Walsh stated, "Bernie’s brilliant, I never really got a chance to play
with him, but we've been in contact. We see him from time to time, and
I'm really glad he's coming because it's going to take the show up a
notch, and I'm really looking forward to playing with him, finally."[78] Former members Randy Meisner and Don Felder did not appear.[76]
Meisner had been invited but could not participate for health reasons,
while Felder was never asked. Though his lawsuits against the Eagles
were settled in 2007, Henley claimed that Felder continued to "engage in
legal action, of one kind or another" against the band, but did not
state what actions those are.[76]
Four of the Eagles (Frey, Henley, Walsh, and Schmit) were slated to receive Kennedy Center Honors in 2015, but this was deferred to 2016 due to Frey's medical problems.[79]
In
March 2017, it was announced that the band would be headlining the
Classic West and Classic East concert events in July 2017, which were
organized by their manager Irving Azoff.[86]
Don Henley confirmed on May 16, 2017 that Glenn Frey's son Deacon would
be performing in Glenn's place, along with another "surprise musician."[87] It was subsequently announced that country singer Vince Gill would perform with the Eagles at the July concerts.[88] At the Classic West concert on July 15, the band was joined by Bob Seger who sang "Heartache Tonight", which he co-wrote. Deacon Frey was noted for his composure and precision.[89]
On December 7, 1999, the Recording Industry of America honored the group with the Best Selling Album of the Century for Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975).[109]
The group ranked number 34 on Country Music Television's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music in 2003. They were one of four artists who were either a duo or a group on the list with the others being Alabama at number eleven, Flatt & Scruggs at number 24 and Brooks & Dunn at number 25.
The group was chosen for the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors to be held on December 6 of that year, but postponed the award for a year because of Glenn Frey's poor health.[79] Frey died a month later.[80][81]
