The Eagles were one of the most popular musical acts in the world in the 1970s, but they ground to a halt in the first year of the new decade of the 1980s with a disjointed, piecemeal album that stands as an appropriate testament to the band’s inner dysfunction. The rock and country icons released Eagles Live on Nov. 7, 1980 — a project that found them not only unable to work together in the same room, but was actually completed on different coasts.
The group had essentially ground to a halt after releasing their sixth studio album, The Long Run, in September of 1979. The band members struggled to follow up the massive success of Hotel California during those sessions, which were hampered by drugs and internal strife, and while the album placed hits including “I Can’t Tell You Why,” “In the City,” “Those Shoes” and “Heartache Tonight,” it was wildly uneven and ultimately considered a disappointment.
The tour that followed was even more fractious, culminating in a show on July 31, 1980, at a fundraiser for Senator Alan Cranston’s campaign. Singer-guitarist Glenn Frey and lead guitarist Don Felder nearly came to blows backstage after exchanging harsh words on stage in front of the audience, with Frey famously threatening, “Only three more songs until I kick your a–, pal.”
That marked the end of the classic-era Eagles, but the group still contractually owed Elektra/Asylum another album, so they decided to cull a double live album out of existing tapes from various shows recorded over the history of the band.
Bill Szymczyk produced Eagles Live, and he was forced to referee between Frey and singer-drummer Don Henley, whose partnership had disintegrated to the point that Frey worked in Los Angeles while Henley worked in Miami to produce the overdubs to complete the live tapes where necessary.
The live tapes ranged from 1976 to the band’s most recent gigs in 1980, encompassing different lineups and including two different hits from two different singer-bassists: Randy Meisner’s performance of “Take It to the Limit” was recorded at the Forum in Los Angeles in 1976, while Timothy B. Schmit’s take on “I Can’t Tell You Why” was recorded in Santa Monica, Calif., in July of 1980.
“I had my assistant in Los Angeles with Glenn, and I had the rest of the band fly to Miami,” Szymczyk recalled (quote via Ultimate Classic Rock). “We were fixing three-part harmonies courtesy of Federal Express.”
The Eagles released just one single from Eagles Live in the form of “Seven Bridges Road,” a Steve Young cover that had featured prominently in their live shows since their earliest days. The album featured a laundry list of their greatest hits, but due to extensive overdubs, it doesn’t stand as a true “live” album.
Nonetheless, “Seven Bridges Road” peaked at No. 21 on Billboard‘s Hot 100, and Eagles Live reached No. 6 on the Billboard U.S. 200. The album served as a stopgap for the individual members of the Eagles to record solo projects: Henley would release his debut solo album, I Can’t Stand Still, in 1982, scoring a hit with “Dirty Laundry,” and Frey also released his debut solo album, No Fun Aloud, in 1982, hitting with “Party Town.”
Walsh, Felder and Schmit would follow with their own solo projects, and the Eagles would not work together again until their unexpected reunion for the Hell Freezes Over Tour in 1994. That tour followed a brief reunion for the video for Travis Tritt‘s version of “Take It Easy” in 1994, which served as the catalyst for their decision to reunite as a band. They have toured and recorded off and on ever since in various lineups and are currently on the road for their farewell The Long Goodbye Tour.
Eagles Sphere Las Vegas, Opening Night, Sept. 20, 2024
Band began Las Vegas residency in resounding fashion.
Gallery Credit: Corey Irwin
PICTURES: See Inside Glenn Frey’s Sprawling California Mansion
Eagles founder Glenn Frey lived the good life. The legendary singer and guitarist and his wife lived in a 6-bedroom, 9-bathroom, 9,000-square-foot Spanish mansion in a very high-dollar area of Los Angeles, which sold for just under $15 million after Frey’s death in January of 2016.
Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker
PICTURES: Look Inside Don Henley’s New $4.3 Million ‘Green’ Home in California
Eagles leader Don Henley recently purchased a luxurious home in California for his son, and the 4-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom, 3,554-square-foot home is compatible with his environmental activism.
Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker
Sterling Whitaker is a Senior Writer and Senior Editor for Taste of Country. He focuses on celebrity real estate, as well as coverage of Yellowstone and related shows like 1883 and 1923. He’s interviewed cast members including Cole Hauser, Kelly Reilly, Sam Elliott and Harrison Ford, and Whitaker is also known for his in-depth interviews with country legends including Don Henley, Rodney Crowell, Trace Adkins, Ronnie Milsap, Ricky Skaggs and more.
Leave a Comment