During the late 1960s all — or at least many — roads led to Southern California, and the Eagles were one of the destinations.
It was not a band formed with modest intentions. Glenn Frey had already sung on a national hit (Bob Seger‘s “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man”) when he came west from Detroit, and Don Henley‘s Shiloh had an album produced by Kenny Rogers. They met Bernie Leadon, late of the Flying Burrito Brothers, while all of them played in Linda Ronstadt‘s 1970-71 backing band, while Randy Meisner was a veteran of Poco and Ricky Nelson‘s Stone Canyon Band. It was a supergroup of sorts, with a universe of great collaborators such as Jackson Browne, JD Souther and Jack Tempchin, and one that certainly flew to super, and superlative, heights.
Over the course of two tenures and seven (mostly multi-platinum) studio albums, the Eagles have sold more than 150 million records worldwide, while Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) has been locked for years in a battle for best-selling album of all time with Michael Jackson‘s Thriller. The accolades run from six Grammy Awards to inductions into the Rock & Roll and Vocal Group Hall of Fames to a Kennedy Center Honor. And more importantly, Eagles are the first name mentioned in any discussion of California or country rock.
Frey’s death in January 2016 could have grounded the Eagles for good, but the group took flight again with Frey’s son Deacon and Vince Gill in place for tour dates that are set to wrap up later this year with The Long Goodbye Tour. (Meisner, who exited the group in 1977, after the previous year’s Hotel California album, died in July 2023 at age 77.)
Here’s a list of the 15 best Eagles songs to date.
