Days spent soaking up the Laurel Canyon vibe and nights spent jamming at the famous Troubadour bar in Los Angeles led the Eagles - whose founding fathers include Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner - to become the quintessential California band. Their music navigated dark desert highways, tequila sunrises, and beyond. Take it easy? The Eagles, unfortunately, failed to follow their own advice. They had glorious harmonies on record that concealed chronic disharmony on tours. Those tours left in their wake a trail of splintered hotel furniture and bathtubs full of Budweiser, often at the hands of renowned guitarist and hard partier Joe Walsh. And yet with those songs, and on those tours, the Eagles conquered the world. Despite the tension and the death of front man Glenn Frey, there was - and is - the music, which still resonates today. LIFE’s special edition serves as a tribute to the sound and songs the Eagles created in the 1970s and over the 50 years since - and the legacy that endures.
LIFE: Eagles • Their Story. Their Music. Their Lives.
LIFE Bookazines
The Long Run • Like the sound and songs they created in the 1970s and over the 50 years since, the Eagles endure.
New Kids in Town • In Los Angeles, by way of assorted hometowns, the Eagles “just happened one night at the Troubadour bar.”
Life in the Fast Lane • The Eagles spent much of the 1970s establishing a new Southern California sound, but the success, the hedonism, and other distractions took their toll.
Hotel California • The song became the spirit of Southern California by 1977, and now—26 million copies sold, and counting—the album remains a classic.
Flying Solo Opener • It could be said that the Eagles as a whole were better than the sum of their parts. Yet the band members showed they could also thrive on their own.
Glenn Frey • Catapulted by his hit song in Beverly Hills Cop, Frey developed a taste for the silver screen.
Don Henley • The Eagles’ so-called “secret weapon” traded his drum kit for a guitar and still topped the charts.
Joe Walsh • For the Eagles’ hardest partier and most fascinating stage persona, life—and music—have been mostly good.
Randy Meisner, Bernie Leadon, Timothy B. Schmit, and Don Felder
Hell Freezes Over • In the decade that followed the Eagles’ unharmoniousbreakup, signs of harmony persisted. Eventually, pent-up global demand for more was satisfied.
The Greatest Hits of All Time • Eagles—Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) became the best-selling album in America in its second week of release and went on to sell 38 million copies. Even now—45 years later—it claims that top spot.
A Band for All Time • With a new lineup, including the late Glenn Frey’s son Deacon, the Eagles live on.
50 Years of Eagles • The internal dynamics of the Eagles haven’t always been peaceful or easy, but each member—over the band’s half-century of existence—has made immense contributions to the group’s sound and legacy.
PHOTO CREDITS