The seventies created some amazing art for the world including great movies and timeless music. The Eagles were arguably the most popular and biggest bands of the seventies and their songs have remained on the playlists of millions. This band was one of the most important bands, if not the most important band in progressing music and songwriting to a whole new level.
Don Henley and Glenn Frey founded the Eagles in Los Angeles in 1971. Henley and Frey met while they were both session musicians with Linda Ronstadt and decided to break away and form a band of their own. Later, the group added personnel such as Bernie Leadon, Randy Meisner, who were later, replaced by Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit respectively, and added Don Felder as a second guitarist. Some of their most popular songs include “Hotel California”, “Take It Easy”, and “Life In The Fast Lane”. The Eagles are one of the world’s best selling bands of all time, selling more than 150 million records and they are the fifth-highest-selling music act and the highest-selling American band in U.S. history.
Their debut album Eagles was released in 1972 and it managed to get three top 40 singles including “Take It Easy”, “Witchy Woman”, and “Peaceful Easy Feeling”. Their 1975 album One of These Nights produced three top 10 singles “One of These Nights”, “Lyin’ Eyes”, and “Take It to the Limit”. People often called them a “hit-making-machine” because of their massive commercial success. However, fame and fortune definitely came with difficulties that ended up breaking up the band in an ugly way. While disbanded the members continued other musical endeavors and a few of them had pretty successful careers but after 14 years they decided to reunite for an album and tours that continued until founder Glenn Frey's death in 2016.
The reason why the Eagles were so important to the seventies is because they reached so many people and were able to make relatable and accessible music. People always say that their music is “the soundtrack to life”. They also were one of the pioneers of country-rock and “California rock”, making music that was influenced by 1960’s rhythm and blues, soul, bluegrass, and rock and roll. One way to describe their music is country-inspired harmonies and vocals over rock and roll music. Their lyrics often spoke of relationships, adventures, and things that the common person felt deeply about. It’s hard to really convey why they were so influential and why their music stands the test of time, so I encourage readers to take a listen to the Eagles. I personally recommend listening to their Greatest Hits album, as you can get a feel of what people connected with during the seventies. My favorite songs are "One Of These Nights", "Take It To The Limit", and "Already Gone".
