Felder's "Heaven and Hell" Discussion Thread

[chaim]

I'm watching an interview with Glenn Frey from 1992. Glenn said something there that made me think of Don Felder's book once again.

In Heaven And Hell Don says:

"Tommy Nixon, Glenn's right-hand man, usually took the brunt, but when Glenn grew bored with baiting Tommy, he'd focus on someone else. Tommy was a nice guy, absolutely dedicated to Glenn after starting out as his guitar roadie in the seventies, and he was totally dependent on him for money and a job. I'm ashamed now that I stood by for all those years watching another human being so humiliated. One of us should have stood up for Tommy, but taking on Glenn when he was in that kind of mood wasn't easy."


In this interview from 1992 Glenn says, "...my road manager Tommy Nixon, who's been my best friend for twenty years".

[MaryCalifornia]

These two statements from Glenn and Felder aren't contradictory, depending on the time frame Felder is referring to - he could be referring to events that took place between 1994 and 2001. Obviously, the time frame Glenn is referencing is 1972 to 1992.

Or, if Felder is referring to a time frame of 1975-1980, it's not surprising that he had a different perspective on the dynamic between Glenn and Tommy than Glenn had. Could be that Tommy was used to being berated by Glenn and just let it slide off his back like water, but they were still friends.

When does this come up in the book?

[chaim]

These two statements from Glenn and Felder aren't contradictory, depending on the time frame Felder is referring to - he could be referring to events that took place between 1994 and 2001. Obviously, the time frame Glenn is referencing is 1972 to 1992.

Or, if Felder is referring to a time frame of 1975-1980, it's not surprising that he had a different perspective on the dynamic between Glenn and Tommy than Glenn had. Could be that Tommy was used to being berated by Glenn and just let it slide off his back like water, but they were still friends.

When does this come up in the book?

Page 196 in my copy. Don's talking about the Long Run era. It's also possible, of course, that Tommy and Glenn talked about that stuff privately and Glenn apologized, and Don didn't know that.

On the same page Don mentions that Glenn called him Spot, because his hair had "started to thin slightly at the back". That's interesting, because Don still seems to have a full hair of hair today.

I was really surprised to see Glenn call Tommy his best friend since the early 70's, because Don implies in his book that Tommy was there only because he needed the job.

[MaryCalifornia]

Felder has maintained his looks with some tasteful work, a little bit of hair transplanted where necessary probably as well. He looks great.

Or, Glenn didn't apologize, because he didn't need to. Felder certainly has the right to comment on what he personally observed. But, I wouldn't take his characterization of two other peoples' relationship to be gospel, for sure, especially in this book. He is probably accurate in what he recounts, and Glenn is probably accurate in his description of his relationship with Tommy.

Felder tries to take every snide or joking remark by Glenn that he can remember over a 25 year period and portray it as a big deal, when it might have been nothing at the time. His agenda is obvious. It is an entertaining book, and I don't think he outright LIES anywhere, but I take all of his reports of Glenn acting bad with a grain of salt.

[Freypower]

Felder has maintained his looks with some tasteful work, a little bit of hair transplanted where necessary probably as well. He looks great.

Or, Glenn didn't apologize, because he didn't need to. Felder certainly has the right to comment on what he personally observed. But, I wouldn't take his characterization of two other peoples' relationship to be gospel, for sure, especially in this book. He is probably accurate in what he recounts, and Glenn is probably accurate in his description of his relationship with Tommy.

Felder tries to take every snide or joking remark by Glenn that he can remember over a 25 year period and portray it as a big deal, when it might have been nothing at the time. His agenda is obvious. It is an entertaining book, and I don't think he outright LIES anywhere, but I take all of his reports of Glenn acting bad with a grain of salt.

Hear, hear.

[GlennLover]

Glenn said on the Tavis Smiley interview last year that Tommy has been his best friend for 40 years & he is still his road manager. Tommy can be seen in the video with Glenn taken at a ceremony held when Glenn was honorary chairman of the Boys & Girls Club of La Quinta(?) a few years ago. Also, Tommy was in a scene of the episode of Arli$$ that Glenn guest starred in in the early 2000's. Glenn can't be that hard on Tommy if he has stuck around all these years & Glenn considers him his best friend.

[MaryCalifornia]

La Quinta is the desert resort/golf town near Palm Springs where Glenn's parents live. That's cool Glenn was involved with the Boys & Girls there.

[UndertheWire]

It's hard to write about the book without falling into the trap of nit-picking. It's Don Felder's story from his point a view at a time when he was feeling mistreated. I accept it as a version of the truth. He was there and he's telling us what he remembers of the various incidents. There's little in his book that's contradicted by the documentary or interviews with other band members.

Where I have a problem is that his story his selective and often lacks context and gives a misleading impression. The Tommy Nixon comment is a good example of this as he writes about Glenn treating Tommy badly in 1979 without the context that despite this, Glenn and Tommy remained close decades later. Although his account may be truthful it does not give a true representation.

I also had to remind myself that it doesn't matter what I think of Don's situation as it's more important to understand how he was feeling. When he says he was "dirt poor" growing up, I have to accept that as being true for him, even though it doesn't sound that bad to me compared with conditions in the post-war UK. What matters is that this feeling influenced the way he looks at life and, in particular, his attitude towards money. He believes his father worked hard but was treated badly by his employer and that this contributed to his father's illness and early death. It's not a stretch to see a connection to the way he feels he was treated within the band.

On first read, Don's description of his time within the band made me think back to school time. He sounds like he was so desperate to be part of the "in crowd" but continually felt left out - that Don H and Glenn had a relationship that was too exclusive for the other band members.( I've seen hints of this in interviews with Randy too where he talks about having been close to Don H and Glenn and had good times but that they lived together and he couldn't get between them).

(I'm sure I have more to say but I need to go out.)

[sad-cafe]

I am re-reading this book and I have to say the 2nd time around after watching the HOTE documentary, Fingers comes off as trying to be "better than the others" I really don't like his all the others did this and I was a family man so I didn't attitude. The more I read, the more I understand why Glenn fired him.

[The Thrill Is Never Gone]

I have read the book twice and I do not get that impression at all. Don F said he cheated on his wife and it always made him feel badly. Randy did the same thing. I don't think he felt that he was better than the others, I think he was intimidated by several others and never really felt equal. I am truly surprised that they made him an equal partner when he joined. Which proved to be right, when they came back for HFO he was told that he would not make as much money as Don H and Glenn. Later on when he really complained about this, then he was fired.