The eagles first meeting

[Marlinark]

I download songs from the eagles whenever I can afford it, just love them. I would really like to know a few things?

How did the eagles originally meet?

What was their first meeting like?

[MikeA]

Can we just say "The Troubadour" and "Linda Ronstadt"? Everything else followed in due order <LOL>

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Oh gosh - sorry this question was overlooked and went unanswered. I concur with what has been said. If I may also put in a plug for the awesome short story bio penned by our very own webmistress, Sodascouts, that can be found here ...

https://eaglesonlinecentral.com/biography.htm

[sodascouts]

Thanks for the plug Dreamer!


How did the eagles originally meet?

What was their first meeting like?

To make it short and sweet with regard to Marlinark's question: The very first time all four of the original Eagles were in the same place was in Anaheim, California, in 1971, when they backed Linda Ronstadt for a show at Disneyland. It was actually the only time they all played together as Ronstadt's backing band, despite the urban legend that they toured together with her. Earlier, Glenn had enlisted Don to join him in Ronstadt's backing band. Randy and Bernie had both backed her in the past, and when Glenn and Don told Linda's manager John Boylan that they wanted to form their own band, he suggested Randy and Bernie to them. After a few phone calls, Randy and Bernie joined Glenn and Don in Anaheim, and the rest is history.

I should add that individually, the guys might have bumped into each other hanging around at the Troubadour or whatever, but the Disneyland gig was the first time they all were together.

[TimothyBFan]

The very first time all four of the original Eagles


What? four original members? Wasn't Felder the whole reason for them getting together? (sorry had to do that in light of that other thread we've been discussing this in)

[Brooke]

:laugh: :laugh:

You are too funny Willie!

[Scarlet Sun]

The very first time all four of the original Eagles were in the same place was in Anaheim, California, in 1971, when they backed Linda Ronstadt for a show at Disneyland.
Are you sure there wasn't a rehearsal at SIR before this?

[sodascouts]

I've never heard of that, but it makes sense that they would rehearse, so I'm not going to say definitively it didn't happen.

[Scarlet Sun]

I've never heard of that, but it makes sense that they would rehearse, so I'm not going to say definitively it didn't happen.
Have you read the Burritos book? I'm basing my assumption on Bernie's recollection of that time. I'm not sure I read it 100% correctly, but I think I did . . .

[sodascouts]

Well, I'll take Bernie's word for it! lol I haven't read the book yet, but I certainly intend to.

[GettheLeadonOut!!]

Soda, do you know when they recorded the "Linda Rondstadt" album? Was it after the June '71 Disneyland date and before the August '71 Colorodo club dates?

[sodascouts]

I'm a little shaky on that timeline but I think at least part of those sessions were recorded before the Disneyland gig.

[GettheLeadonOut!!]

But that would mean their first meeting would have been in the recording studio with Linda.

I'm going to guess that after the "magic" at Disneyland, they all agreed to record her album thereafter that summer (including the great live cuts from the Troubadour) and that solidified them as a band.

[Scarlet Sun]

But that would mean their first meeting would have been in the recording studio with Linda.

I'm going to guess that after the "magic" at Disneyland, they all agreed to record her album thereafter that summer (including the great live cuts from the Troubadour) and that solidified them as a band.
Bernie plays on three cuts on the Linda Ronstadt album - none of which were recorded at the Troubadour. He plays guitar and sings on "In My Reply," which also features Randy on bass. It's the only song on the album on which Bernie plays with any of his future Eagles bandmates. He didn't record with Glenn or Don at all.

[sodascouts]

And even on songs where more than one future Eagle appear, unless the track was live, the parts could very well have been recorded at different times in the studio and overlaid later.

[Scarlet Sun]

And even on songs where more than one future Eagle appear, unless the track was live, the parts could very well have been recorded at different times in the studio and overlaid later.
And even if it was originally recorded live! Listen to the two different versions of Rescue Me for a possible example

[GettheLeadonOut!!]

Bernie plays on three cuts on the Linda Ronstadt album - none of which were recorded at the Troubadour. He plays guitar and sings on "In My Reply," which also features Randy on bass. It's the only song on the album on which Bernie plays with any of his future Eagles bandmates. He didn't record with Glenn or Don at all.


Interesting stuff ScarSu. Thanks for the clarification. I don't have the liner notes on that album so I always assumed that it was the four of them. I need to give the album another spin. I'm also curious if any of them played on her Silk Purse album.

[Scarlet Sun]

I would guess that Bernie's likely on there, but I strongly doubt any of the others are.

[sodascouts]

Whenever I have a question about who played on what album, I go to AllMusic.com (http://www.allmusic.com/). It is a huge database of such things and a great resource, even though it doesn't break down contributions by song.

According to that site, none of them played/sang on Silk Purse. However, the album contained Ronstadt's cover of "She Darked the Sun," which Leadon co-wrote.

Silk Purse Credits (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:h9fuxqt5ldfe%7ET2)

[Lisa]

I can only add to the lore with this one--.
I was under the impression that Linda Ronstadt's manager asked the individual members--maybe contacting each separately (after scouting them in clubs, listening to them perform with other bands), whether they would play with Linda Ronstadt for a salaried and small amount of money per week.
This is before the idea of forming a separate group went around with the early members.

[sodascouts]

I've heard so many different stories! Here's a few I've heard regarding Boylan (Linda's then-manager):

Boylan has said that he approached everyone separately himself with the idea of eventually forming a group he would then manage, although initially he just hired them to back Linda. Don and Glenn say that they cooked up the idea of creating a group, THEN asked Boylan for suggestions.

Boylan says it was his idea to bring Don along on Linda's tour, but both Glenn and Don say that it was Glenn's idea.

Boylan says it was his idea to bring in Bernie, but Bernie says he suggested himself to Boylan (ie, he called Boylan; Boylan didn't call him).

It seems only Randy credits his inclusion totally to Boylan.

The truth is somewhere in the middle!

[Ive always been a dreamer]

This is interesting stuff. I agree that there are different accounts about exactly how the band all came together. One thing that seems to be consistent though is that Boylan initially wanted a permanent band to back Linda. However, I think Glenn was always planning on forming his own band after Geffen had advised him to do so. I also agree that Don and Glenn's recollection is that Glenn approached Don at the Troubadour about joining Linda's band.

I remember that Glenn told a related story at the Verizon Center show in D.C. in Nov. 2008 that I was at. I went back and looked up my review and the way he told it is that in 1971, he and Don joined Linda Ronstadt’s touring band. After practicing for a few weeks, their first dates were at the Cellar Door club "right here in Washington, D.C". One night in that bar after a couple of Tequilas, the two of them decided to form a band. Then, he just shrugged his shoulders, and broke into Take It Easy.

[GettheLeadonOut!!]

I think I read on allmusic that Glenn and Don toured with Linda in the spring of '71 and Randy & Bernie toured with her the summer of '71. And I’m willing to bet that Bernie was the one who called Boylan as he had just quit the Flying Burrito Brothers weeks earlier and saw the idea of playing in a band with Glenn, Don and Randy as his meal ticket to fame and fortune...which of course it was. Talk about a supergroup!

[bernie's bender]

Boylan, while not as well known to most, is a really pivotal and important person in the history of country rock (heck, even rock)...

He was the person who was brought in to resurrect Ricky Nelson's career and use Dylan songs as a catalyst for creating (along with some others) the seed that became country rock... a lot of credit for that sound has to go to Boylan.

Meisner was in that band and was always loyal to John and I think it is makes sense that both Bernie and Randy were brought to the Ronstadt band by John... but, Linda (like emmylou harris) is a strong band leader and I'm totally confident that she had a firm voice in the choices.

Her crowd back then included JD, Lowell, JB, etc..

Glenn and Don both held Randy and Bernie in high respect and knew they had a far more 'legit' past from the bands they'd played in so, it is reasonable that they'd be thrilled to get to play with 'heroes'. The shiloh and LBP stuff was not in the same league as where Bernie and Randy had been band wise....

As for Boylan, he did a great job moving Ronstadt along toward her eventual sound which was perfected with Peter Asher (of Peter and Gordon fame) and with Marni Nixon's son, Andrew Gold playing the daylights out of a ton of instruments... and discovering tonal icons like Bob Warford (Clarence White's friend) Eddie Black, Russ (surfer boy) Kunkel and so on...

Boylan's career is pretty phenomenal, no one could be that lucky, he clearly has great ears and a strong mind and will... He produced the first Boston album... there a ton of bands who had their biggest hits with him producing and "Boylan's rules" are still in tons of studios!

here they are:

http://homepage.mac.com/macmanager/.Public/boylan.gif

If you've never heard Ricky Nelson sing "She Belongs To Me" check it out... it is magic... and Randy is on bass on several of the recordings...

[Scarlet Sun]

I love the Association album he produced

[sodascouts]

This is the anniversary of the Eagles playing together, before they were a band, when they were backing Linda Ronstadt. Pretty momentous, eh?

I've posted this elsewhere but I thought, for the purposes of organizational clarity (which as many of you know, I'm a BIG fan of, lol), that I would re-post it here and revive this thread. Here goes:

As you can tell from earlier in the thread, there's different stories as to how things went down. According to Ronstadt's manager John Boylan, the reason that those four were playing together at Disneyland was to see if they gelled enough to form a band.

You see, although Randy and Bernie had backed up Linda in the past, they weren't in her backing band at the same time as Glenn and Don. When Boylan heard that Glenn and Don were talking about starting a band, he told them about Bernie and Randy and approached them about doing the Disneyland gig in order to see if it worked out between the four of them. All four men played that gig understanding that, if things clicked, there was the potential for a new band there.

To commemorate the first time Glenn, Don, Bernie, and Randy played together, here's some treats:

Glenn and Don backing Linda Ronstadt in 1971
(from Before They Were Rock Stars)
(http://www.glennfreyonline.com/multimedia/live/1971club.mpg)Download .mpg (4 megs) (http://www.glennfreyonline.com/multimedia/live/1971club.mpg)
Download .wmv (1 meg) (http://www.glennfreyonline.com/multimedia/live/1971club.wmv)


Linda Ronstadt - Rescue Me (Live 1971) (http://www.glennfreyonline.com/multimedia/MP3/LindaRonstadtRescueMe.mp3) - you can hear Glenn singing backup; he goes back and forth with Linda at the end
http://www.glennfreyonline.com/multimedia/MP3/LindaRonstadtRescueMe.mp3

Linda actually let Glenn sing lead on this one, even though it was during her set and he was part of the backing band:
"(Get Up) Kate" (Troubadour 1971) (http://www.glennfreyonline.com/multimedia/MP3/GetUpKateTroubadour71.mp3)
http://www.glennfreyonline.com/multimedia/MP3/GetUpKateTroubadour71.mp3

And even though this was years later, it gives you the vibe of what it was like that evening at Disneyland (just pretend Felder isn't there):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flLoj5qxURw

[Brooke]

Thanks for all of that Soda! I enjoyed listening and watching and remembering how it all started. Man, 40 years is a long time! I still can't believe it, but I can remember it! :fear: :lol:

[TimothyBFan]

(just pretend Felder isn't there):



Why did this make me laugh so much? :hilarious:

[GlennLover]

Love that entire performance (Don Kirshner's Rock Concert). :thumbsup: Too bad the clips of "Ol'55" & "Your sweet Baby Blues" aren't still up on TouTube.

40 years! Go Eagles!!!

[zeldabjr]

Have you read the Burritos book? I'm basing my assumption on Bernie's recollection of that time. I'm not sure I read it 100% correctly, but I think I did . . .

looking at this old thread is very interesting...does anyone know what book Scarlet Sun is talking about here?

[whitcap]

looking at this old thread is very interesting...does anyone know what book Scarlet Sun is talking about here?

Probably Hot Burritos: The True Story of The Flying Burrito Brothers.

[zeldabjr]

Probably Hot Burritos: The True Story of The Flying Burrito Brothers (http://www.amazon.com/Hot-Burritos-Flying-Burrito-Brothers/dp/1906002169/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347166051&sr=1-1&keywords=flying+burrito+brothers).

thanks WC for the info...I'll check it out!

[Tiffanny Twisted]

What? four original members? Wasn't Felder the whole reason for them getting together? (sorry had to do that in light of that other thread we've been discussing this in)
NO FELDER WASNT ORIGINAL lol sorry didnt mean to be so loud.
thanks for the book title I will check it out.

yes...it was so intresting to go back and reread this thread and I am enjoying Sodas bio..rereading them too. thanks

[sodascouts]

TimothyBFan was joking, TT. :-)

Glad you like the bio!

[Tiffanny Twisted]

TimothyBFan was joking, TT. :-)

Glad you like the bio!

you are a woman of many talents Soda....


yes i am enjoying them and so is JAHH cause I am annoying him and :hilarious: reading to him outloud which he hates...:hilarious: