Why Was Bernie Leadon Not Included in Eagles 3.0

[Out of Control]

Hello everyone,

Just wondering if anyone knows a reason why Bernie Leadon wasn't included in the band after the Grammys? Supposedly he has said he doesn't ever want to work with Don Henley again. Has an argument been reported?

[WalshFan88]

My take?

Bernie knew it was wrong for the band to go on without Glenn and politely declined.

[chaim]

No idea, but my guess is that he never was interested in rejoining the band permanently. Not because he hates any of the guys, but simply because he had moved on. And he doesn't seem like a guy who would do it only for the money. (What I said does not mean that the guys in the band now are doing it only for the money. Bernie quit long ago, so there's the difference.)

[Funk 50]

Until I hear from more than a single source that there was friction within the ranks, I'll believe that the History Of The Eagles tour ended with all the guys being glad it's over but on amicable terms.

I saw a last show of an extensive Eagles tour, after the final encore, Joe threw his acoustic guitar up in the air and declined to catch it on the way down.

I'm sure the HOTE tour was a nice little earner for Leadon, which will make his semi-retirement a little more comfortable. I think Don, Joe and Tim, like Glenn, will never retire.

[groupie2686]

My take?

Bernie knew it was wrong for the band to go on without Glenn and politely declined.

I would like to think this is the case. It is also very likely that he was not asked.

[sodascouts]

Supposedly he has said he doesn't ever want to work with Don Henley again. Has an argument been reported?

Where did you hear this? People are always talking about arguments, but until you find a direct quote from a reputable source, it's best to take such rumors with a grain of salt.

My personal speculation for which I have no evidence: he does not wish to be a part of an "Eagles" without Glenn Frey. He has demonstrated in the past that he's perfectly able to walk away from millions of dollars if he feels it's the right thing to do.

[MaryCalifornia]

Bernie was a great fit for the History of the Eagles Tour. He got to sing "Train Leaves Here This Morning" and be on stage for the first half of the show and the encore. He wasn't on stage for the second half of the show.

I bet that with trying to integrate Deacon and Vince Gill in these shows and all of the uncertainty that entailed, there were too many moving parts to figure out what Bernie's role would be. I would be surprised if they invited him to participate on this tour.

Or, maybe they did but he hates Henley, so he said no, or maybe they did and but he wouldn't because he doesn't approve. Who knows.

[YoungEaglesFan]

I personal doubt he was invited and there wasn’t really room for him in my mind in the current type of tour

[Freypower]

Well, it isn't a 'history' tour. He wasn't needed. Plus he was a 'real' Eagle.

[Dawn]

Regarding Bernie ... his silence is deafening ... and frankly, says it all.

[YoungEaglesFan]

Regarding Bernie ... his silence is deafening ... and frankly, says it all.

You could be right but Bernie has been very quite since he left. I don’t think we can ascribe a meaning to it.

[Dawn]

You could be right but Bernie has been very quite since he left. I don’t think we can ascribe a meaning to it.

Maybe you can't, but I can.

[WKMB55]

Maybe there's no hidden agenda or mystery or scandal to be found. He isn't there so either he wasn't asked or just didn't want to do it perhaps for no other reason than he wasn't intetested. For me there have been 7 "real" Eagles from the band's inception through the current line up. (2 quit, one was terminated, 4 continued to tour and bring their music live to many fans through the conclusion of the HOTE tour.) In the absence of any actual proof/facts, everyone is entitled to whatever opinion makes them happy.

[Out of Control]

Where did you hear this? People are always talking about arguments, but until you find a direct quote from a reputable source, it's best to take such rumors with a grain of salt.

My personal speculation for which I have no evidence: he does not wish to be a part of an "Eagles" without Glenn Frey. He has demonstrated in the past that he's perfectly able to walk away from millions of dollars if he feels it's the right thing to do.


Sodascouts, it wasn't a direct source but YouTube's The Real Music Observer/David Spuria says he heard that. (One link is here: https://twitter.com/muzikobserver/status/938071298097532928)

[YoungEaglesFan]

Sodascouts, it wasn't a direct source but YouTube's The Real Music Observer/David Spuria says he heard that. (One link is here: https://twitter.com/muzikobserver/status/938071298097532928)

Just from my observations this guy is not a great source. He is against the Eagles touring not because of Glenn but because they don’t have Bernie, Don and Randy with them. I don’t think he even cared to find out that Randy can’t preform anymore. He doesn’t care for Glenn and is really biased towards Felder.

[Dawn]

Bernie spoke very highly of Glenn Frey after his passing and clearly loved and respected him very much. His participation at the Grammys tribute to Glenn was really special and frankly more meaningful to me than Jackson Browne. Bernie is and always will be an Eagle.

[Delilah]

Just from my observations this guy is not a great source. He is against the Eagles touring not because of Glenn but because they don’t have Bernie, Don and Randy with them. I don’t think he even cared to find out that Randy can’t preform anymore. He doesn’t care for Glenn and is really biased towards Felder.

I agree. I’ve seen his YouTube videos where he just spouts off his personal opinion. I don’t think he allows comments anymore-I wonder why? He strikes me as someone who might take some offhand comment Bernie made in 1975 and twists it to conform to present-day circumstances.

As far as why Bernie wasn’t included: I love to think he was approached to join, but I seriously doubt it. As others have said, there isn’t a place for him in the ranks, unless they got rid of a guitarist. And that could only be Steuart Smith. There’s no way Don H would trade out an acquiescent, make-no-waves sideman for a stalwart original member he’s butted heads with before and knew him back in the old days before anyone could be “star-struck.” That’s my cynical view of it anyway. My guess is that the power structure as it is now is how Don prefers it. And Don and Irving probably figured they addressed the legitimacy factor by bringing Deacon in (b/c yes, fans throughout the internet have definitely noticed that Don is the only original member in this line-up, so that is an issue).

The actual answer to the question, however, is that nobody knows, aside from Don and Irving and possibly Bernie.

[Funk 50]

it wasn't a direct source but YouTube's The Real Music Observer/David Spuria says he heard that. (One link is here: https://twitter.com/muzikobserver/status/938071298097532928)

Thanks a lot for posting your source Out Of Control. It's a pretty vague comment. if a see some corroboration I'll consider believing it. I wouldn't be surprised to hear Bernie said that sometime between 1975 and 2012.

I believe the Eagles already have too many musicians across the front of the stage, adding Bernie too would increase the clutter, even though he would be a pleasant authentic addition.

I don't think authenticity is as important as it used to be in Eagles.

[UndertheWire]

I'll third that comment. I've listened to a couple of those youtube videos and essentially he repeats the stories than have been in the press, often with a few errors and a lot of opinion.

Going by everything I've heard and seen from Bernie, he's someone would weigh up opportunities to see if they seemed right for him. His ambition was always just to make a living by playing music, not to become rich and famous. He came out of retirement for the HotE tour and that would have given him the benefit of ending things on a good note with his former band as well as a nice sum to fund his retirement.

[sodascouts]

Bernie was once given a golden opportunity to diss Don and he passed it by. In an interview in the 80s, he was told by the interviewer who was looking to stir up trouble that Don had insulted "I Wish You Peace" and essentially said it was a mistake for the Eagles to release it. Don used harsh terms; I believe he called it "smarmy cocktail music." Instead of striking back, Bernie said he was surprised to hear that and that Don seemed to like it at the time, then added he had no problem with Don. (I'm sorry I can't produce this interview, guys. I did a quick Google search and I can't find anything but the quote; I remember seeing a pdf of the entire article in my library database, though. It's your right to believe I imagined it, lol, but it always stuck with me because of how gracious he was).

Keeping that in mind, I'd be very surprised if Bernie dissed Don at this point. I'm not buying this guy's story.

[chaim]

Bernie was once given a golden opportunity to diss Don and he passed it by. In an interview in the 80s, he was told by the interviewer who was looking to stir up trouble that Don had insulted "I Wish You Peace" and essentially said it was a mistake for the Eagles to release it. Don used harsh terms; I believe he called it "smarmy cocktail music." Instead of striking back, Bernie said he was surprised to hear that and that Don seemed to like it at the time, then added he had no problem with Don. (I'm sorry I can't produce this interview, guys. I did a quick Google search and I can't find it; I remember seeing a pdf of it in my library database, though. It's your right to believe I imagined it, lol, but it always stuck with me because of how gracious he was).

Keeping that in mind, I'd be very surprised if Bernie dissed Don at this point. I'm not buying this guy's story.

Some people, me included, criticized Don about the IWYP issue in Bernie's official forum years ago. Bernie didn't like it and said that Don had apologized. Then he added that it's a "non-issue". That's where I learned the word. :lol:

[MaryCalifornia]

Hi Chaim. What is this Bernie's official forum? He interacted with fans? It is no longer active?

[chaim]

Hi Chaim. What is this Bernie's official forum? He interacted with fans? It is no longer active?

Yeah, years ago when he had a website with a forum he talked to his fans. He answered the questions I asked. Then it started to fade away. He no longer visited the forum and there were less and less updates on the main page. As I recall there was this "gone fishing" update and later "still gone fishing". :lol:

I wouldn't be surprised if he got bored with the negativity in the internet world. He seemed very...content, stable and "together" as a person. I remember I asked him if it was ok to ask questions about the Eagles, and he said "I don't mind talking about the Eagles at all. What would you like to know?" It was wonderful in the beginning.

[Out of Control]

Thanks for your input everyone. I didn't know what the consensus was about The Real Music Observer. I'm a fairly new fan, I always knew some of the biggest hits but really didn't become a fan until after Glenn died because I had no idea who he was. Then I found HFO and I loved it. And here am I now, expanding my collection (vinyl and CD's), joining this forum, and trying to learn whatever I can because I don't know any good/accurate books on the group. So I watched his videos for any info I could get.

[Out of Control]

UPDATE: Also I guess the board has a secret admirer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-WpohXuSoI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-WpohXuSoI:hug:)

[YoungEaglesFan]

Yeah it definitely seems he’s referencing stuff from on here. It’s too much of a coincidence, plus he uses the term 3.0 Eagles which isn’t something he said before.

[sodascouts]

He probably trackbacked his Twitter link from this thread. Alternatively, when we were talking about this topic earlier, I tweeted him asking about his source. My profile has a link to EOC.

Hey Dave, a shoutout crediting where you got the term Eagles 3.0 at least would have been nice! Don't be mad that you're being "trashed" - be glad that you're getting hits.

[UndertheWire]

I listened and essentially he confirmed that his source was just an opinion from another video blogger.

Dave, we weren't trashing, just qualifying the information. So long as your listeners know you are just a fan with access to the same information as the rest of us and are giving an opinion, I don't have a problem with you.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

EXACTLY Soda and UTW! And I’ll elaborate a little further on these suggestions for Dave:


You named your YouTube channel ‘The Real Music Observer’, which, to me, implies that there is some 'real' legitimacy to the content. So it may be a good idea to put a disclaimer at the beginning of your videos to credit all of your sources. The disclaimer should also clarify that the video is only the opinion of the narrator.
It matters that you get any facts right that you are using to form your opinions. Accurate facts give you a lot more credibility. Speaking for myself, as a hardcore fan, I have zero interest in listening to someone's ill-informed opinion.
Your comments are closed, which implies that you are only interested in your own opinion. That’s your choice if you don’t want feedback, but, that’s all the more reason for Steps 1 & 2 above.

[chaim]

He was talking about his upcoming studio or something, so I got bored and stopped watching.