Intro

Hello and Welcome to this episode of the podcast, "The Mnemonic Tree", where we add a single mnemonic leaf to our Tree of Knowledge.

Today's episode, our 40th will be on the band, The Eagles, who came together whilst backing one of the best singing voices of all time, Linda Ronstadt. From there, they produced hit after hit, after hit, with their album “Their Greatest Hits” (that’s a lot of hits) being one of the best-selling albums of all time. They became one of the most successful and iconic bands in music history with their blend of country, rock and folk, and along the way met many bumps in the road, as well as having several iterations of band members.

Today’s mnemonic is on the Eagles current and past members.

With that being said, we will begin with a summary from Wikipedia.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eagles.jpg

Wikipedia Summary

The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles and six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in North America. Founding members Glenn Frey (guitars, vocals), Don Henley (drums, vocals), Bernie Leadon (guitars, vocals), and Randy Meisner (bass guitar, vocals) were recruited by Linda Ronstadt as band members, some touring with her, and all playing on her third solo album, before venturing out on their own on David Geffen's new Asylum Records label.

Their debut album, Eagles (1972), spawned two top-20 singles in the US and Canada: "Take It Easy" and "Witchy Woman". The next year's follow-up album, Desperado, peaked at only number 41 in the US, although the song "Desperado" became a popular track. In 1974, guitarist Don Felder joined, and On the Border produced the top-40 hit "Already Gone" and the Eagles' first number-one song in the US and Canada, "Best of My Love", which made the top 15 in Australia, their first hit overseas. In 1975, the album One of These Nights became their first number-one album in the US and a top-10 album in many countries. It included the US number-one hit "One of These Nights", which was their first top-10 hit outside of North America, and US top-five songs "Lyin' Eyes" and "Take It to the Limit". Also in 1975, guitarist and vocalist Joe Walsh replaced Leadon.

Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) (1976) is the best-selling album in the United States, with 38 million sold, and primed the public for the late 1976 release of Hotel California, which would sell more than 26 million copies in the US (ranking third all-time for US sales), and more than 32 million copies worldwide. The album yielded two number-one singles in the US and Canada, "New Kid in Town" and "Hotel California", the latter of which became their only top-10 hit in the United Kingdom, while also reaching the top 10 in New Zealand and many European countries, including number two in France.

Meisner was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit in 1977. The Eagles released their last studio album for nearly 28 years in 1979 with The Long Run, spawning the North American number-one song "Heartache Tonight", which became their biggest hit in Australia (number 13), and the North American top-10 hits "The Long Run" and "I Can't Tell You Why". The Eagles broke up in 1980 but reunited in 1994 for the album Hell Freezes Over, a mix of live and new studio tracks, and toured consistently. In 2007, the Eagles released Long Road Out of Eden, their sixth number-one album in the US, and in 2008 launched the Long Road Out of Eden Tour. In 2013, they began the extended History of the Eagles Tour in conjunction with the documentary release, History of the Eagles. Following Frey's death in January 2016, the Eagles re-formed in 2017, with Glenn's son Deacon Frey and Vince Gill sharing lead vocals for Frey's songs.[1] Deacon Frey left the band in 2022,[2] but returned in 2023 to participate in the band’s upcoming final tour. Founding member Meisner died in 2023.

The Eagles are one of the world's best-selling bands, having sold more than 200 million records,[3] including 100 million sold in US alone.[4] They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 and were ranked number 75 on Rolling Stone's 2004 list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".[5]

Extracted from: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagles_(band)]

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eagles_cropped.jpg

Mnemonic

The Eagles - Band Members Mnemonic – Giant BiRD Does DJ TV

(Picture a Giant Eagle watching DJ TV with its 20/5 vision – Humans 20/20)

1. Glenn Frey – Past Member

2. Bernie Leadon – Past Member

3. Randy Meisner – Past Member

4. Don Felder – Past Member

5. Deacon Frey - Past Member

6. Don Henley – Current Member

7. Joe Walsh - Current Member

8. Timothy B. Schmit - Current Member

9. Vince Gill - Current Member

Five Fun Facts

1. The Eagles actually came together in 1971 when all four members played as a backup band for Linda Ronstadt.

2. Don Henley and Glenn Frey came up with the idea to form the band and they recruited Randy Meisner and Bernie Leadon.

3. The Eagles first Album was titled Eagles and yes, I know the band is just called “Eagles” not “The Eagles” it just flows better for the sake of the podcast; so … Take it Easy!

4. In 2018, the Eagles' 1976 album, Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975), replaced Thriller as the best-selling album of all time. This was short lived however, and has since changed back to Thriller.

5. The Eagles broke up in 1980 and each artist began solo careers. They officially reunited in 1994.

6. Bonus Fact: In 1998 The Eagles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The five current members performed alongside two past members, Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner.

7. Bonus Fact: Apparently, following a tour, coming back into the US, the Eagles were detained/arrested by customs for smuggling exotic animal parts.

Apparently, in the end the lead singer, Glenn Frey was caught trying to hide, those “Lyin’ Eyes”!