The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971 by Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner. With five number-one singles, six Grammy Awards, five American Music Awards, and six number one albums, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s. At the end of the 20th century, two of their albums,-“Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)” and “Hotel California”-ranked among the 20 best-selling albums in the United States according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Hotel California is ranked 37th in Rolling Stone’s list of “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time” and the band was ranked number 75 on the magazine’s 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
The Eagles are one of the world’s best-selling bands of all time, having sold more than 150 million records-100 million in the United States alone-including 41 million copies of Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) and 32 million copies of Hotel California.
The band has scored five US number-one singles: “Best of My Love” from On the Border (1974), “One of These Nights” from One of These Nights (1975), “Hotel California” from Hotel California (1976), “Heartache Tonight” from The Long Run (1979), and “New Kid in Town” from Hotel California. They also achieved top 40 singles on the pop charts with tracks like “Take It Easy”, “Peaceful Easy Feeling”, and “Tequila Sunrise”. As a group, the Eagles won six Grammy Awards, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 in their first year of eligibility. Glenn Frey was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1999, and Don Henley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 2016.
The Eagles began in early 1971, when Linda Ronstadt and her then-manager John Boylan recruited local musicians Glenn Frey and Don Henley for her band. Working part-time as session musicians on her albums, they wrote songs together whenever they had spare time; one of these songs was “Witchy Woman”, which would later become a hit for the Eagles.
In early 1972, after finishing touring with Ronstadt, Frey and Henley formed the Eagles, along with Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner. The Eagles recorded their debut album, “Eagles”, in May 1972; it was released on June 17. The album’s first single, “Take It Easy”, was co-written by Jackson Browne and Frey, and became a number-twelve hit on the Billboard pop singles chart.
While the band was working on their second album, Desperado (1973), Leadon left and was replaced by guitarist Don Felder. The album was not as successful as its predecessor but still managed to sell over three million copies in the United States.
The Eagles’ next album, On the Border (1974), marked a change in style for the band. The lead single “Best of My Love” became their first number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and the album sold over four million copies in the US.
In 1975, the Eagles released One of These Nights, which topped the Billboard 200 album chart and produced three hit singles: “One of These Nights”, “Lyin’ Eyes”, and “Take It to the Limit”. The first two singles were both number-one hits on the Hot 100 chart, while “Take It to the Limit” reached number-eight.
The band’s fourth album, Hotel California, was released in December 1976. The album’s title track was a number-one hit on the Hot 100 chart, and won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year. The album became the Eagles’ best-selling album, selling over 16 million copies in the US alone.
The Eagles’ next album, The Long Run (1979), was another commercial success, selling over seven million copies in the US. The lead single “Heartache Tonight” was a number-one hit on the Hot 100 chart.
In 1980, Meisner left the band and was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit. The Eagles released their seventh studio album, Long Road Out of Eden, in 2007; it was their first album in 28 years. The album was a commercial success, selling over seven million copies in the US.
The Eagles are one of the most successful rock bands of all time, and their music has been influential to many other artists. The band has sold over 150 million records-100 million in the United States alone-including 41 million copies of Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) and 32 million copies of Hotel California. They have also won six Grammy Awards, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Glenn Frey was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1999, and Don Henley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 2016.