The Eagles were able to climb the ladders of success and became one of the world’s most-selling bands. Their timeless album ‘Hotel California’ made the band members rich, motivated them, and gave them the taste of fame. But tensions among band members later led to serious fallout. Eagles’ lineup before the 1980’s split included Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Don Felder, Joe Walsh, and Timothy B. Schmit.
There Were Disagreements Within The Band
Don Felder was constantly fighting for an equal role and share in the band. The people he had problems with were mainly Frey and Henley. Felder claimed that Frey and Henley were tyrants in his book and considered themselves the leaders. This bothered him a lot. Henley criticized this thought in an interview with The Guardian. They fought way too many times that, in the end, they couldn’t control themselves on stage.
Glenn Frey and Felder had a huge fight at a concert in 1980 where they both threatened each other with violence and eventually, Frey even threatened to kill Felder. The band broke up after this incident and thought they would never reunite again. But they reunited in 1994 with the same line-up until Felder was fired in 2001.
The Aftermath of Felder’s Termination
The tensions didn’t stop with the reunion in 1994. Felder was still frustrated at Frey and Henley’s egotistical behavior. He complained about their dominance in the band and spoke up about the financial inequality among the band members. He sued the band for wrongful termination after being fired in 2001 and wrote a book about his time with the Eagles. As you can imagine, it did not portray those times as fun and games.
Here is a comment by Henley about the book in 2015:
“The fact is, we are largely responsible both for the longevity and the success of this band because we did it our way, and a lot of people didn’t like that.”
Frey and Henley tried to stop him before publishing ‘Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles.’ But that only postponed the book’s publication by two years. Felder described Frey and Henley in the book as tyrants and dictators hungry for money.
Henley’s Opinions On The Eagles Documentary
Henley thought their relationship was downplayed in the band’s 2013 documentary, ‘History of the Eagles.’ The documentary didn’t portray the arguments as accurately as real life, but they always regarded each other as family no matter how intense the fights got. Henley said families and brothers fight, and this was all. This explains why they would reunite in 1994 after the break-up in 1980.
Here is what Henley had stated in 2014:
“There really hasn’t been too much to that. There’s certainly none of it on film. We have had our differences, we still do, but we’re a lot like brothers. We fight but we’re still family. We’ve been through a hell of a lot together. We’ve overcome a lot of obstacles together. We still guide this band together. We understand we’re going to have our differences, and we get over it and get on with the work.”
Frey died in 2016 of rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis, and pneumonia after suffering from painful diseases for years. As you can imagine, it hasn’t been easy for any band members. But for Felder, it was even harder. He was filled with regret as they didn’t bury the hatchet before Frey’s passing.
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