The 500 - #368 - Eagles (debut) - Eagles

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

Album # 368

Album Title: Eagles (debut)

Artist: Eagles

Genre: Country Rock, Folk Rock, Rock

Recorded: Olympic Studios, London (most)

Released: June, 1972

My age at release: 6

How familiar was I with it before this week: Fairly Well

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Peaceful Easy Feeling

These five words are so casually spoken that they have almost become meaningless. Perhaps you've heard them.

"Everything happens for a reason." 

Simply, they try to assuage someone facing an upset in their life. However, I struggle to see how every obstacle, set-back, disappointment, illness or tragedy is part of some fateful lesson we have been preordained to learn. Instead, I tend to look at it as:

"Things happen and, as beings who find comfort in pattern, order and storytelling, we eventually ascribe meaning to them."

Consequently, we can look back on the hardships in our lives and rationalize how they made us stronger, or led us to something better. In the winter of 1997, I lost a bartending job and was pushed to find a new source of income. It was a fortuitous turn of events. I was hired at Garlic's Restaurant in London and met a group of people that became lifelong friends. So, a setback became a positive development. 

The bar at Garlic's Restaurant where I worked for 12 years (1998-2010)

Was it fate or just happenstance? Did that emotionally challenging and financially difficult 1997 termination happen "for a reason"? Or, did I "pick myself up, dust myself off" and restart my life by seeking employment with my restaurant experience. Then, did these circumstances simply lead me to a group of similarly-aged, fun people who became my friends.

I bring this up because it was on my mind while researching record #368 on The 500 -- Eagles by Eagles (not, "The" Eagles, as I am prone to say). It is the debut release by the American country-rock band who became one of the world's best selling groups, with over 200 million records sold.

Eagles original line-up (l-r) Leadon, Meisner, Henley, Frey 

Eagles began as a quartet, featuring Bernie Leadon (guitar and vocals), Randy Meisner (bass and vocals), Don Henley (drums and vocals), and Glen Frey (guitar and vocals). They met when they were assembled as the touring band for Linda Ronstadt in 1971, and they also helped her record her third, self-titled, release.

Linda Ronstadt by Linda Ronstadt

Ronstadt's album was a flop and she left Capitol records, disbanding her group in the process. Despite the setback, the four members of her back-up band chose to stick together and create something new. As Henley later recalled:

“We had four singers… we wanted to create material that would showcase each of the band members’ strengths. … Our main goal, at the beginning, was to write good, memorable songs and make albums that had little or no filler.”

The result was Eagles, released in the summer of 1972 by Asylum. It was an immediate success, with three songs making it to the Top 40. It also helped cement the popularity of the "California Sound", which is ironic because none of the band members was from California. Henley from Texas; Leadon from Illinois; Frey, from Michigan, played with Bob Segar's band; and Meisner from Nebraska.

Accounts on the naming of the group vary, but most members agree that it involved a peyote-and-tequila-fueled outing in the Mojave Desert when a lone eagle flew over the heads of the stoned musicians. This was the inspiration for the album cover.

Meanwhile, Ronstadt continued her music career with Asylum records but, due to contractual obligations, was forced to release her fifth record, Heart Like A Wheel with Capitol. It became her breakout album and launched her into country and rock superstardom. We will revisit Ronstadt at #164 on The 500, with her greatest hits package, The Very Best of Linda Ronstadt, from 2002.

The Very Best Of Linda Ronstadt (2002)

So, perhaps, "everything does happen for a reason", if you are inclined to think that way. The failure of Ronstadt's third record could be considered the catalyst for the magnificent success that she and her former back-up band would achieve. Was that lone eagle sent by divine providence to inspire the band's name?

I tend to think differently. These are five, massively talented musicians and songwriters who worked hard and found success in a business where talent and hard-work can pay off...and, eagles are pretty common in the desert.