The Fiery Backstage Drama That Led To The Breakup Of The Eagles
The Eagles are one of the biggest-selling music acts in history — but they’re arguably just as well known for their internal squabbling as they are their incredible country rock ’n’ roll hits. Over the years fights, ego wars, and rivalries led to what felt like a constantly changing line-up. Hell, they even disbanded entirely for 14 long years! Let’s take a look at the behind-the-scenes drama that defined the Eagles — and eventually led to one of the most infamous band break-ups in music history.
The Eagles broke up in 1980 but reunited in 1994 for the album Hell Freezes Over…
The first Eagle to fly away from the band was Bernie Leadon. It was a case of “last one in, first one out,” as he was the final original member to join the group. The guitarist is often credited with being instrumental in shaping the country rock sound which first brought the band to the fore.
In 1975, though, after four and a half years of relentless touring and even more relentless partying, he found himself burning out. To him, the solution was obvious — take a breather.
Leadon shares a beer with Frey
In 2008 Leadon told Rolling Stone, “I just wanted some time to regroup. I suggested we take some time off. They weren’t excited about that idea.” The other guys wanted to forge ahead on their current path of success, so Leadon’s suggestion fell on deaf ears — and this frustrated him.
The disgruntled man wound up pouring an entire beer over Frey’s head during a backstage difference of opinion and quit the band entirely. He maintained, “I don’t regret any of it,” and then chuckled, “What’s funny is that a year after I left they did wind up taking a long break.”
Leadon pushes back on one rumor
Interestingly, people have often said Leadon fundamentally disagreed with Henley and Frey over the band’s sound evolving into the stadium-friendly rock and roll the Eagles became so synonymous with.
Leadon disputes this, though, saying, “That’s an oversimplification. It implies that I had no interest in rock or blues or anything but country-rock. That’s just not the case. I didn’t just play Fender Telecaster. I played a Gibson Les Paul, and I enjoyed rock and roll. That’s evident from the early albums.”
Meisner’s anxiety gets the best of him
The next member to seek greener pastures was Randy Meisner, who quit in 1977. He and Frey got into an altercation before the third encore of a gig one night — because Frey wanted him to take center stage to sing “Take it to the Limit.”
This was one of the band’s biggest hits and a song Meisner did sing on the record — in fact, his high-pitched vocals are an iconic part of the track. Unfortunately, Meisner was an introvert, and hated singing live as it made his anxiety flare up.