The Eagles were formed in Los Angeles in 1971 by Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner and 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, were ranked among the 20 best-selling albums in the United States according to the Recording Industry Association of America. 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 U.S. alone – including over 40 million copies of Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) and more than 30 million copies of Hotel California. “Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)” was the best selling album of the 20th century in the U.S. They are the fifth-highest-selling music act and highest-selling American band in U.S. history. No American band sold more records than the Eagles during the 1970s.
Flip through the gallery for 10 Things You Might Not Know About The Eagles!
The Eagles began in 1971, when Linda Ronstadt recruited Glenn Frey and Don Henley for her band. Randy Meisner and Bernie Leadon soon joined and the four played live behind Ronstadt only once at a concert at Disneyland. With Ronstadt's blessing, Henley and Frey asked Leadon and Meisner to form a band and the rest is history
The name of the band was first suggested by Leadon during a drug influenced group outing in the Mojave Desert, when he recalled reading about the Hopi’s reverence for the eagle. Comedian Steve Martin recounts that he suggested that they should be referred to as "the Eagles," but Frey insisted that the group's name was simply "Eagles
The group's eponymous debut album was recorded in England in February 1972 and released on June 26, 1972. Eagles was a breakthrough success, yielding three Top 40 singles. The first single and lead track, "Take It Easy,” was written by Frey with his then-neighbor and fellow country-folk rocker Jackson Browne
Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) was a compilation album, released February 17, 1976. It was the best selling album of the 20th century in the United States and is tied with Michael Jackson's Thriller as the highest-certified album in the US at 29x platinum. The album comprises nine singles, plus the album track "Desperado
Hotel California was the band’s fifth studio album released December 8, 1976. It was the first album without founding member Bernie Leadon, the last featuring original bassist Randy Meisner and their first with guitarist Joe Walsh
Released September 24, 1979, The Long Run debuted at #2 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart and a week later hit #1 dethroning Led Zeppelin's In Through the Out Door. It was their last #1 album of the 1970s, and reigned for eight weeks in the #1 slot
On July 31, 1980, the band was playing a benefit show for California Senator Alan Cranston when the band started in-fighting backstage, which led to on-stage. This would be the last time they played together for 14 years
For the record, we never broke up, we just took a 14-year vacation,” said Frey at their first live performance in April 1994. They released Hell Freezes Over, named for Henley's recurring statement that they would get back together "when hell freezes over.” It contained four new studio tracks and eleven live tracks recorded for an MTV special
In 1998, the Eagles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the induction ceremony, all seven Eagles members (Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Don Felder, Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner) played together for two songs, "Take It Easy" and "Hotel California
The Eagles are one of the world’s best-selling bands of all time, having sold more than 150 million records worldwide with 100 million in the U.S. alone. No American band sold more records than the Eagles during the 1970s
