They started out as Linda Ronstadt's backup band in 1971.
In America, Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 is the best-selling album of all time, according to the RIAA, which certified it at 38 million units in 2018, five million ahead of Michael Jackson's Thriller.
They were the first band to charge over $100 for arena shows. They did it on their 1994 Hell Freezes Over tour, and when fans paid the price, other acts like The Rolling Stones followed suit.
Henley, Frey and Felder were the three official owners of the band, which existed as a corporate entity called Eagles, Ltd. Felder claims that after the band reunited in 1994, he was cut out of most of the decisions, and was fired in 2001 for asking too many questions. He sued Henley and Frey, which resulted in an out-of-court settlement they are not allowed to discuss.
They sued the American Eagle Foundation, a charity dedicated to saving the birds, for using the domain name eagles.org and the phone number 1-800-2EAGLES. The case was dismissed when the band couldn't make court appearances.
Their concert in 2001 was the first event ever at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Good tickets were reselling for about $1,500.
Frey was in a short-lived TV show called South of Sunset. It was canceled after one episode.
Henley was in a band called Shiloh, which recorded an album produced by Kenny Rogers. Recording for the same record label was Longbranch Pennywhistle, a band featuring Frey and J.D. Souther, who would later co-write many Eagles songs.
Leadon was in many groups before the Eagles, including Hearts and Flowers, the Dillard-Clark Expedition, and the Flying Burrito Brothers.
Although The Eagles are usually identified with the West Coast music scene, only Schmit was born in California.
Walsh can be seen as a prisoner in the final scene of the movie The Blues Brothers.
When Henley married Sharon Summerall in 1995, performers at the wedding included Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Sting, Jackson Browne, John Fogerty, and Sheryl Crow.
Bernie Leadon went on to form RUN C&W, a band that plays Motown in a Bluegrass Style. They released two albums.
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Suggestion credit:
James - Leesville, LA
Joe Walsh was asked to join in 1976 when Bernie Leadon left. He had previously played in the hard rock band The James Gang who had released four albums, two of which who went gold. He added a harder edge to the Eagles' sound and helped write the hits "Hotel California" and "The Long Run."
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Suggestion credit:
Tim - Manassas, VA
Meisner was in the group Poco before joining the Eagles. Poco replaced Randy with Timothy B. Schmit, who replaced Randy when he left the Eagles.
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Suggestion credit:
Chuck - Tulsa, OK
The Eagles got back together after the Country tribute album
A Common Thread sold very well. Travis Tritt said he would sing a song on the album only if some members of the Eagles sang back up. After they saw how popular they still where, they reunited.
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Suggestion credit:
andrew - jackson, MS
They have never done an endorsement deal or let their music be used for commercial use.
Dan Fogelberg is good friends with the band and opened for them for about two years.
