A classic rock band has performed without a key member for the first time in 51 years.

The Eagles played a concert at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Saturday without Joe Walsh. The legendary singer-guitarist was sick with the flu, Don Henley told the audience.

“We had a choice to make,” Henley said. “We could either cancel the whole thing, or we could man up and do the show. So we came down here this afternoon and had an emergency rehearsal for two hours. And fortunately, in this band, we have a deep bench.”

According to Ultimate Classic Rock, country musician Vince Gill, who joined the Eagles in 2017, stepped up to handle vocals on Walsh classics like “Rocky Mountain Way” and “Life’s Been Good,” and Deacon Frey took over the iconic guitar solo in “Hotel California.” The only setlist change was playing “Best of My Love” instead of “Funk #49.”

Walsh, 78, was ill Friday night, too, but powered through most of that night’s concert, according to UCR. However, The Eagles had to skip “Rocky Mountain Way,” Walsh’s 1978 solo hit.

“Joe’s going to be okay. He just needs some time. Give him some love,” Henley told fans.

Walsh, who joined the Eagles in 1975, had never missed an Eagles concert before Saturday. He is expected to be back in the lineup at the band’s next Sphere performance on Friday, Jan. 30.

The Eagles are a Grammy-winning band and one of the best-selling music artists of all time thanks to hits like “Hotel California,” “Take It Easy,” “Desperado,” “Best of My Love” and “Take It to the Limit.” The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group’s current members include Henley, Walsh, Gill, Timothy B. Schmit, and Deacon Frey, the son of late co-founder Glenn Frey.

The band recently hit a new milestone when their 1976 release, “Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975,” become the first album to go quadruple diamond, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. It’s the best-selling album of all time in the U.S. with more than 40 million units sold, the RIAA said.

“In an age, in a culture, where everything seems to become more ephemeral, by the day, it is gratifying to have been part of something that endures, even for fifty years,” Henley said last week. “We are amazed and grateful.”