(Credits: Far Out / Steve Alexander)
Thu 27 November 2025 19:30, UK
Eagles are one of the few bands that the world has almost overexplained.
It’s not Glenn Frey or Don Henley’s fault that they managed to write the kind of records that fans fell in love with, but they have reached the point where every one of them hardly feels human whenever they perform. They’re practically a piece of American history now, but Frey felt that there were plenty of artists who deserved as much attention as they did.
When they first started, even Henley started to have his doubts about whether the universe had made the right decision by giving them their big break. They put in the work and spent years trying to get the right sounds for the band, but when they took off on their first record, there was a lingering tension in the air that made every one of them uncomfortable about what the hell they were going to do next.
And it’s not like you couldn’t hear them overthinking things. Desperado was a fantastic record, but the underlying story detailing the stories the outlaws of days gone by was either going to be interesting or one of the most pretentious things imaginable, and the critics from the time usually agreed with the latter. Eagles were a band that always thrived writing the hits, but Frey wanted them to be bigger than a simple pop-rock act that had the occasional chart success now and again.
After all, that adventurousness was what Linda Ronstadt had been doing since the days when Frey was her rhythm guitarist. Ronstadt had already been one of the reigning queens of country rock for the longest time, but when looking at her career in the long term, Frey felt that what she brought to the world went far beyond a few catchy tunes back in the 1970s.
When being asked about Ronstadt’s mark on the world, Frey felt that even the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame wouldn’t be a big enough qualifier for what Ronstadt brought to the world, saying, “There was a lot of serendipity involved in getting Eagles together. We told Linda that we wanted to have our own band and she helped us get the guys. She was really important. She was a pivotal person in our lives. Linda deserved to be in just about every Hall of Fame there could possibly be.”
That’s not simple lip service for Ronstadt, either. A lot of what she was doing revolved around taking chances, and whether that was going on Broadway or making a name for himself singing Mexican music, she was a case study in what could be done when someone decides to throw caution to the wind and make some of the best music that they could possibly make regardless of whether there was a market for it.
And when she eventually was welcomed in, it was fitting that Frey was the one doing the honours for her. She had retired from singing years before, but when listening to everyone from Stevie Nicks to Emmylou Harris talk about Ronstadt’s music, it was clear that the rest of the music world never forgot about the doors that she broke down for everyone else.
So while Ronstadt was always critical of her voice and downplayed some of her greatest tunes, it’s important to acknowledge the role that she had in changing American music. She might not have had the biggest songs in the world or managed to stick around to be playing into the modern age, but if you take her out of the equation, the entire California rock scene would have looked so much different.
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