(Credits: Far Out / Alamy)
Thu 18 December 2025 17:45, UK
From an outside perspective, if you were to listen to the music of the Eagles, you’d probably think that it was made by a group of carefree dudes who just enjoyed rocking out together. Any Eagles fan will tell you, however, that the dynamic was far more complicated than that.
Despite a run of success in the 1970s, things came to an unfortunately sticky end after the release of The Long Run at the tail end of the decade, and the 28 year wait between this and their eventual final album, Long Road Out of Eden, serves as corroborating evidence for the fact that there was much more than ironing out a few disagreements between members that needed to be done for them to be able to release one last record together.
However, it wasn’t just the tail end of their initial run that produced friction within the ranks of the band, as there had been a number of personnel changes that had taken place in the build-up to this grisly finale. Over the course of six studio albums, seven different members took up roles within the band, with only two members in Glenn Frey and Don Henley, remaining present for the entire time.
While the band were constantly on the rise and showing signs of growth in terms of their confidence and songwriting ability, certain members showed a considerable displeasure with the way things operated in the band, and the hierarchical structures that appeared to be emerging yet forbidden from discussion were a major jumping-off point for those who had seemingly come to their wits’ end.
In the last decade, with the band only existing as a live act, things appear to have settled down considerably, with only Henley still continuing in his role from the start. Bassist Timothy B Schmit has been part of the group since towards the end of their first stint, as has guitarist Joe Walsh, and new recruits Vince Gill and Deacon Frey, who replaced his late father in 2017, appear to all be content in their places, but that’s more than can be said of those who have come and gone since the beginning.
If we’re to exclude the two newest recruits, the other seven members of the band had a number of spats between them that make it remarkable to think that the Eagles ever managed to stay together as long as they did without imploding, but just who was it within the band that hated the guts of other members?
The Eagles pose for press material. (Credits: Showtime / The Eagles)Which members of the Eagles hated each other?
For this particular exercise, we’re focusing on the seven members who enjoyed, or in some cases detested, a spell with the Eagles between their formation in 1971 and their acrimonious split in 1980. As previously mentioned, this includes the two mainstays in the elder Frey and Henley, their two other current trusted sidekicks in Schmit and Walsh, and past members Don Felder, Randy Meisner and Bernie Leadon.
The first to depart the band was guitarist Leadon, who departed following the tour in support of One of These Nights. The reason for his exit came as a result of tensions boiling over between him and Frey, who he believed was taking the band in a direction that he wasn’t comfortable with, and when they collectively sat down to discuss the future, Leadon thought that the intensity of Frey’s attitude was taking things a little too far, so he ended up pouring a pint over the frontman’s head.
Similarly, Meisner ended up having physical altercations with Frey only a year later, when the band had just finished working on Hotel California. Not only that, but he felt as though Frey and Henley were emerging as the Lennon and McCartney of the band, and were exerting far too much control over the band and their direction.
While Felder lasted until the end of the band’s original run, having been recruited as a third guitarist and auxiliary member who could play multiple instruments, he was fired from the band in 2001 after a dispute arose between him and Frey over unfair distribution of royalties and finances within the band. A theme seems to be emerging here, no?
Despite both sticking it out until the end, with Frey only ever leaving as a result of his passing in 2016, he and Henley also had their ups and downs in their relationship, with the duo frequently finding themselves on the other’s bad side while working together. Even though Henley is notoriously hard to please, with others from the world of music having commented on his prickly attitude, it would appear that the majority of the disagreements and bad blood between members all stemmed from Frey having poor relationships with the rest of the band.
That leaves both Walsh and Schmit as the two remaining members, and neither of them appear to have had any major bust-ups during their time with Eagles. Of course, Meisner may have had a little bit of an ill feeling towards Schmit, seeing as he was recruited as his replacement not just in the Eagles, but in Poco beforehand, but neither of them seem to have made any major enemies during their time in the band, and that’s probably why they’re still going strong in the current incarnation.
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