Glenn Frey Passes Away At 67

The Eagles announced that guitarist and co-founder of the band, Glenn Frey, died recently at the age of 67. Frey passed away on Monday in New York City due to complications from colitis, pneumonia and rheumatoid arthritis.

Fellow band members and his family said they could not describe the sorrow, love and respect they felt for everything gave to them. The Eagles produced a number of hit singles in the 1970s, including Hotel California. The band was established by Frey together with Bernie Leadon, Randy Meisner and Don Henley in 1971.

Frey and Henley wrote Hotel California. He also composed some of the biggest songs of the band on his own, including Lyin’ Eyes and Heartache Tonight. International album sales of the Eagles surpassed the 150 million mark. Some of their greatest hits, including Hotel California, became best selling singles in music history.

While the Eagles did not have the complex nuances of either Fleetwood Mac or Led Zepelin, they became one of the best bands in the 70s. Their hits would be played by AM radio while longer, unedited cuts would be played by FM stations.

Glenn Frey Passes Away At 67 - image credit: flickr.com

Glenn Frey became one the main songwriters of the band. His relationship with Henley was likened to the relationship of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. He was the writer behind the breakout hit of the band, “Take It Easy,” with Jackson Browne. Later singles of the band became hits due to the effort of the whole band.

The group had five number one singles in the US along with four number one albums. Sale of their greatest hits reached 30 million copies.

In an interview with Rolling Stone in 2012, Glenn Frey said their success was mind-boggling, but he was able to maintain a perspective with his daily life with his family. However, Frey said the pressure of producing a follow-up to “Hotel California” caused the band to break up.

A famous quote by Henley in 1980 became the title of the comeback album of the band fourteen years later. When Henley heard of the death of Frey, he said the bond they made forty-five years ago was never broken.

Henley considered Frey as his brother. He added they were family and similar to many families, dysfunction would exist. He also said their bond remained strong even during the fourteen years the band was dissolved. After the Eagles broke up in 1980, Glenn Frey became successful as a solo artist with “The Heat is On,” which was made for the 1984 movie, “Beverly Hills Cop.”

Posted by Kade Quinn on Tuesday January 19 2016, 9:12 AM EDT. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Entertainment. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0