Don Henley/Mike Love

[Juice Brohnston]

Ya...I think Henley takes way too much heat for Frey's shortcomings.  The Eagles have sold LOADS of units...and rhey've put a LOT of bums into a huge number of seats.  Their sales...especially over these past 20 years or so are as good as anyone has managed so to put them down on a song by song basis argues unsuccessfully against the facts.  I like their music, or at least most of it, a lot.   Some of it is simply outstanding.  The main vocalist and a principal writer?  ALL along the way...Don Henley.

Frey said it himself...without Henley, Eagles were Air Supply.

[Dave in KC]

Desperado is pure hokum.  It was Puddy's favorite tune.  Nuff said.

Please explain this weird post.  Who the f is Purdy? If you want to be so cryptic, please do it in a way that isn't so above our collective heads. MTG I think you are
stodgy.

[wantsomecorn]

Desperado is pure hokum.  It was Puddy's favorite tune.  Nuff said.

Please explain this weird post.  Who the f is Purdy? If you want to be so cryptic, please do it in a way that isn't so above our collective heads. MTG I think you are
stodgy.

I think he's referring to Puddy from Seinfeld.

[Pretty Funky]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZrCLF-sZag

[southbay]

  Glenn Frey is the Mike Love of The Eagles. 

 Perfect analogy.  I couldn't agree more.   My sentiments exactly.      His rants against former band mate s over the years, firing and damning his band mates,   Arrogantly going forward singing his prized little favorite tunes and raking in the money.........

Except that Love carries on without Wilson and in the Eagles case Frey did not carry on without Henley. Frey and Henley both fired Felder and Frey and Henley both carried on singing and raking in money. As they should--they wrote and sang the songs. It would be akin to Love and Wilson firing Blondie Chaplin (non original expert guitarist) and continuing to carry on the band.

[China Pig]

  Glenn Frey is the Mike Love of The Eagles. 

 Perfect analogy.  I couldn't agree more.   My sentiments exactly.      His rants against former band mate s over the years, firing and damning his band mates,   Arrogantly going forward singing his prized little favorite tunes and raking in the money.........

Except that Love carries on without Wilson and in the Eagles case Frey did not carry on without Henley. Frey and Henley both fired Felder and Frey and Henley both carried on singing and raking in money. As they should--they wrote and sang the songs. It would be akin to Love and Wilson firing Blondie Chaplin (non original expert guitarist) and continuing to carry on the band.

Still not a perfect analogy as Chaplin didn't write the BB's most well known song. Felder on the other hand was the main guy behind Hotel California.

[the captain]

Frey said it himself...without Henley, Eagles were Air Supply.

Unfortunately, with Henley, the Eagles were the Eagles.

Ba dum dum. Thanks, folks. I'll be here all week. 

[Bill30022]

The firing of Felder was more like the firing of Al Jardine since he owned 33% of the Eagles.

I suspect that his treatment ended up being very expensive for Frey and Henley

[Juice Brohnston]

The firing of Felder was more like the firing of Al Jardine since he owned 33% of the Eagles.

I suspect that his treatment ended up being very expensive for Frey and Henley

Expensive, but compared to the revenues generated post Felder, probably a shrewd business move. By my count, Three mayor tours, a live DVD that sold big time, a number 1 album, etc.

With Felder out, and Walsh and Schmidt 'non owners', Henley and Frey raked it in.

[SteveMC]

Felder did get a giant pay day after his court case ruled in his favor.  But, yeah, he and the other Eagles were equal members of the group by contract according his book.

Also like Al he was always hoping that the main songwriter would write with him and get more of his compositions on an album.

Felder is my fav. musician in that group. He has a very smooth guitar style. The book was okay, I had wanted more info on their recording process & gear.

[SteveMC]

LOL. I love Air Supply though. Russell Hitchcock is one of the best singers.

Frey said it himself...without Henley, Eagles were Air Supply.

[Juice Brohnston]

When I saw Eagles for the first time in '94, Felder was the one who impressed me the most. And I had been a huge Henley fan, and great admirer of Walsh and Frey. But Felder showed himself to be a most versatile and amazing musician.

Henley said "the Eagles started as a democracy and became a benevolent dictatorship". You kinda see both sides of the coin here. On paper, Felder was justified in wanting what was legally, his fair share. On the other side, Frey and Henley founded the group, were the primary singers and songwriters, and were far superior in those categories to Felder.

Eagles were a better band with Felder. Stewart Smith is great, but I just feel Felder gave them more of an edge.

[southbay]

Agree with that completely. My only point is that Henley and Frey continuing the Eagles sans Felder is not anything like Mike Love continuing the Beach Boys without B Wilson ( and/or A Jardine).

[Marty Castillo]

Agree with that completely. My only point is that Henley and Frey continuing the Eagles sans Felder is not anything like Mike Love continuing the Beach Boys without B Wilson ( and/or A Jardine).

Eh, I think it's apples and oranges, really. I'm guessing Don Felder played a greater percentage of Eagles concerts over the years than Brian Wilson did with the Beach Boys. I would love to see Al and Brian (and David) playing with Mike and Bruce, I just don't think it's in the cards.

I've enjoyed all of the Seinfeld and Lebowski references in this thread!

[astroray]

Felder still gets paid from the touring "Eagles"!

[joe_blow]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZrCLF-sZag

It wasn't Puddy.

[SurferDownUnder]

Has anyone seen a comparison in the way Mike and Glenn talk? I don't know what it is but its the sweeping, head movement kind of speech they both have that makes me see one in the other. I'm not saying its a reflection of similar personalities but it's just something I've noticed, particularly in the document about the Eagles that kind of made Glenn look like a dick  Joe Walsh was their Dennis with a happier ending....

[SteveMC]

Timothy B Schmit would have been a good touring musician for the Beach Boys. He's a great harmony singer.

[bachelorofbullets]

I don't see how you can compare the two at all.  If anything, I would compare Don Henley to Brian Wilson, not Mike  Love.  Don Henley had great success with the Eagles and also as a solo performer.  He can play multiple instruments, has a literature degree and spouts out lyrics like nobody's business (he's also got a surly personality).  Mike Love is a ditty writer who was given parts to sing by Brian.  It's a no-contest.

[The LEGENDARY OSD]

I don't see how you can compare the two at all.  If anything, I would compare Don Henley to Brian Wilson, not Mike  Love.  Don Henley had great success with the Eagles and also as a solo performer.  He can play multiple instruments, has a literature degree and spouts out lyrics like nobody's business (he's also got a surly personality).  Mike Love is a ditty writer who was given parts to sing by Brian.  It's a no-contest.

Exactomondo! 3 whoots for the batchelor. 

[RONDEMON]

Biggest factor in the differences between Love and Henley are that Henley (and The Eagles) have always been super cautious and careful w/ their legacy and image for better or worse. I'm a huge Eagles fan and a huge Beach Boys fans and I have to say the BB's made far more embarrassing choices through the years than The Eagles. Granted, both bands are completely different in a lot of ways yet have a striking amount of similarities with band dysfunction, etc.

[Marty Castillo]

Biggest factor in the differences between Love and Henley are that Henley (and The Eagles) have always been super cautious and careful w/ their legacy and image for better or worse. I'm a huge Eagles fan and a huge Beach Boys fans and I have to say the BB's made far more embarrassing choices through the years than The Eagles. Granted, both bands are completely different in a lot of ways yet have a striking amount of similarities with band dysfunction, etc.

Let me preface this with, I have a huge guilty pleasure for the 1980s-1990s Beach Boys cheese. I'm a child of the 80s and this was my introduction to the band. That being said, the Eagles dodged a huge bullet by disbanding between 1981-1994, the individual members may have some of the 1980s cheese to their credit, but the Eagles have none. This also built up huge demand. With constant touring, the Beach Boys have never had pent up demand.

[Juice Brohnston]

Biggest factor in the differences between Love and Henley are that Henley (and The Eagles) have always been super cautious and careful w/ their legacy and image for better or worse. I'm a huge Eagles fan and a huge Beach Boys fans and I have to say the BB's made far more embarrassing choices through the years than The Eagles. Granted, both bands are completely different in a lot of ways yet have a striking amount of similarities with band dysfunction, etc.

Quite true, but in the decade between the birth of The Beach Boys and the start of The Eagles, so much had changed. California Rock had become an industry. True The Beach Boys continue to make questionable decisions, but the whole birth of Eagles was more methodical...Geffen sketching out the future of the band in his sauna, lol. Eagles benefited greatly from Asylum and the FM culture that was nowhere to be found when The Beach Boys started.

[AndrewHickey]

Biggest factor in the differences between Love and Henley are that Henley (and The Eagles) have always been super cautious and careful w/ their legacy and image for better or worse. I'm a huge Eagles fan and a huge Beach Boys fans and I have to say the BB's made far more embarrassing choices through the years than The Eagles. Granted, both bands are completely different in a lot of ways yet have a striking amount of similarities with band dysfunction, etc.

Quite true, but in the decade between the birth of The Beach Boys and the start of The Eagles, so much had changed. California Rock had become an industry. True The Beach Boys continue to make questionable decisions, but the whole birth of Eagles was more methodical...Geffen sketching out the future of the band in his sauna, lol. Eagles benefited greatly from Asylum and the FM culture that was nowhere to be found when The Beach Boys started.

Yep. I've been trying to think of *any* self-contained rock bands (writing their own material, both singing and playing) that had any kind of success in the US before the Beach Boys, and the closest I can think of is the Crickets. I can't think of any others before the Beatles made it the new norm -- there were vocal groups, instrumental groups, and lead-singer-plus-backing-band things, but no other "rock bands" as we'd now think of them.

Any rock band formed after about 1966 or 67 had an idea of cool, and credibility, and a career path, that didn't exist when the Beach Boys started. The BBs will have thought of themselves as entertainers first and foremost, though several members obviously also thought of themselves (rightly) as artists. People who started not long at all after them will have had the opposite set of priorities. Understanding that makes the parts of the band's career that now look strange a lot more comprehensible -- they started out in a world where "success in showbiz" meant Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, not Led Zeppelin.

[Emily]

Biggest factor in the differences between Love and Henley are that Henley (and The Eagles) have always been super cautious and careful w/ their legacy and image for better or worse. I'm a huge Eagles fan and a huge Beach Boys fans and I have to say the BB's made far more embarrassing choices through the years than The Eagles. Granted, both bands are completely different in a lot of ways yet have a striking amount of similarities with band dysfunction, etc.

Quite true, but in the decade between the birth of The Beach Boys and the start of The Eagles, so much had changed. California Rock had become an industry. True The Beach Boys continue to make questionable decisions, but the whole birth of Eagles was more methodical...Geffen sketching out the future of the band in his sauna, lol. Eagles benefited greatly from Asylum and the FM culture that was nowhere to be found when The Beach Boys started.

Yep. I've been trying to think of *any* self-contained rock bands (writing their own material, both singing and playing) that had any kind of success in the US before the Beach Boys, and the closest I can think of is the Crickets. I can't think of any others before the Beatles made it the new norm -- there were vocal groups, instrumental groups, and lead-singer-plus-backing-band things, but no other "rock bands" as we'd now think of them.

Any rock band formed after about 1966 or 67 had an idea of cool, and credibility, and a career path, that didn't exist when the Beach Boys started. The BBs will have thought of themselves as entertainers first and foremost, though several members obviously also thought of themselves (rightly) as artists. People who started not long at all after them will have had the opposite set of priorities. Understanding that makes the parts of the band's career that now look strange a lot more comprehensible -- they started out in a world where "success in showbiz" meant Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, not Led Zeppelin.

If you noodge the 'rock' over towards 'folk' a bit there are some. Doesn't change the point of your post though, which is a good one.