The last couple of weeks has been quite the doozy when it comes to losing iconic artists. First it was David Bowie, then one of my favorite actors of all time, Alan Rickman, and now Glenn Frey of The Eagles. Bowie and Rickman, both London natives, died of cancer at the age of 69 while Frey died at the age of 67. Bowie and Frey both died in New York City.
I can’t pretend to be a huge Eagles fan, though I do like them. But they obviously had a big influence on rock and country, and their music is powerful, iconic, inescapable, and recognized around the world.
The biggest band of the mid to late 70’s, The Eagles epitomized Los Angeles rock with a strong country streak. In fact, that country tone of the band was the unique contribution of Glenn Frey himself, the band mate coming from a blue collar upbringing in Detroit.
The perfect example of that is this song, “Lyin’ Eyes”. Although it was actually co-written with Don Henley, the song is largely considered a perfect example of Glenn Frey’s contribution to the band. The song hit number two on the pop charts and reached the highest position of any Eagles song on the country charts, topping out at number 8. It was their first and highest country hit for the band.
Incidentally, “Lyin’ Eyes” is perhaps my favorite song of The Eagles, having always considered it a more interesting song than “Hotel California”. Of course, maybe that’s just because that song is always played so much.
Glenn Frey of the Eagles in an undated photo from the 1970s. (Photo from www.eaglesonlinecentral.com)