Eagles Photo's

~ EAGLES ~
Photo Album & History
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(All photo's labeled from left to right)

Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit, Don Henley, Glenn Frey

The Original Eagles 1971-1974
Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, Randy Meisner, Glenn Frey

The original Eagles formed in 1971 in Los Angeles, California by Glenn Frey and consisted of Glenn Frey (guitarist/singer), Don Henley (drummer/-
singer), Bernie Leadon (guitarist/singer) and Randy Meisner (bassist/singer). Frey had been hired by Linda Ronstadt and her manager John Boylan to get together a group to back Ronstadt on tour. With Frey's eye towards his future band, he approached Henley to be her drummer. With Boylan's help, Frey was also able to interest Leadon and Meisner, two other members of her touring band. In 1971, they played together for the first time at Disneyland, backing Ronstadt. At the time of working with Ronstadt, each person was paid $200 a piece. This original Eagles band would venture out on its own to make it big and would be together from 1971-1974, before recruiting Don Felder as the 5th Eagle to join the group in 1974.

(1971)

Donald Hugh "Don" Henley
Born: July 22, 1947 in Gilmer, Texas

Bernard Mathew "Bernie" Leadon, III
Born: July 19, 1947, in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Randy Herman Meisner
Born: March 8, 1946 in Scottsbluff, Nebraska

Glenn Lewis Frey
Born: November 6, 1948 in Detroit, Michigan

1972

Randy Meisner, Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Bernie Leadon

1972

Bernie Leadon, Randy Meisner, Don Henley, Glenn Frey

1972

Randy Meisner, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon

1972

Top: Glenn Frey
Middle: Bernie Leadon, Randy Meisner
Bottom: Don Henley

1972

Front Row: Randy Meisner, Bernie Leadon
Back Row: Don Henley, Glenn Frey

1972

Front: Glenn Frey, Don Henley
Back: Randy Meisner, Bernie Leadon

1973

Bernie Leadon, Don Henley, Randy Meisner, Glenn Frey

1973

Bernie Leadon, Randy Meisner, Don Henley, Glenn Frey

1973

Bernie Leadon, Don Henley, Randy Meisner, Glenn Frey

1974

Front Row: Don Henley, Randy Meisner
Back Row: Glenn Frey, Bernie Leadon

1974

Glenn Frey, Randy Meisner, Bernie Leadon, Don Henley

Front: Bernie Leadon, Glenn Frey, Randy Meisner
Back Row: Don Henley

Front: Bernie Leadon, Glenn Frey, Randy Meisner
Back Row: Don Henley

Randy Meisner, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, Glenn Frey

And Felder Makes Five 1974
Don Felder

Donald William "Don" Felder

Born: September 21, 1947 in Gainesville, Florida

Don Felder would join the Eagles in 1974. He played lead guitar, slide guitar, steel guitar, mandolin, keyboards as well as doing vocals. He was first called by the Eagles to add slide guitar to their song "Good Day in Hell." The following day he was invited to join the band. Felder would be with the Eagles from 1974-1980 and 1994-2001.

On the band's fourth album, "One of These Nights," Felder sang lead vocal on the song "Visions," which he co-wrote with Don Henley, it was the only Eagles song that Felder ever sang lead vocal on. Felder also wrote the music for the album title track "Hotel California," and had originally introduced it, as an instrumental demo, to Henley and Frey who initially named it "Mexican Reggae." It would become the band's most successful recording that was released. Hotel California was released on December 8, 1976 as the band's fifth studio album.

On July 31, 1980, in Long Beach, California, tempers boiled over into what has been described as "Long Night at Wrong Beach." The Eagles were performing a benefit gig for California Senator Alan Cranston. The hostility that had lately been seething below the surface and behind the scenes reared its ugly head for all to see when Felder publicly expressed disinterest in Cranston at a press conference for the show. Furious, Glenn Frey confronted Felder before the band took the stage, and the two spent the entire concert exchanging threats. As Frey tells it, "So now we're on stage, and Felder looks back at me and says, 'Only three more songs 'til I kick your ass, pal.' And I'm saying, 'Great. I can't wait.' We're out there singing 'Best of My Love,' but inside both of us are thinking, 'As soon as this is over, I'm gonna kill him.' " Sure enough, it erupted into a physical confrontation between Glenn Frey and Don Felder. Afterwards, the Eagles would begin a 14 year breakup that started in July 1980 and would last until 1994.

In 1994, the Eagles (including Felder) regrouped for a concert aired on MTV, which resulted in the new album "Hell Freezes Over." Felder continued as a member of the Eagles through the band's 1994-2000 New Year's concerts.

Felder performed with the Eagles (with all current and former Eagles members) in 1998 in New York City for the band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The seven musicians performed together on "Take It Easy," and "Hotel California."

Don Felder on steel guitar

Pre 1969

E178_Pre1969

Don Felder

Don Felder

Don Felder

Don Felder on slide guitar

Don Felder

Don Felder

Don Felder

Eagles 1974-1975
Randy Meisner, Bernie Leadon, Glenn Frey, Don Felder, Don Henley

1974

Front Row: Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Don Felder
Back Row: Bernie Leadon, Randy Meisner

1974

Front Row: Don Henley, Don Felder, Randy Meisner
Back Row: Glenn Frey, Bernie Leadon

1974

Bernie Leadon, Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Don Felder, Randy Meisner

1974

Don Felder, Randy Meisner, Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Bernie Leadon

1974

Bernie Leadon, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Don Felder, Randy Meisner

1974-1975

E201_KirshnerLive

Randy Meisner, Glenn Frey, Bernie Leadon, Don Felder
Back: (Drummer) Don Henley

Rolling Stone 1975
Front Squatting: Randy Meisner Back: Don Henley, Don Felder, Bernie Leadon, Glenn Frey

The Eagles would appear on the cover of the Rolling Stone in the September 25, 1975 issue - issue no. 196.

1975

Sitting: Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, Randy Meisner
Standing: Don Felder, Glenn Frey

1975

Top Row: Don Felder, Bernie Leadon, Don Henley,
Bottom Row: Glenn Frey, Randy Meisner

1975

The Picture Says The Following:

Kings of the World, Ma: The Eagles (from left)
Don Henley, Don Felder, Bernie Leadon, Randy Meisner, Glenn Frey

1975

Don Henley, Don Felder, Bernie Leadon, Randy Meisner, Glenn Frey

1975

Don Henley, Don Felder, Bernie Leadon, Randy Meisner, Glenn Frey

1975

One Of These Nights

Front Row: Randy Meisner, Don Felder, Glenn Frey
Back Row: Don Henley, Bernie Leadon

1975

Left: Bernie Leadon (white shirt)
Over Glenn's Left Shoulder:
Randy Meisner (black shirt)
Center: Glenn Frey (white shirt)
Over Glenn's Right Shoulder:
Don Henley (white shirt)

1975

Bernie Leadon, Don Felder, Glenn Frey, Randy Meisner,
Don Henley (Drums)

1975

Don Felder, Bernie Leadon, Glenn Frey, Randy Meisner,
Don Henley (Drummer)

1975

Randy Meisner, Glenn Frey, Don Felder, Bernie Leadon
Back: Don Henley (Drummer)

1975

Randy Meisner (behind Glenn), Glenn Frey, Don Felder, Bernie Leadon
Back Right of Picture: Don Henley (Drummer Red Shirt)

1975

Don Felder, Bernie Leadon, Don Henley, Randy Meisner
Front Squatting: Glenn Frey

1975

Randy Meisner, Don Felder, Bernie Leadon, Don Henley, Glenn Frey

Bernie Leadon (Goodbye Bernie) 1975
Bernie Leadon

Bernard Mathew "Bernie" Leadon, III

Born: July 19, 1947 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Bernie Leadon was a huge force in the early sound of the Eagles. He played lead guitar, acoustic, banjo, and pedal steel guitar, among other things. He also wrote/co-wrote many Eagles songs such as "Earlybird," "Train Leaves Here This Morning," "Bitter Creek," "My Man," "Journey of the Sorcerer," "Witchy Woman," "On the Border" and others...some with his brother Tom Leadon.

While the only hit with Leadon as a writer was "Witchy Woman", he was nonetheless a very important part of the band's sound. However, conflicts about the band's direction away from his beloved country and bluegrass leanings, as well as personality clashes led to Leadon leaving the band in December 1975 after completing and touring for the Eagles' fourth studio album, One of These Nights.

He famously quit the band by pouring a beer over Glenn Frey's head. He later cited a need to get healthy and break the vicious cycle of touring, recording and heavy drug use that was rampant within the band. He would be replaced by Joe Walsh as the band moved towards a harder rock sound.

Bernie Leadon

Bernie Leadon

Bernie Leadon

1972

Bernie Leadon

1972

Randy Meisner, Bernie Leadon, Glenn Frey

Bernie Leadon

Bernie Leadon

Bernie Leadon
Nashville, Tennessee

Joe Walsh (Flies High With The Eagles) 1975
Joe Walsh

Joseph Fidler "Joe" Walsh

Born: November 20, 1947 in Wichita, Kansas.

Joe Walsh has been a member of three commercially successful bands, the James Gang, Barnstorm, and the Eagles, and has experienced notable success as a solo artist and prolific session musician, especially with B.B. King.

In January 1968, he replaced Glen Schwartz as lead guitarist for the James Gang, an American power trio. Walsh proved to be the band's star attraction, noted for his innovative rhythm playing and creative guitar riffs. In particular, he was known for hot-wiring the pickups on his electric guitars to create his trademark "attack" sound. The James Gang had several minor hits and became an early album-oriented rock staple for the next two years, including "James Gang Live at Carnegie Hall." In November, 1971, Walsh left the group and formed the group Barnstorm, although their albums credited Walsh as a solo artist. Walsh and Barnstorm released their debut, the eponymous Barnstorm in 1972. The album was a critical success, but had only moderate sales. The follow-up "The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get" (1973) was titled under his own name as a solo artist, and was Walsh's commercial breakthrough. The first single "Rocky Mountain Way", received heavy airplay and reached #23 on the US Top 40 chart. In 1974, Barnstorm disbanded and Walsh continued as a solo artist.

Over the next two years, Walsh released a second studio album "So What" and a live set, "You Can't Argue with a Sick Mind." These would be his last solo albums until 1978.

On December 20, 1975, he joined the Eagles as Bernie Leadon's replacement. His addition steered the band toward a harder-edged sound and away from their early country-style work, and he was featured prominently on their multi-million-selling album Hotel California, co-writing the Top 20 hit "Life in the Fast Lane" (with Don Henley and Glenn Frey) and "Pretty Maids All in a Row" (co-written with former Barnstorm drummer Joe Vitale).

As the Eagles struggled to record the follow-up to Hotel California, Walsh re-ignited his solo career with the well-received album "But Seriously, Folks..." (1978) -- which featured his hit comic depiction of rock stardom, "Life's Been Good." Joe also contributed "In the City" to The Warriors soundtrack (1979), a song penned and sung by Walsh that was later re-recorded for the Eagles "The Long Run" album.

Joe Walsh

Joe Walsh

Joe Walsh

Joe Walsh

Joe Walsh

Joe Walsh

1979

Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit

1979

Timothy B. Schmit and Joe Walsh

1980

Don Felder, Timothy B. Schmit, Joe Walsh (Jumping)

1980

Glenn Frey and Joe Walsh

Joe Walsh

2005

Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit

Joe Walsh

Joe Walsh

Eagles 1975-1977
Randy Meisner, Don Henley, Don Felder, Joe Walsh, Glenn Frey (Picture made 1976-77)

1976-77

Randy Meisner, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Don Felder

1976-77

E207_Year1976-77

Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, Don Henley, Don Felder, Randy Meisner

1977

Joe Walsh, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Randy Meisner, Don Felder

Don Felder, Joe Walsh, Randy Meisner
Back Row: Don Henley, Glenn Frey

Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Don Felder, Randy Meisner

Randy Meisner (So Long, Randy) 1977
Randy Meisner

Randy Herman Meisner

Born: March 8, 1946 in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.

Randy Meisner's first public playing experience was with a local band named The Dynamics (later The Drivin' Dynamics) in 1961. By 1965, he had moved to California with a band named The Soul Survivors, later to be renamed The Poor (because, as Don Felder later said, "...that is what they became.")

In 1968, after auditioning along side the likes of Duane Allman and Timothy B Schmit, Meisner joined Poco (originally named Pogo) with former Buffalo Springfield members Richie Furay and Jim Messina after that band's demise. Meisner appeared on Poco's first album, Pickin' Up the Pieces, but was asked to leave the band shortly before the record was released. Meisner's exit was a result of his anger from being excluded (at Furay's insistence) from participation in the final mix playback sessions for the record, as only Messina and Furay were to complete the production. His image was removed from the painting on the album's cover, and replaced with the dog seen at the far left. His bass parts and backing vocals were left in the mix, but his lead vocals were removed, and new versions were sung by George Grantham.

1969

Jim Messina, Randy Meisner, George Grantham,
Richie Furay, Rusty Young
(Poco 1968)

In 1969, Meisner joined Rick Nelson's Stone Canyon Band, and persuaded Nelson and producer John Boylan to hire his former band mates from The Poor, Allen Kemp (guitar) and Pat Shanahan (drums); noted country pedal steel guitarist Tom Brumley completed the group. He appears on both In Concert at the Troubadour, 1969 and Rudy The Fifth. Although he did not perform on Nelson's Garden Party, he did co-author one of the album's tracks. Meisner continued to support himself as a session performer, playing bass on James Taylor's Sweet Baby James album, among others. By the summer of 1971, he would become active in Linda Ronstadt's backing band, which featured Don Henley and Glenn Frey. Bernie Leadon would be the last Eagle to join Ronstadt's backing group, brought in by John Boylan.

While he usually manned the bass and handled backing vocals for the Eagles, he also played guitar on Desperado, On The Border, and Hotel California. During his six years with the band, he wrote and/or co-wrote songs on each of the group's first five albums - most notably "Take It to the Limit" on One of These Nights and was featured as lead vocalist on several songs.

Meisner's time in the band was reportedly weighed down by his desire to be with his family. According to Don Felder, Meisner constantly threatened to resign. After the supporting tour of Hotel California, Meisner quit the band in September 1977, citing "exhaustion." He would be replaced by Timothy B. Schmit, coincidentally the same bassist who replaced him in Poco.

On his abrupt resignation from the band, Meisner has said, "When I quit, it was like Timothy Schmit joined the group, and it was like Timothy was the guy now, and I can't blame them for that. All that stuff and all the arguing amongst the Eagles is over now. Well at least for me."

1960's

R105

Randy Meisner
(High School Picture)

Randy Meisner

Randy Meisner

1976

Randy Meisner

Randy Meisner

Randy Meisner

R109

Glenn: I just remember being very happy for Randy. We had tried, unsuccessfully, to get a piece of material for him - or from him - that might be a hit single, or turn into one. I don't think that we ever consciously tried to make hit singles. We finally succeeded with "Take It To The Limit." That's the first Eagles single to sell a million copies. It was our first gold single, maybe our only gold single. People always tended to buy our albums instead. We still had hit records, but they wouldn't sell through as 45s much. We had a lot of #1's, but I know "Take It To The Limit" was our first gold single. And when Randy would sing it in Japan - it was mass hysteria (laughs).

Randy Meisner, Don Felder,
Back Row: Don Henley, Glenn Frey

Randy Meisner
Back Seat: Don Henley

2009

Randy Meisner

Timothy B. Schmit
(Hello Timothy)

1977

Timothy B. Schmit

Timothy Bruce Schmit

Born: October 30, 1947 in Oakland, California.

Timothy B. Schmit is an American musician and songwriter, best known for his work as bass guitar player and singer for Poco and the Eagles. Schmit has also worked for decades as a session musician and solo artist.

Raised in Sacramento, Schmit began playing in the folk music group Tim, Tom & Ron at age 15. That group evolved into a surf band called the Contenders, then changed its name to the New Breed. As the New Breed they had one big radio hit, the catchy, Animals-inspired "Green Eyed Woman," released 1965. Changing its name once again to Glad, the group recorded the album Feelin' Glad in 1968. Timothy B Schmit provided the vocals for Trashmen's Hit Surfin' Bird.

(1960's)
Timothy B. Schmit, George Hullin,
Ron Floegel, Tom Phillips (front center)

1965

1963

(1968)
Ron Floegel, Timothy B. Schmit, Tom Phillips,
George Hullin (front center with moustache)

In 1970, Schmit joined Poco, replacing founding member Randy Meisner on bass and vocals. He wrote and was lead singer on the song "Keep On Tryin'," Poco's biggest hit single to that point, peaking at #50 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1975. Apart from Poco, Schmit also contributed vocals to Firefall's 1977 hit, "Just Remember I Love You."

Schmit also played bass and sang backing vocals on several Steely Dan albums.

In 1977, Schmit joined the Eagles after the Hotel California tour, once again replacing Randy Meisner on bass/vocals after Meisner quit. While the Eagles are thought to be a quintessential California band, Schmit is actually the only native Californian ever to be a member of the band.

On the 1979 album The Long Run, Schmit co-wrote and sang lead on the song "I Can't Tell You Why". The band broke up in 1980 and reunited in 1994, with Schmit singing the lead vocal on "Love Will Keep Us Alive", on the reunion album Hell Freezes Over.

In 2007, the Eagles released a new album, Long Road Out of Eden. Schmit continues to be part of the Eagles lineup along with Glenn Frey, Don Henley and Joe Walsh.

After the Eagles broke up in 1980, Schmit embarked on a solo career, singing vocals and playing bass for hire during studio sessions. His voice can be heard on many hits, including Bob Seger's "Fire Lake" and Boz Scaggs' "Look What You've Done To Me" (each with Frey and Henley), Don Felder's "Heavy Metal (Takin' A Ride)" (with Henley), and Crosby, Stills and Nash's "Southern Cross", where he sang harmony due to David Crosby's drug overindulgence. He was also a background musician on two of Don Henley's hit songs, "Dirty Laundry" and "You Don't Know Me at All".

Schmit teamed with his predecessor in both Poco and the Eagles, Randy Meisner, along with their mutual Eagles bandmate Joe Walsh, to provide background vocals to the 1987 Richard Marx hit "Don't Mean Nothing". Schmit also performed on the Toto 1983 hit singles "I Won't Hold You Back" and "Africa", and the Jars of Clay song "Everything In Between". He also played on the 1983 Glenn Shorrock solo album. In 1991 Schmit donated a track to the Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead movie soundtrack titled "I Only Have Eyes For You."

1991

In 1996, Schmit sang on a cover version of The Beach Boys' 1966 song "Caroline, No" on their album Stars and Stripes Vol. 1, with the Beach Boys themselves contributing harmonies. Schmit also toured with Jimmy Buffett, in 1983, 1984, and 1985 as a member of the Coral Reefer Band. Schmit was the one who coined the term "Parrotheads" to describe Buffett's fans.

In 1988, Schmit was also involved in the Cinemax Television special "Black and White Night" featuring Roy Orbison.

Schmit's latest album, Expando, was released on October 20, 2009.

1960's

T115

Timothy B. Schmit

1969 - 1971

T116

Timothy B. Schmit

1969 - 1971

T122

Timothy B. Schmit

Timothy B. Schmit

Timothy B. Schmit

Timothy B. Schmit

Timothy B. Schmit

Timothy B. Schmit

Timothy B. Schmit

Timothy B. Schmit

Timothy B. Schmit, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh

1996 Pre-Show

T112

Glenn Frey, Timothy B. Schmit, Don Henley

1996 Pre-Show

T123_1996

Timothy B. Schmit, Glenn Frey, Don Henley

Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit

Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit, Don Henley

Timothy B. Schmit

Timothy B. Schmit

1978

Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Timothy B. Schmit, Joe Walsh,
Don Felder (back of Joe Walsh)

1978

Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit, Joe Walsh, Glenn Frey, Don Felder

Joe Walsh, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit, Don Felder

Rolling Stone 1979
Joe Walsh, Don Felder, Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit and Glenn Frey

For the 2nd time the Eagles would appear on the cover of the Rolling Stone in the November 1979 issue - No. 306 and this would not be the last cover that they would appear on.

1994 - 1996
Hell Freezes Over

T124

Don Felder, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit, Joe Walsh

The Eagles broke up in July 1980 due to an argument between Glenn Frey and Don Felder, which resulted in a fist fight backstage, but in 1994, the Eagles (including Felder) regrouped for a concert that aired on MTV. The lineup comprised the five Long Run-era members - Frey, Henley, Walsh, Felder and Schmit - supplemented by additional musicians: Scott Crago (drums), John Corey (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals), Timothy Drury (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals) and Al Garth (sax, violin) on stage.

"For the record, we never broke up, we just took a 14-year vacation," announced Frey at their first live performance in April 1994. The ensuing tour spawned a live album titled Hell Freezes Over (named for Henley's recurring statement that the group would get back together "when hell freezes over") which debuted at #1 on the Billboard album chart, and included four new studio songs, with "Get Over It" and "Love Will Keep Us Alive" both becoming Top 40 hits. The album itself proved as successful as the reunion tour, selling 6 million copies in the U.S. While the tour was briefly interrupted in September 1994 (because of Frey's serious recurrence of diverticulitis), it resumed in 1995 and continued into '96.

1994
Hell Freezes Over

E211

Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit, Don Henley,
Glenn Frey and Don Felder

1996
Hell Freezes Over

E210_1996

Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit, Don Henley, Don Felder

1998
Rock and Roll ~ Hall of Fame

E214_1998

Bernie Leadon, Joe Walsh, Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit,
Don Felder, Glenn Frey, Randy Meisner.

In 1998, it was announced that the Eagles would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and would perform at the ceremony in New York City. The amazing news from this was that all seven Eagles, past and present, would perform together onstage for the first time! It was an amazing night highlighted by Timothy's speech where he noted that "I was not in the trenches with this particular band, so thank you to my predecessor Randy Meisner for being there and paving the way for me to be here tonight with him here beside me." It was a very touching moment. Later in the show, the Eagles performed "Hotel California" and "Take It Easy" with both Timothy and Randy singing the harmony with Glenn.

1998
Rock and Roll ~ Hall of Fame

Seven Eagles at one time for the first time ever live in performance:

Bernie Leadon, Joe Walsh, Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit,
Don Felder, Glenn Frey, Randy Meisner.

1998
Rock and Roll ~ Hall of Fame

E218

Joe Walsh, Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit, Don Felder, Glenn Frey

1999 - 2001
Trouble Brewing Once Again in the Eagles Nest

Joe Walsh, Don Felder, Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit, Glenn Frey
("The Long Run" Promotional Picture 1978 - 1980)

Eagles performed at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on December 31, 1999. This concert marked the last time Don Felder played with the band and these shows (including a planned release of the video) would form a part of the lawsuit that Felder later filed against his former band mates.

2001 - 2002
Felder You're Fired! And the Law Suit's Begin

Don Felder's Book

On February 6, 2001, Don Felder was fired from the Eagles. Felder responded by filing two lawsuits against "Eagles, Ltd., a California corporation; Don Henley, an individual; Glenn Frey, an individual; and "Does 1-50", alleging wrongful termination, breach of implied-in-fact contract, and breach of fiduciary duty, reportedly seeking $50 million in damages.

In his complaint, Felder alleged that from the 1994 Hell Freezes Over tour onward, Henley and Frey had "... insisted that they each receive a higher percentage of the band's profits ...", whereas the money had previously been split in five equal portions. Felder also accused them of coercing him into signing an agreement under which Henley and Frey would receive three times as much of the Selected Works: 1972-1999 proceeds than Felder.

On behalf of his clients Henley and Frey, attorney Daniel M. Petrocelli stated:

[Henley and Frey] felt - creatively, chemistry-wise and performance-wise -- that he should no longer be part of the band...They removed him, and they had every legal right to do so. This has been happening with rock 'n' roll bands since day one.

It was also reported that Don Felder usually did not agree with the rest of the band concerning touring or recording schedules. The rest of the band members wanted the freedom to tour or record as they wanted on their own terms.

Henley and Frey then countersued Felder for breach of contract, alleging that Felder had written and attempted to sell the rights to a "tell-all" book. The book, Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles (1974 - 2001), was published in the United Kingdom on November 1, 2007. The initial U.S. release was cancelled after publisher Hyperion elected to back out, in September, when an entire print run of the book had to be recalled for further cuts and changes. The American edition of Heaven and Hell was published by Wiley on April 28, 2008, with Felder embarking on a full publicity campaign surrounding its release.

On January 23, 2002, the Los Angeles County Court consolidated the two complaints, and the single case was dismissed on May 8, 2007 after being settled out-of-court for an undisclosed amount.

Steuart Smith
(Bye, Bye Felder ~ Meet Steuart)

2001

Steuart Smith

Steuart Smith

Born: Arlington, Virginia.

Steuart Smith is a guitarist and multi-instrumentalist (guitar, bass, keyboards, mandolin), vocalist, writer and producer currently working with American rock band the Eagles.

Smith was hired by the Eagles in 2001 after Don Felder was fired from the band. Smith shares lead guitar duties with Joe Walsh.

In addition to performing live with the band, he co-wrote several songs on the Eagles' 2007 studio album Long Road Out of Eden on which he also shared producing duties with the four band members and drummer Scott Crago.

Smith is also a member of Don Henley's solo touring band, and occasionally plays concerts with Glenn Frey as well.

His main guitar is a 60s Fender Stratocaster, but also is very fond of Ernie Ball Musicman guitars. The guitar he plays in concert on Hotel California is a custom EBMM double-neck that is one of only two of a kind. The guitar is unusual in that the six-string neck is on top and the twelve-string neck is on the bottom. This is opposite of the way a typical double-neck guitar is set up, because Smith wears his guitars slightly higher than most guitarists, and so requested it be built that way.

Steuart Smith

Joe Walsh and Steuart Smith

The group resumed touring once more in 2001 with a line-up consisting of Frey, Henley, Walsh, and Schmit, along with Steuart Smith, (guitars, mandolin, keyboards, backing vocals; Smith unofficially replaced Don Felder), Michael Thompson (keyboards, trombone), Will Hollis (keyboards, backing vocals), Scott Crago (drums, percussion), Bill Armstrong (Horns) Al Garth (sax, violin), Christian Mostert (sax) and Greg Smith (sax, percussion).

-----------------------------------------------------

The Eagles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2007, the Eagles released Long Road out of Eden, their first full studio album in 28 years. The album would top the album charts, release five singles on the Adult Contemporary Charts and win the band two Grammies. The next year they launched The Long Road out of Eden Tour in support of the album.