Arizona city made famous by Eagles song pays tribute to Glenn Frey

Glenn Frey’s death was announced via the band’s official Facebook page.

The band released some of the most popular songs of the 1970s: “Take It Easy”, written by Frey and Jackson Browne, is irresistible with Frey singing lead and the band’s harmonies intact, and “Hotel California”, the moody soft rock track, is simply a classic.

Frey died Monday at 67. In a statement released to the band’s website Monday (Jan. 18) it is said that Frey died of multiple ailments, including rheumatoid arthritis, colitis and pneumonia at 67. He would blame in part his years of “burgers and beer and blow and broads” and later became a fitness advocate.

Tributes to Frey’s enormous influence have come pouring in from across the musical spectrum, with Keith Urban covering “Take It Easy” and Lady Antebellum singer Charles Kelley praising him as “one of the greatest songwriters ever”.

They scored moderate success with their first three studio albums but it was One of These Nights, Hotel California and The Long Run which went multiple platinum in many countries around the world.

The band members were known for their often conflicting personalities, which led to changes in personnel – other members included the guitarists Don Felder and Joe Walsh and the bassist Timothy B. Schmit – and eventually to the break-up of the band. He also acted in a number of films and TV series, including Jerry Maguire and Miami Vice. He was playing in bands as a teenager, with fellow Detroit musician Bob Seger among his early friends, and would meet up with Henley, Meisner and Leadon while all were trying to catch on in the Los Angeles music scene.

After they disbanded, Frey recorded solo albums and achieved hits with the songs “You Belong to the City” and “The Heat Is On”. “Today’s country music is built on the sound of the Eagles”.

Inducted into the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, the Eagles continue to hold the top spot for rock album sales in North America.

Glenn was the one who invited me to join the Eagles in 1974, and it turned out to be a gift of a lifetime to have spent so many years working side by side with him. He was amusing, bullheaded, mercurial, generous, deeply talented and driven.