Eagles guitarist Glenn Frey dies at 67

Glenn Frey, a founding member and guitarist of the Eagles, one of the most popular and commercially successful artists of the 1970s, has died. The band confirmed the news on Monday with a statement on its website.

“Glenn fought a courageous battle for the past several weeks but, sadly, succumbed to complications from Rheumatoid Arthritis, Acute Ulcerative Colitis and Pneumonia,” read the statement. "Words can neither describe our sorrow, nor our love and respect for all that he has given to us, his family, the music community & millions of fans worldwide."

Frey was born on Nov. 6, 1948 in Detroit and was raised in nearby Royal Oak. He grew up on both the Motown sounds and harder-edged rock of his hometown. He played in a succession of local bands in the city and first connected with Bob Seger when Frey's band, the Mushrooms, convinced Seger to write a song for them. Frey can also be heard singing extremely loud backing vocals (particularly on the first chorus) on Seger's first hit and Frey's first recorded appearance, 1968's “Ramblin' Gamblin' Man”.

In 1971, fellow future country-rock superstar Linda Ronstadt was seeking a backing band and, on the advice of Joahn David Souther (who Frey had formed an unsuccessful, short-lived duo with), hired Frey along with his friend, drummer Don Henley. The Eagles became one of the first artistes signed to David Geffen's then-new label, Asylum. The group was an instant success, riding on the back of its first single, “Take It Easy”.

Via a long string of mid '70s hits like “Peaceful Easy Feeling”, “Desperado”, “Tequila Sunrise”, “Best of My Love”, “Witchy Woman”, the funkier “One of These Nights” and the harder-edged “Already Gone”, the Eagles became the standard-bearers of the California soft-rock explosion. Guitarist Don Felder filled out the band's sound in 1974, and after Leadon left the following year, guitarist Joe Walsh joined – beefing up the band's sound and lofting them to even greater heights with the 1976 “Hotel California” album, which spawned No. 1 singles with the title track and Frey's “New Kid in Town”, possibly his defining song. 

Frey embarked on a successful solo career, enjoying a series of '80s hits, the biggest of which were tied to soundtracks like “Beverly Hills Cop” (“The Heat Is On”) and Miami Vice (“You Belong to the City”). He was even a regular character on the latter show, portraying a guitar-playing smuggler named Jimmy Cole. 

But the Eagles' solo hits began to dry up in the 1990s, and before long a reunion tour was masterminded by Irving Azoff, the group's longtime manager. The group continued to tour periodically -- and lucratively -- over the past two decades, releasing just scattered new material and focusing on solo works. In 2012, Frey released his first solo album since the 1990s, a collection of pop standards called “After Hours”.

Frey and Henley were the Eagles' leaders and only two constant members, and it's difficult to imagine the group continuing without him.

Source: Billboard