YOU ARE HERE: zharth.net / Zharth's Music Log / Week 150 (Band Connections 5)
(Originally finalized on August 13, 2025)
Preface: At this point, each new installment of Band Connections could be the last, but I had a couple of lingering ideas, and I was able to scrounge up enough material to do another episode. The theme this time centers around the members of one of the most commercially successful bands of the '70s rock era - The Eagles!
Monday: The Flying Burrito Brothers - Wild Horses [Burrito Deluxe, 1970]
Comments: Guitarist and founding member of The Eagles Bernie Leadon previously played in a band called The Flying Burrito Brothers (here performing Jagger and Richards' song Wild Horses, the release of which predated The Rolling Stones' own version) along with Gram Parsons, who had previously played in The Byrds with David Crosby. In another connection to the members of Crosby Stills Nash & Young (featured on an earlier edition of Band Connections), Leadon had earlier replaced Stephen Stills in a lesser-known band that featured future Eagles guitarist Don Felder!
Tuesday: James Gang - Walk Away [Thirds, 1971]
Comments: Speaking of future Eagles guitarists, the last guitarist to join the band (replacing Bernie Leadon) before they recorded the monumental album Hotel California was Joe Walsh, who made a name for himself in a little band by the name of James Gang. Whereas the founding members of The Eagles came largely from a country/folk background, along with Don Felder, Joe Walsh's addition to the band helped steer them in a harder rocking direction.
Wednesday: Jackson Browne - Take It Easy [For Everyman, 1973]
Comments: This track is doing some heavy lifting, so I can limit the amount of country music that seeps into this playlist. Not only did Jackson Browne help Glenn Frey write this song, which was The Eagles' debut single, he also wrote a song titled Rock Me On The Water which appeared on his debut album. The significance of this song is that Linda Ronstadt recorded a version of it for her self-titled album... with a band that included Don Henley and Glenn Frey before they formed The Eagles... with Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner, who also played on that album! Small world, huh?
Thursday: The Eagles - Peaceful Easy Feeling [Eagles, 1972]
Comments: The third single from their debut album (after Take It Easy and Witchy Woman) - and another song that Glenn Frey perfected from an up-and-coming singer-songwriter (this time by the name of Jack Tempchin) - Peaceful Easy Feeling features The Eagles' patented three-part harmony, courtesy of Leadon and Meisner.
Friday: Joe Walsh - Life's Been Good [But Seriously, Folks..., 1978]
Comments: Joining The Eagles didn't hamper Joe Walsh's solo career (indeed, one could argue the reverse). In the hiatus between Hotel California and the band's final album, The Long Run, Joe released his fourth solo album, which featured guest spots by the other Eagles, as well as this partly auto-biographical satire on living a lifestyle of rock 'n' roll excess.
Saturday: Don Henley - Dirty Laundry [I Can't Stand Still, 1982]
Comments: Don Henley's pedigree with The Eagles afforded him enough weight to pull some mighty talent to collaborate with on his solo albums - including prominent members of both Fleetwood Mac and Tom Petty's Heartbreakers! This song in particular features former bandmates Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit, along with three members of the band Toto.
Sunday: Glenn Frey - Smuggler's Blues [The Allnighter, 1984]
Comments: After The Eagles' broke up, Glenn Frey recruited songwriter Jack Tempchin (who wrote Peaceful Easy Feeling) to assist in his solo endeavors. This song from Frey's second album (released in Nineteen Eighty Four) made a splash with a dramatic music video that actually inspired a crossover with the hit TV show Miami Vice!
Honorable Mention: Steely Dan - Rikki Don't Lose That Number [Pretzel Logic, 1974]
Comments: As a rock fan, Steely Dan is just a little too smooth for my tastes. But I'm including this popular hit as an honorable mention, because it features Timothy B. Schmit on backing vocals, who would replace Randy Meisner in The Eagles before their final album. Schmit had previously replaced Meisner in a band called Poco, which was formed out of the ashes of Buffalo Springfield (which in turn featured Stephen Stills and Neil Young, to connect back once more to CSNY). In a final band connection for this week, guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter would leave Steely Dan after the release of this album... to join The Doobie Brothers!
Afterthought: I only just published this theme, but I may have pulled the trigger too soon, because I was thinking that it was light on Don Felder, and then I remembered that he did have something of a hit in 1981 with a song from the soundtrack to the animated film Heavy Metal. It's called Heavy Metal (Takin' A Ride).