Eagles

1 The Eagles are an American rock band that was formed in Los Angeles, California in the early 1970s. Their early music was a hybrid of country and bluegrass instrumentation grafted onto the harmonies of California surfer rock, producing tender ballads and soft top-down country-flavored pop-rock about relationships, cars, and the wandering life. The originators of this genre were gifted singersongwriters, among them Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, and Warren Zevon. Eagles took the singer-songwriter ethos to a group setting with increased emphasis on arrangements and musicianship, and the group's early sound became synonymous with the southern California country rock. On later albums the band dispensed with bluegrass instrumentation and gravitated to a more straight-ahead rock sound.

With five number-one singles and four number-one albums, the Eagles were among the most successful recording artists of the 1970s. At the end of the 20th century, two of their albums, Eagles: Their Greatest Hits 19711975 and Hotel California, ranked among the ten best-selling albums according to the Recording Industry Association of America. The best-selling studio album Hotel California is rated as the 37th album in the Rolling Stone list "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and the band was ranked 75 on Rolling Stone's 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.1 They are also the best-selling American group ever, with Eagles: Their Greatest Hits 19711975 being the best-selling album in the U.S. to date2 3

Eagles broke up in 1980 and were disbanded for 14 years, but reunited in 1994 for Hell Freezes Over "For the record, we never broke up. We just took a fourteen year vacation.". They have toured intermittently since then, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

On February 2, 2007, Don Henley announced in Billboard magazine that a new Eagles studio album will be released "in the next 60 to 90 days."

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2 The Eagles were a British music quartet active from 1958 through the mid 1960s.

Led by guitarist Terry Clarke, who used a homebuilt custom instrument, the group included drummer Rod Meacham, bassist Michael Brice, and Johnny Payne on rhythm guitar. Playing primarily instrumental rock, they began their career in Bristol playing local venues such as dance halls.

They were launched into the world of professional music in 1962 upon being noticed by composer Ron Grainer, probably best remembered for his theme to Doctor Who. Grainer was interested in The Eagles for a film project he was working on, Some People, about a fictional Bristol band not unlike themselves. The Eagles contributed to the Some People soundtrack, and became Grainer's protegees, recording new versions of some of his film score work like the theme of the Maigret television series. The Some People soundtrack reached 2 on the EP charts, and remained on the charts for a stay of 21 weeks.

The Eagles were awarded the Duke of Edinburgh Trophy for their work on the film, and soon after were signed to Pye Records, at the time among the top three labels in Britain. After releasing the singles "Bristol Express" and "Exodus", The Eagles embarked on a major tour of England along with more established acts Del Shannon, Stevie Wonder, Johnny Tillotson, and Dionne Warwick.

The tour world lasted much of 1963, during which their debut album, Smash Hits From The Eagles was released in the UK and the United States. The following year brought their most successful single and the one for which they are best remembered today, a vocal rendition of "Wishin' And Hopin'" backed with "Write Me A Letter". Unfortunately, 1964 also brought a pair of tragedies which ultimately led to the end of the group: Grainer went blind, and Meachum suffered a nervous breakdown. Soon after, in late 1964, the band went their separate ways.