History of the Eagles | |
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Directed by | Alison Ellwood |
Produced by | Alex Gibney |
Starring | Glenn Frey Don Henley Bernie Leadon Randy Meisner Don Felder Joe Walsh Timothy B. Schmit |
Music by | Eagles |
Production company | Jigsaw Productions |
Distributed by | Showtime |
Release date |
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Running time | 186 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
History of the Eagles is a 2013 two-part authorized documentary about the career of the American rock group the Eagles, directed by Alison Ellwood and co-produced by Alex Gibney. After screening at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival in January, [1] it aired on Showtime in February, [2] and was released in April on DVD and Blu-ray with a third disc containing eight songs from the band's performance at the Capital Centre in March 1977. [3] A concert tour of the same name took place from 2013 to 2015, visiting North America, Europe, and Oceania. [4]
At the 65th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, the film received the award for Outstanding Sound Mixing for Nonfiction Programming. [5] It was also nominated for Outstanding Sound Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera). [6]
The Super Deluxe Limited Edition Box Set received a Bronze Prize at the 2013 Key Art Awards. [7]
The documentary is intended to be an official account of the history of the band Eagles. The Eagles' manager Irving Azoff came up with the idea for an official history in 2011 when the Eagles would be celebrating their 40th anniversary. [8] Frey chose Alex Gibney after viewing works by those who had been nominated for the Academy Award for best documentary, and Gibney then brought in Ellwood to direct and co-edit. According to Frey, the band had made some suggestions to the production team, but overall the director and producer were left to make their film the way they chose. [9]
Part 1 of History of the Eagles premiered at the Eccles Theater in Park City, Utah during the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2013, followed by screenings at other locations in the week. [8] The first part was aired on February 15, 2013, on Showtime, and the second part the following night. [10]
The documentary is divided into two parts. The first part is around two hours long and covers the early period to their breakup, the second part is about one hour long and covers the subsequent periods. The documentary combined archive footage of the band with interviews with all the members of the band, as well as other people involved in the band history or who knew them, such as Kenny Rogers, Bob Seger, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, JD Souther, David Geffen, and Stevie Nicks. In the DVD release, a further third disc with songs from the band's concert at the Capital Centre in March 1977 is included.
Part one of the documentary traced the beginning of the band to the breakup in 1980. [8] It chronicles the early life of band members and the founding of the band, the making of their albums and their rise to success, the subsequent conflicts between band members, concluding with the breakup of the band.
Part two of the documentary begins with the period following the breakup, with brief accounts of the careers of individual members of the band and by the reunion of the band in 1994, followed by the 1990s and 21st century phases of the Eagles. The documentary shows that Frey was resistant to the idea of a reunion until they joined Travis Tritt for the making of the video of his cover of "Take It Easy". It documents their successful tours, the dispute with Don Felder and the period after his dismissal. It concludes with the band members looking back assessing their actions and career, with contributions from other people who knew them.
Don Felder, who participated in the documentary, claimed that History of the Eagles was incomplete, that it glorified Don Henley and Glenn Frey's work and did not give enough credit to all the other people who had contributed to the group, as well as glossing over disputes between band members. Felder said: "Overall I thought it was OK, but I didn't think it was really an accurate documentary. I thought a lot was omitted from the documentary. There were a lot of things that weren't discussed, a lot of issues that aren't brought to the forefront." [11] He said he had put his disputes with the band behind him, and expressed surprise by the anger still felt by Frey and Henley towards him, and said of the documentary: "Most of it was about Don and Glenn. But they controlled it, owned it, and paid for it, so they could do what they wanted. But it did take me back how angry they were and how much venom they still had toward me, especially Glenn." [12]
However, Henley said that Felder had continued to engage in legal actions, unspecified by Henley, against them. [13] Nevertheless, Henley admitted to Felder's charge that his conflicts with Frey had been downplayed in the film, and said: "We have had our differences, we still do, but we’re a lot like brothers. We fight but we’re still family." [14] Henley saw History of the Eagles as being instructive on how bands need leaders and cannot work as a democracy. Henley reiterated a point made by Frey in the documentary: "The thing about bands is you have to have leaders in a band. Everybody can’t be on equal footing. It’s like a football team. Somebody's got to be the quarterback. Somebody’s got to snap the ball, somebody's got to run with the ball, somebody's got to block. If people play their positions and play their strengths everything turns out well. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. We always understood that, some of the other people apparently didn't understand that." [14]
The documentary received a Metacritic rating of 74 based on 4 critics, indicating generally favorable reviews. [15]
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Australia (ARIA) [16] | 2× Platinum | 30,000^ |
Canada (Music Canada) [17] | 9× Platinum | 90,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [18] | Gold | 25,000* |
United States (RIAA) [19] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles, six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in North America and are one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold more than 200 million records worldwide, including 100 million sold in the US alone. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 and were ranked number 75 on Rolling Stone's 2004 list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Founding members Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner had all been recruited by Linda Ronstadt as band members, some touring with her, and all playing on her self-titled third solo studio album (1972), before venturing out on their own as the Eagles on David Geffen's new Asylum Records label.
Donald Hugh Henley is an American musician who is a founding member of the rock band Eagles, for whom he is the drummer and co-lead vocalist, as well as the sole continuous member of the band. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles songs such as "Witchy Woman", "Desperado", "Best of My Love", "One of These Nights", "Hotel California", "Life in the Fast Lane", "Victim of Love", "The Last Resort", "The Long Run", and "Get Over It".
Glenn Lewis Frey was an American musician. He was a founding member of the rock band Eagles. Frey was the co-lead singer and frontman for Eagles, roles he came to share with fellow member Don Henley, with whom he wrote most of Eagles' material. Frey played guitar and keyboards as well as singing lead vocals on songs such as "Take It Easy", "Peaceful Easy Feeling", "Tequila Sunrise", "Already Gone", "James Dean", "Lyin' Eyes", "New Kid in Town", and "Heartache Tonight".
Hell Freezes Over is the second live album by the Eagles, released in 1994. The album is the first to be released after the Eagles had reformed following a fourteen-year break up. The band's lineup was that of the Long Run era: Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Don Felder, Joe Walsh, and Timothy B. Schmit. It contains four new studio tracks and eleven tracks recorded live in April 1994 for an MTV special. Two Top 40 Mainstream singles, "Get Over It" and "Love Will Keep Us Alive", were released from the album. It also features an acoustic version of "Hotel California". The four new studio recordings are the last to feature Don Felder, who was fired from the band in 2001.
"Hotel California" is a song by American rock band Eagles, released as the second single of their album of the same name on February 22, 1977. The song was written by Don Felder (music), Don Henley, and Glenn Frey (lyrics), featuring Henley on lead vocals and concluding with an iconic 2 minute and 12 seconds long electric guitar solo performed by Felder with a Gibson Les Paul Gibson EDS-1275 double neck and Joe Walsh with a Fender Telecaster, in which they take turns playing the lead before harmonizing and playing arpeggios together towards the fade-out.
On the Border is the third studio album by American rock band the Eagles, released on March 22, 1974. Apart from two songs produced by Glyn Johns, it was produced by Bill Szymczyk because the group wanted a more rock‑oriented sound instead of the country-rock feel of the first two albums. It is the first Eagles album to feature guitarist Don Felder. On the Border reached number 17 on the Billboard album chart and has sold two million copies.
One of These Nights is the fourth studio album by American rock band the Eagles, released on June 10, 1975. The album was the band's commercial breakthrough, transforming them into international superstars. In July that year, the record became the Eagles' first number one album on Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart, yielding three Top 10 singles: "One of These Nights", "Lyin' Eyes" and "Take It to the Limit". Its title song is the group's second number one single on the Billboard Hot 100. The album sold four million copies and received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. A single from the album, "Lyin' Eyes", was also nominated for Record of the Year, and won the Eagles' first Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 18th Annual Grammy Awards in 1976. The band embarked on the worldwide One of These Nights tour to promote the album.
Eagles Live is the first live album by the American rock band Eagles, a two-LP set released on November 7, 1980. Although the Eagles were already in the process of breaking up, the band owed Elektra/Asylum Records one more album and fulfilled that contractual obligation with a release of performances from the Hotel California and The Long Run tours.
Donald William Felder is an American musician who was the lead guitarist of the rock band Eagles from 1974 to 2001. Nicknamed “Fingers” for his technical ability on the guitar. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 with the Eagles. Felder was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2016.
"I Can't Tell You Why" is a song by the American rock band Eagles that appeared on their 1979 album The Long Run. It was written by band members Timothy B. Schmit, Glenn Frey and Don Henley. Recorded in March 1978, it was the first song finished for the album and the first Eagles song to feature Schmit on lead vocals. Released as a single in February 1980, it became a Billboard top 10 hit in April, reaching number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Adult Contemporary chart. It was the group's last top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
Farewell 1 Tour: Live from Melbourne is a double DVD by Eagles, released in 2005. It was filmed in Melbourne, Australia at the Rod Laver Arena on November 14, 15 and 17, 2004, featuring two new songs.
"One of These Nights" is a song by the American rock band Eagles, written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey. The title track from their 1975 One of These Nights album, the song became their second single to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart after "Best of My Love" and also helped propel the album to number one. The single version was shortened from the album version of the song, removing most of the song's intro and most of its fade-out, as well. Henley is lead vocalist on the verses, while Randy Meisner sings high harmony on the refrain. The song features a guitar solo by Don Felder that is "composed of blues-based licks and sustained string bends using an unusually meaty distortion tone."
"New Kid in Town" is a song by the Eagles from their 1976 studio album Hotel California. It was written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey and JD Souther. Released as the first single from the album, the song reached number one in the U.S. and number 20 in the UK. The single version has an earlier fade-out than the album version. Frey sings the lead vocals and plays acoustic guitar, with Henley providing the main harmony vocals and drums, Randy Meisner plays the guitarrón mexicano, which is a Mexican acoustic bass normally played in mariachi bands, Don Felder plays all the electric guitars, and Joe Walsh plays the electric piano and organ parts. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices.
"Heartache Tonight" is a song written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Bob Seger and JD Souther, recorded by the Eagles and features Glenn Frey on lead vocals. The track was included on their album The Long Run and released as a single in 1979. It reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in November of that year and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America representing one million copies sold. It was the Eagles' final chart-topping song on the Hot 100.
"Take It Easy" is the debut single by the American rock band Eagles, written by Jackson Browne and Eagles band member Glenn Frey, who also provides lead vocals. It was released on May 1, 1972, and peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on July 22, 1972. It was also the opening track of the band's eponymous debut album and has become one of their signature songs, included on all of their live and compilation albums. It is listed as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
"Take It to the Limit" is a song by Eagles from their fourth album One of These Nights from which it was issued as the last third single on November 15, 1975. It reached No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and was also Eagles' greatest success to that point in the United Kingdom, going to No. 12 on the charts. Billboard ranked it as the No. 25 song for 1976.
"Life in the Fast Lane" is a song written by Joe Walsh, Glenn Frey and Don Henley, and recorded by American rock band Eagles for the band's fifth studio album Hotel California (1976). It was the third single released from this album, and peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Get Over It" is a song by the Eagles released as a single in 1994 after a fourteen-year breakup. It was also the first song written by bandmates Don Henley and Glenn Frey when the band reunited. "Get Over It" was played live for the first time during their Hell Freezes Over tour in 1994. It returned the band to the U.S. top 40 after a fourteen-year absence, peaking at No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also hit No. 4 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The song was not played live by the Eagles after the Hell Freezes Over tour. It remains the group's last top 40 hit in the U.S.
Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles (1974–2001) is an autobiography written by former Eagles guitarist Don Felder with Wendy Holden. The book follows Felder from his less-privileged childhood through to the 21st century. It gained notoriety for expressing Felder's frank feelings regarding Eagles bandmates Don Henley and Glenn Frey, whom he derisively refers to as "The Gods" a number of times in the manuscript. Felder also discusses his split with the Eagles and how he was treated by former friend Joe Walsh, and claims he has not spoken to Walsh since his termination.
"Already Gone" is a song recorded by the American rock band the Eagles for their 1974 album On the Border. It was written by Jack Tempchin and Robb Strandlund and produced by Bill Szymczyk.