Don Felder and the Eagles

What's with the mean spirited jabs?

Whether a band continues on or not after jettisoning a member doesn't justify this kind of viciousness.

 

I don't think it's mean spirited, it's just a fact. Felder only pushed his case because he saw himself as integral to the band. Henley and Frey figured they would continue on without him without losing a step. Henley and Frey were correct.

 

Sorry, we'll have to agree to disagree apparently. A bully is a bully, talent notwithstanding. Frey and Henley were control freaks and tried to minimize Don Felder's participation and credit at every turn. Arguably, they were the crybabies as they were shocked that Felder had the audacity to question their authority and dared sue over his legal rights.

Never say never about come-backs. Time and again those who've had a reversal of fortune have pulled themselves out of obscurity to regain some measure of their former stature. Just sayin'.


Cat

 

I said IMO, I was not speaking for Glenn and Don.

 

Musicians, that we've been fans of, are dying left and right. To say Felder is irrelevant, in the manner you did, is pure spite.

Not to mention it's ridiculous. Every time the band starts the opening chords of Hotel California affirms Felder as a living being.

 

Not if the company has to do with an earned trademark, like the Eagles as a rock band. One of not able just to set up another company and say it's the Eagles, like Irving did with Eagles 2. Glenn and Henley had no more legal right to do that than you and I would, until there was a settlement with Felder. Basically, the Eagles Ltd. Company, which had the rights to the trademark earned by the Eagles performing and selling records, had to assign their rights to the new company. If the Eagles wanted to dissolve the partnership, they would have needed to use a different name, like Frey-Henley-Walsh, or The Long Run, or whatever.

 

Blinders on.

 

Or...'The Illegals'.

 

Sorry, but I have no idea what you're talking about. Felder is a living being so I will affirm that if you think I was disaffirming it. Personally I never was a big fan of Hotel California, but I hereby attest that when the opening chords of the song are struck then Don Felder is affirmed as a living being.

 

After seeing "the documentary", I can't get the vision out of my mind of Glenn Frey turning to Don Felder at an Eagles business planning meeting and saying "From now on, you are... Mister Pink".








Just kidding.

 

off topic/ deleted

 

Did you read Felder's book?

Let's be realistic, he was The Eagles guitar player whose name nobody knew and now he's pushing 70 years old. I'm wondering what kind of comeback you would envision for this guy. He never had a career outside The Eagles in the first place, would that even be considered a comeback? Like I said, excellent guitar player, shoulda stayed with The Eagles!

 

Actually, at the time Felder was the guitar player for Crosby-Nash, playing all the Stephen Stills parts. He had also played with David Blue, and was also Tom Petty's guitar teacher, so he wasn't exactly unknown.

 

Incorrect, please see the post above. Thanks!

 

He was in a band with Stephen Stills in the 60s, I believe.

 

That's true, during High School.

 

You have seen the evidence in the Felder v. Henley/Frey case? Unless you have the pleadings from the case, all you know is Felder's general accusations, not even his legal claims or Henley and Frey's counter claims let alone discovery of evidence. No one outside the parties in the dispute know why it settled and who made certain compromises. And Henley and Frey would likely not speak fondly of Felder even if they didn't pay him a dime, so that is not a compelling barometer in determining who benefitted and was more content with the settlement.

 

after seeing the History of the eagles I tend to see Glen & Don's point...they were the leaders no matter what.

 

They had to because the Felder book was already long out, and a whitewash would not have been credible. Further, assembling concert footage was part of the settlement. Surprised that there wasn't more archived material since.

 

Okay, you win! shut this thread down and let's all go home.

 

HUGE difference between coming up with a riff and "this song I wrote." A swing and a miss.

 

Sounds like he was a working sideman. Nothing wrong with that, but that's hardly the same thing as being the leader of a successful band, which is what Frey and Henley were.

 

I once asked Henley if he wished he could have saved songs like "Heart of the Matter" that were so clearly perfect for the Eagles. I don't recall his exact reply, but it wasn't "No."

 

Well he did apparently end up as a realtor during the 80's when his options as a working musician dried up. Then he signed his new deal with The Eagles in '94 and allegedly earned around $30 million from the Hell Freezes Over tour. Guess he forgot that he could have still been showing open houses on Saturdays in Encino.

That said, the guy is a great guitarist. It is nice to see that he is still out there playing music, even if a big cmmercial comeback isn't on the horizon.