Don Felder and the Eagles

As far as Henley and Frey were concerned Felder was nothing more than a hired gun. He wasn't much of a singer songwriter although he did come up with some good riffs and music in some key songs like Hotel California but even then he didn't come up with lyrics or the melody. He could sing well enough for backup harmonies but Henley and Fry would never let him take the lead. His guitar playing gave the band panache but became expendable for his lack of song writing contributions. When he questioned the books when he thought he was one third share holder of the Eagles he was doomed and was ousted from the band...

My question is did Don Felder get what he deserved and with Frey gone will he make his way back into the band with Henley now in charge? Thoughts on anything Eagles....

BTW, if you haven't read Heaven And Hell: My Life In The Eagles (1974 2001) by Don Felder check it out....

 

It certainly made it easier for the band with Joe Walsh there to give Felder his walking papers. And he wasn't there from the beginning, so to think he was getting equal status with the two prominent song writers was probably ridiculous on his part. I wish I could pick villains in any band. Everyone seems to have their own issues. I guess the more publicized, like the Eagles documentary, shows who really the a$$holes were.

No, I don't think Felder will ever be back. I would rather see Randy Meisner or Bernie Leadon permanently.
Hell Froze Over once..........who knows after Glenn's passing.

 

I don't think there's a future for The Eagles without Glenn Frey to be honest..

 

Glenn Frey & Don Henley were the Lennon & McCartney of Eagles.

 

I agree. If they do, it will be about the money (IMO).

It's a shame they treated Felder this way. It's a shame bands don't give all performers credit who contribute to their actual "sound."

 

Felder and Walsh were great together, Don and Glenn were to into themselves, to admit it, if the Eagles choose to continue, then Meisner, Leadon, and Felder should be involved. I think it's probably over, perhaps Walsh and Felder should do something together.

 

I haven't read Felder's book, but I watched the documentary on the Eagles. From the documentary, it seemed that most of Felder's issues were with Frey rather than Henley.

That being said, I don't have much sympathy for Felder's position. He wasn't there at the beginning, so he was in fact a 'hired gun'. He was basically in a similar position as Joe Walsh, and I've never heard any reports of Walsh complaining about the amount of money he's earned from the Eagles over the years.

 

Least important member of the Eagles.

 

I watched the 3 hour documentary on CNN recently, and to me it looked like Frey had issues with Felder,
not the other way around. It seemed obvious Frey was a total jerk, and hated Felder for deeper reasons
than were explained. Frey kept using the term "Alpha" personality to explain the friction, but another way
of describing it would be Frey had a huge ego rock god attitude because he was the leader of one of the
biggest selling rock bands of the 70s. In my opinion, both Henley and Frey are talented, but not people
I would spend 5 minutes with personally, both came off total sanctimonious douches in the story.

 

From the book, both Henley and Frey locked down, hard.

My hypothesis: I think Henley/Frey had a significantly difficult time writing "good" songs. I think they raised the stakes on themselves with each album (except for The Long Run and later) and that pressure drew them more inward. I mean, no great lyrics, no great song, no band, right? So I can understand how they felt the most self-imposed pressure. I also can understand that they felt no one else in the band was really propelling the thing forward (i.e., with all the substance abuse). They valued song-writing and singing from the outset. All else could be hired.

Still, rarely do hired guns contribute such tasty licks that make many of their songs instantly identifiable.

Also, FWIW, I'm grateful to whomever was able to help Joe turn around and I continue to wish him well in his recovery.

 

But according to Felder's book, there were signed contracts designating them all as equal partners. I'm sure there's a lot more to each party's story than the general public will ever know, or needs to know, but based on the book and the "History of the Eagles" documentary Frey and Henley don't end up in a good light to say the least.
At this stage of the game, I believe it's highly likely we won't see any further incarnations of the Eagles and that's probably the most prudent plan for all, at least from my little uninformed vantage point.

 

The band is done, Irving Azzoff stated as such a few days ago.

 

That's it, but John and Paul knew how to do things, they made it so all four Beatles were equal share partners regardless of songwriting, etc. To me, that is where the Eagles made a mistake, and many other bands.

 

Felder was not an original member, but when he came into the band the albums were not selling. So he was there to toughen up the sound and it worked. By the time Walsh and Schmitt came along, Eagles were more successful and they could afford to salary them. They had to make a better offer to Felder.

As far as songs go, Walsh obviously had more material available that the one song an album he was given. That was the way Henley and Frey wanted it.

 

I wonder if Tim Schmit or Joe Walsh were mouth off like Felder if they'd have been given similar treatment? My guess is, yes. Yes they would. It's just to their advantage that they seem pretty amiable guys that go with the flow.

 

As well as Tim Schmit fits in the band, he essentially has no bargaining position. He doesn't bring much to the table. Being a lackey in the Eagles pays a hell of a lot more than being Timothy B. Schmit, the solo artist. He's always known this. This is why he signed whatever they gave him and kept his mouth shut.

With Joe Walsh, it's more complicated. Joe needed to be rescued from himself. I think that's why he never played hardball with Frey and Henley. He may have felt some gratitude to them for giving him a chance. (As an aside, I wonder how many people look at him now and think, "Glenn is dead. How the hell is Joe still alive?" God bless good genes, I guess.)

I think it's a moot point now. Without Glenn, Eagles are no more. I do think Felder was done wrong, but I, also, think that he overplayed his hand a bit. Kinda sucks when bands become more business than music.

 

He didn't just think he was 1/3rd of The Eagles, he legally was. Early on, after the band was clearly becoming a force, Glenn and Don decided to make ownership of the entity 'The Eagles' between Frey, Henley, and Felder. Leadon and Meisner were never given a legal partnership. The problem, from Felder's perspective, is as the band grew in stature, Glenn and Don started making all of the business and musical decisions. I just finished reading Felder's autobiography, Heaven and Hell.

While Felder was not anywhere near the prolific songwriters that Frey and Henley were (and Henley largely contributed lyrics, not the music), he was very instrumental, no pun intended, in the sound of the band (as were Leadon with his mandolin and banjo playing, and Meisner, with his unique high tenor vocals in the harmonies). As a promised "partner", he felt as if he was entitled to know what was going on financially. While he was making good money, he saw that Frey and Henley were making far more money, seeing the fruits of their greater wealth. Henley and Frey were claiming expenses from the group's profits that were benefiting only themselves (additions to their houses, for example, were taken out of the group's total income whereas Felder was not able to do the same).

The business manager kept Felder at arm's length. Felder felt tied, as he didn't really want to ruffle feathers. Felder wanted to go along to get along. There were already creative and personal tensions within the band, and he was making more money than his wildest dreams, but he simply wanted to know. The few times he tried approaching Henley or Frey to talk about the band's finances, he was simply told "Be happy with all the money you're making".

In 1996, Henley and Frey decided to fire Felder from the group when he hesitated to sign a contract regarding the making of a new album. He decided he wanted to put his foot down and see the bigger picture of the album deal. Yes, Henley and Frey fired Felder from the band as a player, but Felder still owned 1/3rd of the shares of "The Eagles" as a business. Felder was sent a check as a buyout for his shares. He decided to stand tall and send the check back. He remained able to get residuals from the business side of the band's success (music sales, t-shirts, etc.).

 

There are a handful of existing threads discussing this very topic. Nevertheless, Felder was a 1/3 owner of Eagles Ltd. None of us speculating on the particulars of his dispute with Henley and Frey have ever seen the original document or amendments to the document, so we don't know what rights he had, and we don't know what provisions (if any) were in place to allow Henley and Frey to do what they did. Additionally, from what has been revealed, it appears Henley and Frey started new entities to manage revenues, etc. from the Hell Freezes Over (HFO) project and touring operation, not Eagles Ltd. Again, none of us know if those entities were legally allowable under the terms of the Eagles Ltd. documents; but it would not be surprising to learn that Azoff, Henley and Frey sought out legal advice prior to creating the new entities. Still, Felder signed off on the new deal and his new financial package for HFO. He was bitter about it from the day he entered into the new agreement and complained about it from 1994 through 2000. Ultimately, Henley and Frey decided that they had had enough of Felder's drama and dissatisfaction with band operations and fired him.

I try to view this entire episode from the perspective of all parties involved. I fully understand Felder's position that he felt he was an equal owner of the band and was therefore entitled to an equal share of the revenues. I also understand Henley and Frey's position that they felt times were much different in 1994 than in 1974 and that a revised deal should be instituted for the reunion. Additionally, corporate structures and partnerships change over time; everyday throughout America business terms are revised due to changing times and realities of business environments -- one can argue The Eagles were no different. In the end, Felder signed off on the new deal because he wanted to stay in the band (no different from a person in business signing a revised deal to stay with a company or firm), and he got pissed and wanted to see the accounting for band revenues and was ultimately canned. Who was right or wrong? Hard to say. In the end, it appears The Eagles did not want the inner workings of their band and business operations exposed to the public, and opted to pay Felder a settlement. It is important to remember that settlements do not equate guilt; often they are made for a variety of reasons, some being cost concerns over extended litigation, some over privacy concerns, and sometimes to just get rid of case due to its nuisance value. Felder got his money in the end, but he also was permanently ostracized from The Eagles forever -- and it seems like he may regret it.

 

Timothy Schmit, having come from Poco, never felt he was instrumental to the band's success. Joe Walsh, while having a huge contribution to the sound of the band's later output, joined the band when Frey and Henley were essentially acting as if they were in charge of the band. Moreover, Walsh wasn't given a legal partnership in the band the way Felder was.

 

What, do you think the previous reunions were about friendship and music?

 

The Eagles have always credited the performers who contributed to their sound.

 

..but sometimes begrudgingly. Henley and Frey, at first, didn't want Leadon and Meisner to join them on stage during the band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.

 

The original Eagles only lasted 3 albums. By the 4th, Bernie was on his way out (and despite what the 'documentary' suggests, I can see where he more country and bluegrass leaning didn't fit with where they were headed. In essence, they completely stopped being a country rock band). But even Eagles circa "One of These Nights" were a much different band by the end of 'Hotel California'. I could see where Henley and Frey were steering the ship and Felder and the rest could stay in the engine room.

It always baffled me why they didn't call in some outside songwriting help for the Long Run. I'm sure Jackson Browne or Jack Tempchin or J.D. (or even Gene Clark) would have been more than willing. The average person could care less who write or co-wrote their material. I mention all this because Felder still doesn't seem to grasp the Eagles were not and never would be the band he thought they should be. And offering one or two decent songs for the Long Run probably would have made him more appreciated. They needed a few more decent songs at that point than another guitar riff.

 

The Long Run was complicated. And I agree that it seems a bit odd that they did not seek out assistance with lyrical content during the period. Even Walsh likely had more material to contribute. But, it is probably much easier in hindsight to solve the problems plaguing the difficulties surrounding creating The Long Run than it actually was.

 

I mean in a share of the band.