The Eagles lifted country rock to mainstream
With their suits, ties and hits going back 40 years, the Eagles appear to be the quintessential boomer greatest-hits act.
Yet the thousands of people who have purchased tickets for the Eagles' nearly sold-out show Wednesday at Intrust Bank Arena know that the band — Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit — offers much more than a peaceful, easy time.
The Eagles were, in their own mellow way, revolutionary. They took country rock to the mainstream. Incorporating pop hooks and Crosby, Stills and Nash-like harmonies, they smoothed out the loping sound of Gram Parsons and other country rock pioneers of the late 1960s and early '70s.
The sound has persevered across the sonic landscape, from vinyl to tape to CD to digital.
Consider what a major influence the band is. Travis Tritt, covering the band's first hit "Take It Easy" and making a video for a tribute album, told People magazine:
"These guys were major influences on my life. I rode around listening to 'Hotel California' on eight-track in my '69 Rambler. At the shoot, I walked up to them and said, 'Thank you for supplying the soundtrack to my life.' "
"Take It Easy" dates back to 1972. But the Eagles weren't kicking back at all. Rather, they were merging a hang-loose sound with almost subversive lyrics. The guy in "Take It Easy" wasn't seeking good times for everyone, just himself, as he tried to elude the clutches of the women he was chasing.
The poufy-haired Nashville and suede-fringed L.A. rock scene rarely intersected, but the Eagles appealed to both crowds. Their 1975 song "Lyin' Eyes" was a country as well as pop sensation.
The Eagles broke up in 1980, right around the time of "Urban Cowboy" and country suddenly being cool. Their influence continued to spread throughout popular music anyhow.
Bon Jovi's "Dead or Alive" owes a big debt to "Desperado," and Sheryl Crow would not have found such a big audience had the Eagles not paved the way for her sun-drenched L.A. country rock sound.
The Eagles' influence on modern country has been profound, opening doors for country rockers such as Keith Urban and Lady Antebellum.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame site notes "the Eagles' ongoing influence inspired the renegade 'new country' movement." Tritt and Nashville acknowledged the Eagles' contributions with "Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles," a 1993 tribute album on which Eagles covers hardly had to be "countrified" at all.
"Common Thread" was named CMA Album of the Year in 1994, the same year the Eagles finally reunited.
"I've always loved country music and I'm proud that it's part of my heritage," Frey told the (Palm Springs) Desert Sun recently."... Certainly, our music contains the basic elements of country and rock, but it contains many other elements as well, including folk, bluegrass, soul, R&B, traditional blues, gospel and even jazz."
If you go
The eagles
Where: Intrust Bank Arena, 500 E. Waterman
When: 7:30 p.m. Wed.
How much: Tickets $45-$175 at the arena box office or Select-A-Seat outlets. Charge by phone, 316-755-SEAT, online at www.selectaseat.com.
This story was originally published June 25, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "The Eagles lifted country rock to mainstream ."