Glenn Frey Quotes - on reuniting with the Eagles

The Once and Future Eagle
On forming / remaining / breaking up / reuniting with the Eagles

"[Geffen] told me point blank that I shouldn't make a record by myself at this point [after the failure of Longbranch Pennywhistle] and that maybe I should join a band." (Rolling Stone 1975)

"The longer the Eagles stay together, the better it's gonna be. No matter what." (Rolling Stone 1975)

"I think the key to our longevity is that this group of people who hang together no matter what, it would be very easy to break up. It's very inspiring. It gets me off that we've been together this long and have had the problems we've had and still know that we're better off together. In my most outrageous moment I'm not going to wreck this." (The Long Run 1977)

"Our collective [...] quiet desperation. That's one of the things that keeps us together. [...] One of our most powerful strokes in the area of putting things back is just staying together. To me that sets an example for people to believe in. Being in this band is a very intense experience for me. Five albums in and the biggest band America has ever produced. This is not an easy role. To succeed and hang together through all of this is nothing short of astonishing to me. It's easy to break up; to see couples and bands hanging together is the thing." (Crawdaddy 1977)

"Splitting up the Eagles, though, was not because of a rift between Henley and me. There was a rift and that didn't help, but we had come to a point where we were running out of gas artistically. We had gone from being a band that could make an album in three weeks to a band that couldn't finish an album in three years." (In Their Own Words)

"I knew The Eagles were over half way through 'The Long Run'. I could give you 30 reasons why but let me be concise about it. I started the band, I got tired of it and I quit." (Los Angeles Times 1982)

"For me, it ended in Long Beach, California, at a benefit for Alan Cranston. I felt Don Felder insulted Senator Cranston under his breath and I confronted him with it. So now we're on stage, and Felder looks back at me and says, 'Only three more songs till I kick your ass, pal.'And I'm saying, 'Great. I can't wait.'We're out there singing 'Best of My Love,' but inside both of us are thinking, 'As soon as this is over, I'm gonna kill him.' That was when I knew I had to get out." (The Long Run)

"It stopped being fun not because of the people involved, but because of the immensity of the band I helped build. It just got too fuckin' big. It got so we had to sacrifice everything for this monster we'd created. I had a dark underbelly  we couldn't see for a while. And when the monster turns around you see that it owns you. To be real honest, I try not to think about the dark period at the end. I don't look back in anger because I'm trying to not look back at all. [...] I was a good soldier of nine years. Fuck that! I want a saner life, where I'm more in control." (BAM 1982)

"We'd run our course. I'm not saying that we couldn't have stayed firmly entrenched on top of Mt. Moolah, but it just seemed like it was time for a change. It was time for a change for me. [...] The Eagles just got so huge that they kind of ended up owning us. It wasn't something that we possessed anymore, it was something that possessed us." (Jim Ladd Innerview 1982)

"It was a whole bunch of funk, ladies and gentleman, just built up and built up, and finally, I had to say, 'So long!' You know? 'Give me a hot dog and a road map!'" (Jim Ladd Innerview 1982)

[Will the Eagles ever reunite?] "Never. They say, 'Never say never.' Well, you can print it. It will never happen." (Oui 1982)

"I think we just grew up. That group of people just couldn't stay together forever. Despite how successful you are, there comes a time when you get fed up with being responsible for other people and they feel the same way. I just wanted to be on my own and breathe easier. Now I can do whatever I want. I'm the boss." (1985)

"I think we were going to try to hang in there [after completing The Long Run]. We did a tour of large arenas for The Long Run. But then I realized the Eagles were running my life." (Interview Magazine 1986)

"Nobody told Don Henley or me that we were going to make it as solo artists, but I can speak for Don when I say that we are both really happy now that the band is not together." (Interview Magazine 1986)

"We were offered two million dollars to play the US Festival and two and a half million to play the second one. One of my managers at the time said, 'Come on, you rehearse for a couple of weeks, you play the gig, that's it.' He had just gotten a divorce from his wife and I said, 'I'll go rehearse with the Eagles if you'll go back for a couple of weeks with your wife.' He said, 'It's not the same.' The hell it isn't. Any reunion of the Eagles would only serve to dilute what we've already achieved. I can't see myself at age 41, up onstage with a beer belly singing 'Take it Easy.' Without a reunion, the Eagles are forever young, like James Dean." (Interview Magazine 1986)

"We were coming apart at the time of The Long Run, but it wasn't even our fault. We were in the belly of the beast. There was a tremendous amount of pressure on us; everything had to be bigger to be better. And our career had just gone up and up. The Long Run was going to be judged solely on whether it was bigger than Hotel California, and you just can't do that." (1988)

"I don't think the Eagles should ever get back together. I think it would disappoint you, me, and everyone else. There's something to be said for letting it lie. [...] We're not like a couple of old heavyweight bands who are fighting their way down the ranks. I mean, can you just imagine the pressure on me and Henley to get together and write songs? Not that we'd wilt under the expectations, but it wouldn't be easy. [...] All the guys in the Eagles are like old girlfriends to me. I love 'em, but I don't call 'em all the time, nor do I want to live with them again." (1988)

"It had stopped being fun. We no longer trusted each other's instincts, so there was considerable disagreement as we were for the first time considering what we ought to be doing. Also, working in close quarters for such a length of time without the distractions you get on a tour, we found out a lot about each other. Like how we each reacted to the pressure, and how it was hard to cope with it rationally because we'd been living this lifestyle of limos, private jets, first-class hotels and people doing what you told them to. Plus, both Henley and I had developed drug habits, which didn't help matters. Going to the studio was like going to school - I simply didn't want to go. But most importantly, during the making of The Long Run, Henley and I found out that lyrics are not a replenishable source. We, Don in particular, said a mouthful on Hotel California and a big part of the problem was 'What do we talk about now?' Then, because of what we were as members of The Eagles, we had far fewer real-life experiences to draw on. Towards the end, we just wanted to get the record finished and released. It is a very polished album, as well it should be after all that, and has some excellent moments, but none of us wanted to go through that again so we figured it was the right time to call it a day. Once that decision was made, I experienced an overwhelming sense of relief." (Independent 1992)

"When the Eagles disbanded in 1980, it was with a whisper, not a bang. We did not go out in a blaze of glory. There was no 'Farewell Tour,' no 'Final Concert,' a la 'The Last Waltz.' It was more like we were put on stretchers and removed from the slopes of Mt. Moolah before we succumbed to the elements. Sleep deprived and lyric depleted, we were in every way exhausted. Our five-year climb to the top of the rock pile, and the four ensuing years spent trying to stay there, had taken a heavy toll on all of us. More tired than angry, more spent than last week's paycheck, we could soldier on no more. [...] I remember being convinced at the time that the Eagles were over. I was sure [I] had strummed my last strum and oohed my last ooh in the aviary. I was positive my time as an Eagle had ended. I could not have been more wrong." (Artist's Notes 2000)

"It was becoming increasingly apparent to me that no matter where I went or what I did, for the rest of my life I would always be an Eagle." (Artist's Notes 2000)

"I felt that the most important ingredient in doing something like putting the Eagles back together for a period of time was that there be new material, so that we wouldn’t just be slapping the band back together [...] I thought if [Don and I] could get together and have it together enough to write a couple songs, get in the studio, and record them, and have everybody on the same page, it was not out of the realm of possibility that we might for one summer go out there and blitz a bunch of baseball stadiums and do it. But again, it had to be legitimate. [...] The sad truth of the matter is, Don Henley and I could not get together artistically and personally the way we were together during our time with the Eagles. We tried. Don was busy. My life focus had changed. And over a course of a few months where we tried to get together to write, nothing really manifested itself. Also during that period of time I was able to get a feel for what was going on with the other guys in the band, and it appeared to me that, except for the money, there wasn’t much there for me." (Strange Weather European Press Kit 1992)

"I felt that personally and spiritually, it would probably be a step backwards. When we started to not really come up with material, the question was tossed out, 'Well, go on the road anyway. The Stones, the Who... you guys, it’s there for you.' But that didn’t seem like it was gonna be fun for me to do in this situation. Ultimately, I told Irving and I told Henley that I did not want to be a part of the Eagles reunion, that I felt it was not in my best interests, that I had just spent ten years of my life trying to direct my life a little bit away from rock’n’roll. [...] A little acting, go down the Grand Canyon , take your wife to Venice ... [...] So I told the guys that I just didn’t think this would work." (Strange Weather Promotional Interview 1992)

"[Don and I] still like each other, but... to be in a band with somebody for a year or so, you've got to be intimate. I just didn't feel like I could get intimate with the other guys in the Eagles again. Not just Henley, either; I don't even want to get into the case of Joe Walsh. So it didn't work out, but I have no ax to grind. I wish all the guys in the band success in business and success in life. I would never say I wouldn't get together with the guys to play a show, but I'm not going to give my life to it again. [...] I'm just glad we tried it, because I think it helped clarify the situation and just sort of resolved this thing once and for all." (Detroit Free Press 1992)

"There is not going to be an Eagles reunion. I could go into many, many reasons why, but...I see it as a step backwards in my life. I've worked very hard in the last 10 years in certain areas to direct my life away from rock and roll. [...] I looked into it but it just wasn't going to be any fun. I don't want to get into personalities, but they're not fun guys. With the exemption of Timothy Schmit, who's a sweetheart, the rest of them, I just don't think they're fun guys." (Rocky Mountain News 1992)

"Once we got together we'd revert to exactly the behavior of 12 years ago. We [would] all just sort of revert to our same old roles... and 'What do you think?' and 'Let’s ask Don...' you know, just different things." (Strange Weather Promotional Interview 1992)

"I just don't want to spend 15 months with them! Not for just $10 million." (Independent 1992)

"I’m sorry that the Eagles are not back together to play around the world for one year and entertain people with our old songs and new songs. That’s unfortunate. But I think only somebody in my situation or Don Henley’s situation can actually make the decision about whether you’re gonna do it or not. It was not an easy decision for me to make by any means. It pained me to ultimately say no. But that doesn’t mean it was my fault. It just means that I looked at the situation and I made a decision about what I felt was best for me." (Strange Weather Promotional Interview 1992)

"I just wasn't ready. What was important to me at that time was to write songs in the morning, play golf in the afternoon and have dinner with my new beautiful wife who was pregnant with our first child. The timing was just bad for me." (The Long Run)

"My life is going on and changing more every day. The Eagles would be too big a commitment of time and too long to be away from my family. The Eagles are like a great white shark that devours everything. Maybe if we got inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame, we'd get back together, but that's a one-shot deal. That's not like working on a record together. That would be really hard to do at this point." (Boston Globe 1993)

"We've all grown up a lot. I don't live in the past. As far as I'm concerned this is Day One." (Hell Freezes Over rehearsal 1994)

"Maybe we'll try to keep the Eagles together a little longer than we anticipated. I thought the four studio tracks we did on 'Hell Freezes Over' turned out really good and I think it would be great to do an entire studio album. There's that possibility and I'd certainly like to talk to the guys about it. This is something people have been wanting us to do for 14 years. So we've finally gone ahead and done it. I think we'll go on for a while and then take a break. At some point, I think we'll talk about doing it again. We all remember what happened last time and we remember the good and the bad. And we hope that we are all older and more mature now and can learn from the mistakes. So far it has been great. But I think we are prepared, if it stops being fun, it will stop. Just as it stopped before." (The Long Run 1995)

"Our plan was to tour for only six months. We stayed together for an additional two years because we were having... gulp - dare I say it - FUN!! Granted, there was beaucoup cabbage involved but the main ingredient was fun - plus the fact that we were playing and singing better than we ever did in the '70s." (Artist's Notes 2000)

"The things that have to be appealing to commit yourself to something lke this is, how is the relationship gonna be? You know, it's very much like an intimate relationship when you make music with people and you live with them, day in and day out, and I've always felt that you showed people by your actions how you felt, not by what you said. And you know, to be in a band with people, you have to be able to depend on people. And not just depend on them by them saying, 'Yes, I'll be there' but depend on them actually being there. It just took a while for all the stars to line up right and for everybody to get their priorities straight." (Ann Liguori 1996)

"With us, it's almost like the chapters keep ending, but the book isn't finished." (Los Angeles Times 1999)

"All I can say is that the Eagles are like a volcano. Sometimes we rumble, sometimes we spew, and sometimes we're quiet." (Boston Herald 2000)

"I walked into the arena [on December 31, 1999] and suddenly realized that the Eagles were going to be the house band for the last and biggest party in town [with the Millennium Concert in L.A.]. I was overcome with emotion. I thought about luck and love, fame and failure. I thought about what our songs had meant to people throughout the years. I thought about the journey I had been on with my friends and how our friendships had survived and defined that journey. I felt deeply grateful." (Artist's Notes 2000)

 

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