"I could give you thirty reasons why,
but let me be concise: I started the band, I got sick of it,
and I quit."
-Glenn Frey,
as quoted in Joe Brown's book,
Off The Record.
Once again, for Glenn, it was time. Looking forward to a recording in a studio instead of a
pressure cooker; wanting more control over the process from start to finish; wanting music to be fun
again; Glenn made the decision in 1980 to record a solo album.
Highly anticipated in a market
hungry for new Eagles material, 1982's, No Fun Aloud threw a curve ball to the listening public,
for it is a full 180 degrees opposite of the dark, cynical, demon-driven tracks that typified the latter
Eagles' albums. Nor was it like the earlier Eagles, for country-rock did not figure heavily in Glenn's
selections on No Fun Aloud.
What people were hearing, singled out for the first time ever, was the R'n'B strand, one of
several strands which had twined together to create the Eagles sound. This singular strand was
comprised of earlier things, rootsier things. . . the booming echo of the row house recordings of
Detroit - era Motown. . .
the Drifters
harmonizing in the hallways of the Brill Building in New York City. . . the infectious, irresistible
rhythms of Memphis and Muscle Shoals, which regularly redefine the heartbeat of
those that hear them . . . the seamless, hopelessly romantic Philly soul of Gamble and Huff. Chicago's mighty blues tradition, and the
angelic voice of Curtis Mayfield.
The music of Marvin Gaye and Al Green, sensual yet
spiritual; drawing the pure oxygen of gospel down to earth, igniting it with the fire of physical
passion, tempering it in the cool waters of devotion.
Of course, this had been there all the time, embedded deep within the studio sessions of the
Eagles. Steaming One Of These Nights, pumping Heartache Tonight, and The Long Run,
identified by Glenn on the Eagles Live album as, "our tribute to Memphis, Tennessee" all hearken
back to the music Glenn grew up listening to on the mean streets of Detroit. Don't let the laid back
California attitude fool you. Beneath that hellfire-forged California tan, Glenn's still a Detroit boy.
Only now, he and his guitar are better traveled, and that shows in the diversity of his solo work.
A solo career allowed a more expansive
creative process for Glenn, opening the door to work as a producer for old friend Karla Bonoff's
1982 album Wild Heart Of The Young, and also for
blues artists such as Jack Mack and the Heart Attack, and to co-produce (with Jerry Wexler)
the debut album for a blues tornado from Texas by name of
Lou Ann Barton.
1984 brought another album,
The Allnighter, and a
change to MCA Records. The opportunity also arose to work on movie
soundtracks, such as Beverly Hills Cop, which produced the major hit, "The Heat Is On". After
Michael Mann, producer of Miami Vice heard a song submitted for the show entitled, Smuggler's
Blues, he centered an entire show's plotline around the song. With this, Glenn's acting career was
launched, appearing in the Smugglers' Blues Episode as a pilot who's help is enlisted by Crockett and
Tubbs.
As the Eighties unfolded Glenn appeared in the feature film Let's Get Harry, as a plumber- turned- guerrilla-
commando, and a television role in a seven episode arc of Wise Guy,
in which Glenn played a jaded record company executive at the appetizingly
named Dead Dog Records.
In 1988, Glenn released Soul Searchin'. His third solo album,
Soul Searchin' was
noticeably influenced by his new dedication to fitness, with special thanks given in the liner notes to, among other people, Dr. Robert Haas (author of
the nutrition book, Eat Smart, Think Smart) and Jim Steinway, of Body By Jake.
As the Nineties got underway, rumors of an Eagles Reunion
began to gain momentum, despite the release of another solo album,
1992's Strange Weather.
Strange Weather was also to spawn a
Live CD
and companion video
from the same tour, and would turn out to be the
last solo effort for awhile, because there was actually some weight
to those reunion rumors. There was time, however, to appear on songwriting partner
Jack Tempchin's 1993 album,
After The Rain, which also features guest appearances by
Timothy B.
Schmit, David Crosby,
and J.D. Souther.
The Eagles were on
the road from 1994 through 1996, a world tour interrupted temporarily by Glenn's
emergency surgery and subsequent time off to recover in the fall of
1994.
Now that the Eagles have come in from the
road, Glenn seems to be taking his own advice (well, his and Jackson's)
by taking it easy.
Aside from caddying at the Masters Tournament in April of 1997 and participating
in the T.J. Martell Pro-Am, he's enjoying his time off although he
returned to the concert stage back in May of '97 to help Joe Walsh
kick off his Anthology Tour. His recent appearances on the sound
stage have been for a role in the motion picture Jerry Maguire,
as well as an episode of Nash Bridges. For now, however, he is content to field offers for new roles as they come in.
Glenn's desire to define his recording career on his own terms was evidenced by founding his own label, Mission Records.
The first release from Mission was One Planet, One Groove by Max Carl and Big Dance. The label has, unfortunately, been dismanteled and has helped to fuel the fire of reunion rumors. One Planet, One Groove,
on which Glenn's contributions figure prominently, was launched only days after Glenn and the other six members of the Eagles
were honored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and repaid the favor by offering an historic performance, the one and only time that all seven
members of the band appeared on stage simultaneously. Glenn's acceptance speech was quoted widely in the press, his thoughts on the induction
perhaps best summarizing the history of the band and their outlook on the future.
"Perhaps if you can represent your times well enough, you can become a band for all time..."
-Glenn Frey,
January 12, 1998, Hall of Fame Induction
)