Heartache tonight: Guitars go silent as Eagles founder Glenn Frey dies

Frey, who was 67, died of complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis and pneumonia, the band said on its website. He died on Monday in New York. He had fought the ailments for the past several weeks, the band said. 

“The Frey family would like to thank everyone who joined Glenn to fight this fight and hoped and prayed for his recovery,” a statement on the band’s website said. “Words can neither describe our sorrow, nor our love and respect for all that he has given to us, his family, the music community & millions of fans worldwide.”

Guitarist Frey and drummer Henley formed the Eagles in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, along with guitarist Bernie Leadon and bassist Randy Meisner. They would become a top act over the next decade, embodying the melodic California sound. 

An Eagles greatest hits collection from the mid 1970s and Hotel California are among the best-selling albums in history. Frey was born in Detroit and was raised in its suburbs. His solo hits include The Heat Is On and Smuggler’s Blues.

Frey was lead vocalist on the Eagles’ breakthrough hit, Take It Easy, a song mostly written by Jackson Browne that came out in 1972. His other showcases included Peaceful Easy Feeling, Already Gone and New Kid in Town. 

The Eagles split up in 1980 but reunited in 1994 and were one of the world’s most popular concert acts. The band, which for years was made up of Frey, Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit, was supposed to have been honoured at the Kennedy Center last month. But the appearance was postponed because of Frey’s health problems. 

Frey, known for his over sized jaw, big grin and blunt personality, loved music, girls and the rock ‘n’ roll life. They harmonized memorably on stage and on record but fought often otherwise. Frey and Henley  became estranged for years, their breach a key reason the band stayed apart in the 1980s. Henley had vowed the Eagles would reunite only when “hell freezes over,” which became the name of the 1994 album they never imagined making.