All language subtitles for History.of.the.Eagles.2013.S01E02.720p.BluRay.x264-x0r.[eng]

A funny thing happened
right when we broke up.

1980 is when the format
"classic rock" hit American radio.

So even though the band broke up,

they kept playing our songs
all the time.

It was like we never went away.
We were still on the radio.

Somebody once told me

people didn't just listen
to the Eagles.

They did things to the Eagles.

They went on fandangos
and drove across the country

with three
of their high-school buddies.

People broke up
with their girlfriends.

People quit their jobs
or changed their lives.

They did things to the Eagles.

Songs from that album have even
been played in outer space.

And they used to pipe the music
up to the space shuttle

to wake the astronauts up
in the morning.

Shortly after having their breakfast
of steak and eggs and toast,

he then put on his space suit
and helmet.

That song has really gotten around.

There's been a lot of conjecture

about how and why
we got back together.

We began to realize
that we'd been away for 14 years.

Maybe we could have that rarest
of things in American life,

which is a second act.

You know, a second chance.

Thank you.

When we stopped, I was really sad.

Like, "What are we gonna do?"

No!

I was pretty devastated.

I had only been part of it
for barely three years,

and I'd loved it.

We created this monster,

and it took its toll
on all of our lives.

Somebody was quoted as saying

the Eagles would get back together
when hell freezes over.

So, hell froze over.

We're all ready.

The gentleman in blue over there.

After the acrimony
and the bitterness

that marked the demise of the band,

it must have been a long road
to reunion.

Can you just take us through
the steps that you went through

on the road to reunification?

No.

Anybody want that one?

No, really, it's a fair question.

From the time
that we disbanded in 1980,

there were always offers
on the table

for us to get back together.

It started with the first US festival,

and Steve Wozniak wanted
to pay us a million dollars.

I said no.

I needed to do something else.

I called my first solo album
"No Fun Aloud"

because I was having
so much fun.

It was so liberating to know
that whatever I did

was gonna be more fun
than what I just did

for the last three years
on "The Long Run" album.

I knew I wanted to have
a songwriting partner,

so I asked my friend
Jack Tempchin

if he wanted to write
some songs together.

And Jack's a very bright guy
lyrically,

and so I started working with him.

He had become a disciplined
co-writer with Don Henley,

and when the Eagles broke up,

he just wanted to let go and have
some fun with music, you know?

So we were fiddling around
with some grooves,

and one of us said,
"You belong to the city."

And then we're going,
"Oh, yeah, yeah. That's it."

You just show up
and good things happen.

Henley's solo career
was really, really successful.

Going solo was
the scariest part of my life.

The whole MTV thing was a difficult
transition for me to make.

You know, the Eagles, at one point,

had been accused by some critic
of loitering onstage.

So it was difficult for us loiterers

to make the transition
to the world of choreography

and costume and acting.

Did I benefit from MTV?
Yes, I did.

You know, I made a couple of videos
that won some MTV awards.

Nevertheless, I would just as soon
have skipped the whole thing

because I considered myself,
first and foremost,

a songwriter
and a recording artist.

I didn't really want to be
an actor, too.

Nice, huh?

The guy who sold it to me
said it was a lemon.

But I'm telling you,
it may look like a cow,

but she runs like a stallion.

I always like to take
a good-bye look at America.

Just in case it's my last.

I acted in television, in movies.

I wasn't really thinking about getting
back together with the Eagles.

The guy's got an attitude problem.

Yeah, well, he listens to me.
I can help you with that.

Cameron would call me up and say,
"Glenn, I got to find somebody

that's not gonna take any shit
off Tom Cruise,

and I think you're the guy."

We have history, Dennis.

Oh, yeah.
We got history all right, Jerry.

No, no, no.
No, no, no.

Dennis! Dennis! Dennis!
Don't! Don't!

I signed Don Henley
to Geffen Records.

Now, you might say,

since the Eagles sued me
at Asylum Records...

DAVID GEFFEN
FOUNDER, ASYLUM RECORDS

...why he did come with me
at Geffen Records?

Well, David uses
the same pickup lines

every time he comes a-courtin'.

"You know how much
I care about you as an artist.

You know what a big fan I am
of yours."

And so I bought it a second time
and I signed with him.

And then things started
to fall apart.

I produced several hits,

but I could feel the support
somehow waning.

Don got into arguments with them

over things like budget, videos,
artwork, things like that.

I recall Don starting
to write letters to them

referring to them
as Nickel and Dime Records.

When you feel like your label
is not supporting you,

it's completely deflating.

I used to call him "Golden throat."

I thought he was
an incredible singer.

But, by nature, he's a malcontent.

He's always been a malcontent.

And, you know, that's just life.

So I just said one day, "I'm not
gonna record for you anymore.

I'm leaving."

And so he sued me
for $30 million.

My wife has M.S.,
and they deposed her,

dragged her all the way
from Texas to Los Angeles

to sit her down
in front of his attorneys

and ask her
a bunch of pointless questions,

because she didn't know anything.

I thought that was really low.

I said to Irving
over the Henley contract,

"I'd sooner die
than let you fuck me.

You'd better win this case."

It was settled, you know,

and that was the end
of that relationship.

I've realized now
that we have adult rock stars.

You don't have to give this up
when you turn 30 or 35 or 40.

I'll always make records
and write songs.

I got to do them.
Otherwise, I'd go nuts.

This is a tune that was written
with my new friend Mike Campbell

and my old friend
John David Souther.

When the band broke up,

Glenn started writing songs
with Jack Tempchin.

I guess the rift
between Henley and Frey

probably spread
to between Frey and me.

Glenn and I had had some
outrageously fun times together.

And then Don and I did
for a decade or so.

How have you changed
as musicians over the years,

both as a group and individually?

Well, your whole mandate
is just to improve.

You know, life is about improvement,

whether it's as a musician
or as a singer or as a songwriter

or just, you know, all the other
different hats we all wear.

So, hopefully,
we're just getting better.

We've been doing this
quite a long time now on and off,

and we feel like we've got it down
pretty good.

And, in fact,
we've had five days off,

and we're ready to go now.

When the Eagles first broke up,

I wasn't quite sure
what I was gonna do with myself.

So I just hustled.

I went just as a singer with Toto,

I played bass for Jimmy Buffett,

I went out with Warren Zevon
and Dan Fogelberg,

and stuff I wouldn't have
necessarily done.

I sang on Poison records
and Twisted Sister,

although you'll never see my name.

They never gave me credit.

That was more like yelling.

It's not all gonna be
the greatest thing in the world.

But if you can work and support
yourself and your family,

it's good.

Okay, next question.

Gentleman in the front here,
Richard.

What position do you think
rock 'n' roll takes now about drugs?

We came from a generation

that experimented with all kinds
of substances, of course.

I think our message is that

you can be a damn good rock band
without all that stuff.

I'd like to propose a toast

to dedicate this song to you,
to us.

The drinking man's musician,
Joe Walsh!

I ended up an alcoholic.

And very fond of cocaine.

If I was awake,
I was doing that stuff.

Good morning, rock fans.

In the very early years,
it had briefly worked.

Wow.

And then you chase it
when it doesn't work anymore.

And I chased it
for years and years.

"Could Hemingway have written
like that if he was sober,

or could Hendrix
have played like that

if he didn't experiment
with hallucinogenics?

Well, probably not."

I used that one
for years and years,

and it never occurred to me
that all those people are dead.

They got further and further away
from reality.

Should I look at you
or the camera?

Look at me.

I ended up in bad shape.

I had hit bottom.

And I knew that I was done

and that...

...I would probably die
if I kept going.

Joe was a mess.

He was around a bunch of people
that were really just enablers.

Nobody wanted to intervene.

Nobody wanted to tell him
he had a drug problem

or a drinking problem.

Everybody was just
going along with Joe.

I remember what we all did
when it was an art form, you know?

And I'd like to fight
to get it back to that.

And I was very, very happy
in the Eagles.

I was just gonna say
I'm sorry we broke up,

but we didn't break up.

We just stopped, I think.

We just said, you know,
"The heck with the '80s."

Song 3, take 6.

In 1990, we tried to get together
to refuel it.

Everybody was in on that,
but Glenn wasn't involved yet.

Irving got us together --

Timothy, Joe, myself,
and Don Henley.

Glenn was supposed to join us
in the studio,

and he was gonna bring
some songs in,

and we were gonna start making
another record.

So, we started rehearsing,
the four of us,

then we got a call,

I think, about the third or fourth day
in the studio

saying that Glenn had refused
to come be part of it,

to join the party.

So we just stopped.

He was still, "I'm not doing this."

Well, you know,
to tell you the truth,

I was having a fine time
doing what I was doing.

I mean, there's more to life
than being in the Eagles.

The moment was always gonna be

kind of when Glenn was ready
to do it again.

I think Henley would have been
more willing than Glenn.

For me, personally,

I think that I had proved
pretty much everything

that I needed to prove
in my solo career.

I had won a couple of Grammys

and had a few hits
and some successful tours.

And I had founded
the Walden Woods Project.

When you're a solo artist,

you have to take responsibility
for everything --

every mistake, every bad record,
every sour note.

But when you're in a band,

you get to share the praise
and the blame with your bandmates.

So, I was okay with the notion

of maybe going back
and being in a band again.

The thing that sort of
turned my head

was the release
of the "Common Thread" album.

Irving and Don went to Nashville

and they talked a bunch of people
into recording some Eagles songs

with the royalties going
to the Walden Woods Project.

I don't know who asked me,
but they said,

"Travis Tritt's gonna do a video
of 'Take It Easy'

and he wants to know if you guys
will be in the video."

I said, "Well, okay."

Never really talked to Travis
about whose idea it was.

I think Irving probably had a hand
in that whole thing.

Was I trying to put
the band back together

by doing "Common Thread"?
No.

Was I waiting for the moment?
Yeah.

In the Travis Tritt video,
there was a little bandstand scene

and we all picked up our instruments
and started playing.

I was thinking, "Guys, come on."
You know?

You know, it's interesting.
After years pass, you know,

you really sort of remember
that you were friends first.

You have a lot
of common history together

and a lot of shared experiences.

I remembered
mostly the good stuff.

I didn't really think
about the bad stuff.

I just remembered how much
we genuinely had liked each other

and how much fun we'd had.

We realized, after the success
of the "Common Thread" album

that there were still
a lot of people out there --

a whole lot of people --
who wanted to see us play again.

You know, sometimes there's a little
bit of serendipity involved in this,

and I think what happened

is everybody's life
started to line up in a way

that now it made sense
for all of us.

And we discussed it.

Joe and Don came up and sat in
at a benefit that I did in Aspen.

We had a meeting in Aspen.

I was one of the first guys
that they wanted to try it out on.

You know, Joe was buzzed.
It was 1:00 in the afternoon.

You know, and he would say,
"Hey, I'm there, man.

I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

But Don and I could both tell
that he wasn't fine,

and we were worried.

They said what they wanted to do.

They wanted to try it,
get back together again.

They didn't know what I would say,

but I said, "I understand,
and, yeah, I can get sober."

We had to get Joe
into some sort of rehab,

and we couldn't be sure
it was gonna work.

So we better have Felder.

The Eagles reunion had better have
at least one of the two of them,

and hopefully both.

Irving called me up and said

that Don and Glenn and Joe
had gotten together,

and they were talking
about doing something,

and would I be interested
in doing it?

I said, "Absolutely."

One thing led to another,

and finally Irving and Don Felder
picked him up

and drove him to rehab.

I made a commitment to them
that I would clean up...

...and that I would be in the band

if that's what they wanted to do.

I'm really, really grateful
to those three guys...

...because I had...

...a really good reason to get sober.

And as soon as I got sober,
we started rehearsal.

From that first phone call from Irving
to showing up on a rehearsal stage

to start putting together
a show for MTV

was only a matter of weeks,
if not a month.

It was a little scary
rehearsing for the MTV thing.

Normally, I think people
would have their act down

a few weeks, at least,

before entering
into something like that,

but we just dove in headfirst.

Well, even though we had
rehearsed really well,

for the first time
to walk out on stage

and actually play as a band
in public

and kind of put the key
back into the ignition

and turn it over
for the first time,

it was really a lot of nerves.

Are we going the right way?

Glenn.

Not having played as a group
in 14 years,

the first night,
there was a lot of terror.

Gentlemen, good to be with ya.

Hope I'm with ya all night.

- Have a good one, okay?
- Okay.

- Showtime!
- Showtime! Showtime!

The audience was very kind,
and they were with us.

And that was good,
but it was rough.

Even when we went onstage,
we were definitely a little tight.

Until, I think,
Henley forgot the words

to one of the new songs...

You want to start again?
I'll tell you what.

This is television, so we get
to do this till we're happy.

Now, I thought you didn't remember the
third verse.

That was only the second verse!

I know. I know the third verse.

That was sort of the icebreaker,
though.

That was a good thing, ultimately.

I feel like Tommy Smothers.
All right.

We didn't think getting back together
was quite as legitimate

unless we had some new material,

so we're gonna put forth several
new songs for you this evening.

This first one Timothy B. Schmit
is gonna sing for you.

This is called
"Love Will Keep Us Alive."

After selling
100 million records worldwide,

was it real pressure on you
to write the new material

for the "Hell Freezes Over" album?

We didn't really look at it
as a body of new work.

It was more of a retrospective
piece of material.

And we look forward
to writing some new material,

perhaps in the future.

We can't keep recycling
this material,

although it seems to be working
just fine.

Don and I were trying to figure out
how to write another song,

and, I mean, really, if we could.

We hadn't written anything together
since, like, '78.

So it was a little awkward at first,
just getting back into the groove.

Yeah.

So, we go, 1...

Okay, here we are starting out
at 1, 2...

During "The Long Run" album,

there were a lot of sessions
with Don and I

where nothing got done.

We were both a little bit reticent
to introduce our ideas

for fear that they weren't
good enough.

So when we sat down
to do it again in '94,

my first worry was, "Is it gonna be
as hard as it was in 1978?"

We were sitting around, "What are
we gonna write about?" and stuff.

And he said, "Well, I've got
this one title, 'Get Over It."'

And he sort of proceeded to tell me

what it was
that was pissing him off --

all these people
going on television

and everything that's wrong with them
is somebody else's fault.

"I'm just sick of all this whining,

and so I'm gonna write a song
called 'Get Over It."'

The intro, straight Chuck Berry.

Never play a 7, right?

So, then I said, "I think maybe
a Chuck Berry riff

would be a good way
to tell that story."

Time out.

Do you want to play the...?

You want to do it on slide?

And then Felder and I will just play
power chords low and high.

And those guys will play
Chuck Berry low and high.

And we can do "Get Over It".

A couple little of them
slide answer licks is cool.

My favorite thing is when
Don and Glenn co-write stuff.

I like to play guitar to that.

You want me to sing it,
or do you want to wait?

It's 10 to 6.

You can sing it at 10 to 6
or 5 to 6.

- Do it again?
- Yeah, we'll do it twice.

Yeah, you could write it in
with the mike.

Captioned for hard of hearing.

It was really liberating.

We both walked out
of the session and went,

"God, we can still do it.
I can't believe it.

We just wrote a song together.
Maybe we can write some more."

That was a really good feeling.

It was a great sort of
artistic reconciliation

for us to have been able to sit down
and write that song together.

Get over it!

We did "Hell Freezes Over,"
and then we went out on the road.

That was the question
on everyone's mind --

what if we got back together,
and no one showed up?

We set it up to be
a three-month reunion.

I went back to my wife, and I had
two young kids at the time.

I said, "I don't know
if you're gonna recognize me.

I don't know
what this is gonna do to me.

But I hope I don't change too much.

Hang in there with me."

I was on the side of the stage
once at one of their shows

when they first got back together,

and Jack Nicholson was euphoric

listening to this band play again,
you know.

And he said...

"Repertoire."

What do you want to hear?

We didn't know how many people
are gonna show up for us to reunite,

but people came out in droves.

We were sold out everywhere.

Audiences were having
a fabulous time.

We were having a good time, too.

Heartache, baby!

I listened to the guys,
and Joe Walsh, for example,

is playing better and singing better

than I've ever heard him play
in his life since I've known him.

I didn't have time to really
sit around and miss alcohol

or cold turkey from more cocaine
or anything.

And I had to go in front of people
and play and sing sober,

which I hated, at first.

Ooh, that was scary.

When Joe first got out of rehab
and we started rehearsing,

he was still pretty dark.

But over the course
of that first year getting sober,

I think he found happiness again.

He found a way to be happy.

You look very pretty.

It's okay. Once more.

Oh, now, are you ready?

Father, daughter, take one.

We got that family thing
to ground us all now.

It's really sort of
our common thread.

We've all got kids.

It changes your life

and your perspective
on your work, as well.

So, the tour was
so enormously successful

that we sort of didn't want
to give that up, you know?

It's like, "Okay, this is good.
I could do this for a while."

Doing a concert
is a strange combination

of conscious and subconscious acts.

You're not really thinking
about what you're doing

because you know it so well,
you're just doing it.

On the other hand, you have to put
some emotion into it.

When you've got a crowd
that's cheering you on,

it doesn't matter how many times
you've sung the song.

You just do it.

We've played all over the world,

and probably,
if we could write the script,

it was probably a genius move.

'Cause when we come back,
it's bigger than ever.

How much money do you expect
to gross with this European tour?

Irving?

I actually haven't added it up,
but I will tell you that --

Good answer.

One thing,

the cost of being a touring
rock-'n'-roll band in Europe

are beyond our wildest imaginations,

but this band is here in Europe

because there was demand for us
to be here.

And it's not nearly as lucrative
as anything we've done before.

It isn't?

Offers started coming in
for us to do more shows,

and I just sort of said,

"Well, book some more.
It doesn't have to end now.

Book some more.
Where else can we play?"

"Well, you haven't been in Europe."

"Well, let's go there."

How's it go?

We had drawn a line in the sand

and said, "No drugs or alcohol
during any band activities."

And as a result,

we're playing and singing
pretty damn good.

I think the thing that brings them
together is the harmony.

When they start hearing that
and how seamless and how perfect,

they get as thrilled
as the audiences do,

that "We can still do this."

We can't really understand it.

It's just the chemistry that works.

And we gave up
trying to understand it.

It just works.

We're just gonna do one verse
the "New Kid."

- One verse the "New Kid."
- Okay.

- Joe's singing "Smuggler's Blues."
- Okay.

I'll just do the beginning
of "Funk 49."

And then I'm gonna go pee.

- Yeah.
- Then I'll go pee.

1, 2, 3.

All right, boys!

We ended up
going all around the world

in about two years and nine months.

Thank you, Dublin!

We've learned not to make
career decisions

at the end of long tours.

If we break up again, though,
you won't hear about it.

We'll just go quietly.

And we'll say we're still together.

Yeah.

They've laughed, cried, fought,

but most of all,
they have beaten the odds

and are as popular today

as they were in that incredible
summer back in 1972.

It is an honor and a pleasure
to introduce the Eagles.

A lot has been talked about
and speculated about

over the last 27 years
about whether or not we got along.

We got along fine.
We just disagreed a lot.

I was not in the trenches
with this particular band,

so I'd like to thank
my predecessor, Randy Meisner,

for being there.

I'm glad that Randy and Bernie
got recognized.

I think that's appropriate.

Hey, how you doin'?

It's a good feeling.

Looks good on my résumé.

I'd really like to thank Don and Glenn
for writing those songs.

Thank you, guys.

It makes my job real easy.

Thank you!

Charming outfit, Joe.

I'd like to, again, thank
Don Henley and Glenn Frey

for writing an incredible
body of work

that's propelled this band through
20-some-odd years' worth of life.

Thank you, guys.

When a kid first picks up
a guitar or a drumstick,

it's not really to be famous.

It's because that kid wants
to fit in somewhere

and he wants to be accepted,

and he wants to be
understood, even.

And so, I like to think
of this award

as something
that is acknowledging us

not for being famous,
but for doing the work.

And I appreciate all the work

that all these guys behind me
have done.

I want to thank Irving Azoff,

without whom
we wouldn't be here today.

As I've said before, he may be
Satan, but he's our Satan.

We're in a dog-eat-dog business.

Show me anybody
that's gonna be responsible

for guiding or managing
an artist's career

that's made too many friends,

and I'm gonna show you somebody
that's sold out their artist

and done a crappy job.

So, I was quite proud of Henley's
reference of what he said.

It was more or less, for me,
a validation of a job well done.

A lot of my job was trying to keep
the band from breaking up.

In the '70s,

we formed a corporation
called Eagles, Limited.

And that was all-for-one
and one-for-all.

Well, it wasn't
the three musketeers.

As our friend J.D. Souther
used to say,

"Time passes, things change."

In talking with Irving

about putting the Eagles
back together in 1994,

I said, "Irving, I'm not gonna do it

unless Don and I make more money
than the other guys."

"We're the only guys who have
done anything career-wise

in the last 14 years.

We're the guys that have kept
the Eagles' name alive on radio,

television, and in concert halls."

So we came up with a deal

that I was happy with,
and Don was happy with,

Timothy was happy with,
Joe was happy with,

and Don Felder was not happy with.

And I called
Felder's representative.

And I said, "Hello, Barry.
This is Glenn Frey.

I'm sorry you happen to represent
the only asshole in the band,

but let me tell you something.

You either sign this agreement
before the sun goes down today,

or we're replacing Don Felder.

That's the final deal.

He signs by sunset,
or he's out of the fucking band."

Hung up.

So, he signed the deal,
and we started out on the tour.

I didn't sense a great deal
of comaraderie.

You hardly saw anybody

if it wasn't walking on the plane
or walking onto the stage.

Everyone thought,
"Well, if we don't get together,

we won't have problems."

And I think instead of being able
to sit down and have a beer

and talk about stuff and renew
a relationship with everyone,

that independent isolation

really didn't add the comfort
necessary to make it work.

Don Felder was
never, ever satisfied,

never, ever happy.

A rock band
is not a perfect democracy.

It's more like a sports team.

No one can do anything
without the other guys,

but everybody doesn't get to touch
the ball all the time.

Time went on, and time went on,

and Felder became
more and more unhappy.

Couldn't appreciate the amount
of money he was making,

more concerned about
how much money I was making.

If Don Felder really thought
about it,

it really was he wanted it to be
a "band" band

in the purest sense of the words,

you know, we're all gonna get
equal songwriting,

singing, expression stuff,

and this was not a hippie commune.

You know, and everything for them

really goes back
to those two words -- song power.

We finally made the decision

that we won't be working
with him anymore.

It just broke my heart.

It's not just playing with Joe.

I missed these guys.

But I really missed the friendship
and the music.

Okay.

Strong.

Good. Good, good, good.
Good shot.

Glenn and I, when it comes time
to make band decisions,

usually stick together.

It's difficult for four or five people
to have an equal say.

Here we are 40 years later,
and we're doing okay.

We're one of the few bands
that can say that.

The novelty of the Eagles
being back together

and those few new songs
that we had

on the "Hell Freezes Over" album
is one thing.

But we needed to make a record.

Considering that we haven't made
a record in so long,

we spent a good two and a half years
making "Long Road Out of Eden."

We finally figured out that
we just needed to do what we do.

This really goes back
to the essence of what we do best,

which is singing and songwriting.

A lot of harmony singing
on this album.

Big tragedies like that
make you think, as a parent,

what kind of world is coming up?

What's gonna happen next?

What's the world gonna be like
when my kids are grown?

After September 11th,
our immediate visceral reaction,

our gut reaction,
resulted in "Hole in the World."

The Eagles have written and sung

plenty of love songs
over the years,

but we've also written and sung

songs that have to do with
what's going on in the wider world.

We've never shied away
from social commentary.

We think it's part
of a rich tradition

that dates all the way
back to medieval times.

And so we still engage in it.

The writings and the ideas

of Henry David Thoreau
and Ralph Waldo Emerson

had a huge impact on me.

They got me through
some very difficult times in my life,

one being when my father
was stricken with heart disease,

and provided a lot
of spiritual support for me.

When I found out in 1980

that part of Walden
was going to be destroyed

by commercial development,

I decided that was something
I needed to help fight.

So I ended up founding
the Walden Woods Project.

And we are in our 27th year now,
and we've accomplished a great deal.

It's been one of the most rewarding
things that I've ever done.

The lyrics to that song
were originally a poem

written by a great American poet
named John Hollander.

Don had this title,
"Long Road Out of Eden."

Timothy goes over,
and he picks up an acoustic guitar.

And I go over to the keyboards

and Joe grabs a guitar
and Don goes on the drums.

And we start making up
this sort of musical story

called "Long Road Out of Eden,"

a story of, really, the war in Iraq.

And it was, like, the last resort.

It was another opus,
another David Lean movie.

We finally got through,

and we finally made
"Long Road Out of Eden."

And we didn't give it
to a record company.

We made a deal with Walmart.

This was the first major artist
to do a direct-to-retail release

and bypass
the major record companies.

It was phenomenally successful.

The album entered at number one.

It gave, I think,
the whole industry hope

that it could find a new
and different way to reach its fans.

They're becoming
a much greener company,

and that was important to me.

And the other good thing was that
our fans got 20 songs for 12 bucks.

It was basically a double album,

and they weren't charged double
for it.

Don said,
"I got a title for a song --

'Busy Being Fabulous."'

And I thought,
"What a great title."

And then Don wrote,

"'Don't wait up for me tonight,'
that was all she wrote."

And then we were off on the story.

"Busy Being Fabulous,"

Don and Glenn had gotten it
to a certain state,

and I came up with some stuff
for the bridge

and tweaked what already existed.

I was very involved
in the "Long Road" record.

I've always been a lot happier
getting into the entire project,

arranging stuff, producing the stuff,
co-writing the stuff.

Like, "Waiting in the Weeds"
and "Business As Usual"

were co-writes with Don.

Getting Steuart Smith in the band
was a real shot in the arm.

He's such a terrific musician.

It's a great solo.

It's like stepping
into a space suit.

It is strange
to be playing that song.

The reaction is terrific,
and you bask in that excitement.

But I didn't write it.

I'm one part hired gun,
but also one part collaborator.

I'm one of the guitar players.

But I'm not an Eagle.

I don't know what it's like
to be one of those guys.

...3, 4.

My kids were looking
on the Internet,

and they found this show
that the Eagles had done in 1974.

I was in my office watching TV,

and my kids come in and say,
"Hey, Dad, come here.

You got to take a look
at your hair."

And one of the songs
was "How Long."

"How Long" was
from my first solo album.

They found that,
'cause Cindy saw it on YouTube

and said, "Glenn, what's this?"

And he said,
"Oh, it's a song of J.D.'s."

She said,
"Well, you didn't cut it, did you?"

J.D. wanted it on his solo album,
so we never recorded it.

My wife said, "Hey, that sounds
like a hit Eagles song."

They are the American band.

Yeah, they pretty much encompassed
the '70s, didn't they?

And took it all in.

That's a long time to still have
a musical impact,

and it's due
to this incredibly crisp, tight,

extraordinarily good
record-making band

and the presence of good songs.

But it's also now taken on
this other thing, too,

where it's everybody through the band
wants to remember a '70s

that they may
or may not have had.

This band could go play stadiums
all over the country,

and people know these songs
so intimately.

They last.

The songs last.

I have one small plaque on my wall.

It says, "Presented to the Eagles

to commemorate the best-selling
album of the 20th century

with sales in excess
of 26 million units."

That century's gone,
so nobody's gonna top that.

What's it like to be an Eagle now?

It's just part of my life.

I do normal things.

I go to the market,

and once in a while,
somebody comes up to me.

I don't walk around being an Eagle.

I'm an Eagle when it's time
for me to be.

I made sure the dishes were done
before you guys came today.

You know?

I love everybody in the band
like a brother.

To be part of a real band,

a real band,

is something that not all musicians
get to do in their life.

And I'm real lucky to have
that chapter in my book.

Rock 'n' roll saved my life.

It changed my life tremendously.

And as Mick Jagger
so famously and eloquently said,

"It's only rock 'n' roll,
but I like it."

I think that one of the reasons

that Glenn and I
wanted to write songs

is because rock 'n' roll music
got us through junior high

and through high school

and those difficult times

when you're searching
for your identity

and wondering who the heck you are,
trying to get girls to notice you,

and wondering
why the football players

are doing so much better
than you are.

At the end of the day,

it was and still is
about the music.

I regret that I didn't handle
some of the adversity

that the Eagles faced
in the late '70s better.

Fortunately, for me,

I've had another chance
to be the leader of the Eagles,

another chance
to be Don's partner

and do this work again
and play this music.

And in this second run,
I think I've done a pretty good job

of keeping the peace
and keep the band together,

keep everybody happy.

So here we are, still doing it.

Thank you.

That's it! That's it!

- Bye-bye.
- Bye-bye.

We wanted longevity.

It wasn't a hobby for us.
It wasn't a game.

It wasn't a pleasant diversion.

It was a life.

It was a calling.
It was a career.

It was worth it.

We went to China last year.

We're still breaking new ground
40 years later.

Back in the late '70s,

Neil Young sang a song
about the emerging punk ethic.

And the pivotal line
in that song was:

"It's better to burn out
than it is to rust."

And I'm not sure
that even Neil, himself,

subscribed to that sentiment,

but I don't see rust as a bad thing.

I have an old 1962
John Deere tractor

that's covered with rust,
but it runs like a top.

You know, the inner workings
are just fine.

To me, that rust symbolizes
all the miles driven

and all the good work done
and all the experiences gained.

From where I sit,
the rust looks pretty good.

When somebody is around 40 years,

it means they've got something,
something that people want.

And the Eagles have that.

To me, the Eagles
really expressed a mood.

California was the place of dreams.

It was a time
of limitless possibilities.

I think they were a defining moment

in the rock-'n'-roll world
that I love.

You couldn't really love
the Eagles music

and be an Eagles fan
and actually know them

and not aspire
to greatness yourself.

I'm not really into legacies.

People talk to me,
"What's your legacy?"

I'm here now.

I'm doing what I want to do,

and I'm trying to make stuff happen.

I see the Eagles in the same way.

They're not in the '70s.

They're in 2012 and 2013.

And whatever they're doing now
artistically, that's what's important.