Listening to the Eagles transports me to the desert of Arizona. It doesn't have to be a corner in Winslow either. Their music just sounds, feels and smells like the heat of an August day in the desert with the temperature well over the century mark. The last time Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit recorded a complete LP in-studio, Jimmy Carter was president, the cost of a new home averaged $75,000 and gas was less than a dollar a gallon. The year was 1979. And what have the Eagles done since then???
The Eagles broke up in 1980 but reunited in 1994 for "Hell Freezes Over", which featured both live and studio tracks. They toured sporadically and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. I was fortunate enough to witness a reunion of Glenn Frey, Don Henley and I believe either Randy Meisner or Timothy B. Schmit at a Bill Gavin Radio Programming Conference in San Francisco in the 80s. It was simply one of the best live performances I had ever seen. It was that good. But there's more. At the end of the 20th century, "Eagles: Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975" and "Hotel California" were ranked in the 10 best-selling albums according to the RIAA. They are the best selling American group ever with their '1971-1975 Greatest Hits' LP being the best-selling album in the U.S. to-date...
This week the Eagles released "Long Road Out of Eden." The double-CD sold 711,000 according to Nielsen SoundScan. Britney Spears' "Blackout" came in second with 290,000. Billboard which previously had a policy that excluded sales through a single vendor, in this case Wal-Mart and the band's website, changed its policy on Monday, and correctly made 'Eden' their number one LP...
Here's the video of the title track: http://youtube.com/watch?v=J5mbZ5_Szrg . Enjoy...
10 Timeline Memories:
- 1895] X-rated discovery: Wilhelm Roentgen while experimenting with electricity discovers the scientific principle involved and takes the first X-ray pictures. When Roentgen's colleagues told him he glowed, he actually did...
- 1933] A good song title for the Village People: The CWA (Civil Works Administration) is designed to create jobs for more than 4 million unemployed people in the U.S., one of them being my father who worked for the Parks Dept. in New York...
- 1960] Election Day results: Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy defeats Richard M. Nixon for the presidency. The age of 'Camelot' dawns. Here's one of the ads run by the JFK team: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Jf3r0_AdlEY ..1966] Edward W. Brooke of Massachusetts becomes the first black to be elected to the U.S. Senate by popular vote. The Bay State's first black Governor was elected one year ago, yesterday...1966] Ronald Reagan is elected Governor of California...1988] VP George H.W. Bush wins the presidential election over Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis...1994] Republicans gain control of the House for the first time in 40 years and win a majority in the Senate...2000] A statewide recount of ballots begins in Florida and after conceding the election, Al Gore retracts his concession to await results of the recount...
- 1965] Premiered on this date: "Days of Our Lives" debuts on NBC-TV...1991] "The Carol Burnett Show", the resurrected version of her original show only runs for one season...
- 1966] MVP...MVP...MVP: The Orioles' Frank Robinson wins the American League MVP and becomes the first player in baseball history to win the award in both leagues. In 1961 he won the award with Cincinnati...
- 1968] "D-I-V-O-R-C-E": Cynthia Powell Lennon is granted a divorce from John Lennon after 6 years of marriage...
- 1970] Dempsey boots his way into the record books: New Orleans place-kicker Tom Dempsey, born without toes on his kicking foot, kicks a record-setting 63-yard field goal. In 1998, Jason Elam of the Denver Broncos tied Dempsey with his 63-yard boot, no doubt aided by Denver's mile-high altitude...
- 1979] 'Iran Crisis: America Held Hostage': premieres on ABC-TV. While the show was meant to be temporary, it evolves into "Nightline" in March, 1980...
- 1995] Wedding Bells: Michael Jackson and Sony Corp. of America combine forces to create the world's third-largest music publishing company with more than 100,000 titles...
- 2000] Closing the door: Waco special counsel John C. Danforth releases his final report absolving the government of wrong-doing in the 1993 siege at the Branch Davidian compound. Case closed...
Music Memories:
- 1964] Like two peas in a pod: Judy Garland and 18-year old daughter Liza Minnelli perform together at the London Palladium...
- 1968] Newest member of The Supremes: Jean Terrell (sister of boxer Ernie Terrell) replaces Diana Ross as lead singer. Jean sang the lead on "Up The Ladder To The Roof" (http://youtube.com/watch?v=E3ZOcJ1Qzjc), "Stoned Love" and "Floy Joy"...
Commentary:
"Happy Trails" to Don Dumont, former founder of Dumont/Bay State Distributors in Massachusetts who passed away at 79 last Friday (11/2) in Naples (FL). Don also worked for Warner Brothers for many years. Thanks to Ernie Campagna who worked for Don back in the 60s for passing along that sad information...Also passing away was legendary Country Music Hall of Famer Hank Thompson. The 82-year old singer played his last concert October 8th in his native Waco (TX) and had cancelled all of his tour dates after being hospitalized. Hank died late Tuesday night (11/6) from lung cancer...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Jack (son of Ozzie) Osbourne (22), Tara Reid (32), Parker Posey (39), Courtney Thorne-Smith (40), Rickie Lee Jones (53) seen here this past summer doing "Chuck E.'s In Love": http://youtube.com/watch?v=W6FCci0rFYo , Alfre Woodard (54), Mary Hart (57), Bonnie Raitt (58) "I Can't Make You Love Me": http://youtube.com/watch?v=wlrXIvMmG3s , Morley Safer (76), Patti Page (80). Here's a medley of 'The Singing Rage's" hits, including "Old Cape Cod": http://youtube.com/watch?v=NuV_KVMoruI , Norman Lloyd (93) and June Havoc (94)...
Timeline Countdown: 14 days (two weeks from today) until Thanksgiving, 27 days until Hanukah (early this year), 44 days until winter and 47 days until Christmas...
