Pre-Eagles History

[FWIW]

Until recently, I always assumed that the 4 original members of the Eagles played together at Disneyland. When I saw the April 2013 interview of the Eagles at The Connaught Hotel in London, it sounds like a different bass player was with Glenn, Don and Bernie at Disneyland. Glenn talked about adding Bernie for the Grad Nite dates at Disneyland and then replacing the bass player with Randy Meisner for a show in Los Altos.

The location of that early Los Altos gig is very close to my home. I just moved here about 20 years too late! I turned up an article from the local paper that gives a brief mention of the musical history of Chuck's Cellar, where it says the band that would go on to become the Eagles played together for the first time. Interestingly, there is no mention of Bernie in the article so I'm not sure if he played with them there.

Does anyone know the name of the original bass player?

[UndertheWire]

Does anyone know the name of the original bass player?

Mike Bowden. If you think the name sounds familiar, it's because he was in Shiloh and is related (cousin?) to Don's friend Richard Bowden.

According to John Einarson (Desperados), John Boylan invited Randy to fill in for Mike Bowden for two nights at Chuck's Cellar to see how he got along with Glenn and Don. Which he did. Then Bernie heard John Boylan was putting together the group, got in touch and auditioned with the other three. He says this was before the Disney gig but around the same time.

[FWIW]

Thanks UtW! The music business is such a small world.

Other than auditions, do you know if the 4 original members played together before Aspen? Seems like Geffen would have wanted to see them perform before signing them, but that's just speculation on my part.

[UndertheWire]

The stories vary from one person to the other which is not surprising as it's hard to get everything in the right order 30-45 years later. Here's an account from a manager at Geffen-Roberts:

David was focused on discovring new artists for the label, and every day paced his office, rolling a loop of scotch tape between his fingers, obsessing that we had to find "the next big thing." Boylan
hired Frey, bassist Randy Meisner and drummer Don Henley to perform in Linda's back up band. One Monday night we all converged on The Troubadour in West Hollywood to catch Rondstadt's performance. In the middle of her set, Linda graciously introduced Frey, Randy, Don and lead guitarist Bernie Leadon, and allowed them to perform a four song set in the middle of her show.

David always said that, when it comes to music, its easy to tell what's great; and its difficult to tell what's not great. What we saw that night was extraordinary. The musical virtuosity and tight harmonies inspired an enthusiastic reaction from Linda's fans; and I personally got goose bumps over my entire body. The next day David, Elliot and I met the quartet in a rehearsal hall in The Valley for what was to be the first rehearsal of the band that would cone to call itself Eagles.

Needless to say, the half dozen songs they had worked up were pretty raw; and there wasn't much attempt at performance. However, their potential greatness shone through and we immediately committed to manage the act and sign them to Asylum Records. As the new manager of an untested band, the first thing I wanted to do was get them out of town for some practical experience. I booked them in a bar called Tulagi's and sent them off to Aspen, Colorado.

There's more at this link:
http://theholodigm.blogspot.co.uk/20...live-dump.html

[NightMistBlue]

Very interesting stuff - thank you, FWIW and UtW. What time frame are we talking about for the Linda show at the Troubadour that featured a four-song set by the proto-Eagles? I'm thinking July 1971 maybe?

[NightMistBlue]

P.S. Apparently, Chuck's Cellar is an Indian restaurant now. This young journalist doesn't seem to be aware of the venue's history and doesn't question why the restaurant has cocktails named Hotel California and Desperado.
http://www.paloaltoonline.com/blogs/...ber-club-opens

From an SF Gate article on rock 'n roll landmarks in the Bay area:

Chuck's Cellar
This long defunct steak and lobster joint was where Glenn Frey, Don Henley and Randy Meisner first met and played together, backing Linda Ronstadt one weekend in 1971, making the club the birthplace of the Eagles.
4926 El Camino Real, Los Altos

[FWIW]

Thanks for the link to John Hartmann's blog, UtW. Great stuff! First hand reports are always best. Geffen's comment "when it comes to music, it's easy to tell what's great" is so true. Clearly the soon-to-be Eagles had "it" right from the get go.

I love the matter of fact references to the names of the cocktails in the restaurant review. At least someone tied the restaurant's location to the Eagles in the comment section.

This article from the Daily Camera puts the Eagles in Aspen in Oct-Nov, 1971 so I'd guess the show at the Troubadour was in the Aug-Sept timeframe. Would be great to see clips from those early shows in Aspen or Boulder!

[NightMistBlue]

Geffen didn't know music though he must have had some other "sense" of greatness. Or maybe he just listened to Jackson Browne's recommendations of whom to sign.

[shunlvswx]

Thanks for the link to John Hartmann's blog, UtW. Great stuff! First hand reports are always best. Geffen's comment "when it comes to music, it's easy to tell what's great" is so true. Clearly the soon-to-be Eagles had "it" right from the get go.

I love the matter of fact references to the names of the cocktails in the restaurant review. At least someone tied the restaurant's location to the Eagles in the comment section.

This article from the Daily Camera puts the Eagles in Aspen in Oct-Nov, 1971 so I'd guess the show at the Troubadour was in the Aug-Sept timeframe. Would be great to see clips from those early shows in Aspen or Boulder!

I think they should a clip of the guys playing at that club in Aspen in HOTE. The one where they are singing Tryin' and Get You the Mood.

[NightMistBlue]

This article from the Daily Camera puts the Eagles in Aspen in Oct-Nov, 1971 so I'd guess the show at the Troubadour was in the Aug-Sept timeframe. Would be great to see clips from those early shows in Aspen or Boulder!

Hey, thank you for that great article. How cool is it that the college student who booked the Eagles in Boulder is now "CEO of Denver-based AEG Live Rocky Mountains, Morris is one of the biggest concert promoters in the western U.S."