Entrepreneur Music | Heaven and Hell with the Eagles

by Damir Perge, founder of entrepreneurdex.com
The Eagles was one of the biggest rock bands of the 70s. But I have to admit, they were never my favorite. However, I’ve become a fan of Don Felder. He was fired from the Eagles.

Don’s version of the story of why he got fired by the Eagles, despite being an equity partner, sounds like a startup gone bad. Of course, being an entrepreneur and investor, I’ve seen this once or twice.

Let me not lie to you. I’ve seen it more than hundred times.

I must be one of the few in America who does not like the Eagle’s music. The Eagles was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1971 by Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bearnie Leadon and Randy Meisner. The band is one of the most successful U.S. bands in 1970s but they ain’t no Aerosmith from my perspective.

At the end of the 20th century, two of their albums, Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) and Hotel California, ranked among the 20 best-selling albums in the U.S. according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

Sure, I like some of the songs that Don Henley and Joe Walsh did after the Eagles’ breakup but I must admit that I’ve become a fan of Don Felder after hearing his story. Don was not an original member of the band. He joined in 1974 and became an equity partner in the Eagles’ venture.

Again, let me not lie to you, despite not being a fan of the Eagles, I do like “Hotel California” and “Desperado.”

These two songs are absolutely magnificent. “Hotel California,” the greatest Eagles’ song was ironically conceived by Don Felder. It began as a demo tape, an instrumental by Don, because he didn’t sing. Glenn Frey and Don Henley immediately loved the song and their first working title was “Mexican Reggae.”

Hotel California is ranked 37th in “Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time,” and the band was ranked #75 on the magazine's 2004 “100 Greatest Artists of All Time.” They also have the best selling album in the U.S. with Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975), which sold more than 29 million copies.

According to Wikipedia:

The song's lyrics describe the title establishment as a luxury resort where "you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave." On the surface, the song tells the tale of a weary traveler who becomes trapped in a nightmarish luxury hotel that at first appeared inviting and tempting. The song is an allegory about hedonism and self-destruction in the Southern California music industry of the late 1970s; Don Henley called it "our interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles" and later reiterated "it's basically a song about the dark underbelly of the American dream and about excess in America, which is something we knew a lot about."

In 2008, Don Felder described the origins of the lyrics:

"Don Henley and Glenn wrote most of the words. All of us kind of drove into LA at night. Nobody was from California, and if you drive into LA at night... you can just see this glow on the horizon of lights, and the images that start running through your head of Hollywood and all the dreams that you have, and so it was kind of about that... what we started writing the song about. Coming into LA. MORE