Even rock’s largest bands have to begin someplace. Nearly each famous person act has a story of disastrous early exhibits as they tried to get their foot on the primary rung of the ladder of fame.
Eagles aren’t any exception. Earlier than the nation rock outfit grew to become one of the profitable bands of the Seventies, they put within the laborious yards on the US stay circuit, often showing on payments that may finest be described as ‘mismatched’.
Eagles had been fashioned in Los Angeles in early 1971 by singer/guitarist Glenn Frey and drummer/vocalist Don Henley after each had been enlisted as members of singer Linda Ronstadt’s backing group.
The band – accomplished by guitarist Bernie Leadon and bassist Randy Meisner – signed to sizzling new label Asylum Data in September 1971, releasing their debut single, Take It Simple, in Might 1972 and their self-titled debut album the next month.
Their rise could have appeared speedy, however there was lots of laborious work. After creating an area buzz enjoying LA’s Troubadour membership, they discovered themselves booked to open for extra established bands each within the metropolis and additional afield.
A few of these team-ups made sense. In April 1972, for instance, Eagles opened for Joe Cocker on the Denver Coliseum.
However others look baffling with the advantage of hindsight. Particularly the trio of British progressive rock bands Sure discovered themselves sharing a stage with in fast succession simply as their very own profession was beginning to take off.
The primary was Jethro Tull. In June 1972, Eagles opened a handful of exhibits for the Ian Anderson-fronted band, who had lately scored a US #1 with their fifth album, Thick As A Brick.
“It was on account of an agent who didn’t actually care whether or not the teams had something in widespread or not,” Don Henley advised Basic Rock. “He stated, ‘You’re gonna open for this group referred to as Jethro Tull, and we went, ‘Uh, OK.’
“We solely had one hit – Take It Simple – so we’d exit and play that and a few different songs. Again then there was no attempting to match kinds of music – they simply put you on the market and also you needed to sink or swim.”
Talking to Prog journal in 2024, Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson appeared again on the frostiness that existed between Eagles and Tull’s viewers.
“Nobody had ever heard of the Eagles on the time,” Anderson stated. “They had been shiny and new, which is why they needed to do it – as a result of it was publicity. However within the meantime, earlier than the tour started, that they had an enormous hit with Take It Simple, which was throughout the radio spectrum.
“By the point the tour started, they had been turning into very well-known,” continued Anderson. “Although to not our audiences, as a result of the concert events had been bought out and new Eagles followers couldn’t get tickets.
“They didn’t benefit from the tour – they appeared quite distant. I bear in mind them being sort of laid again, nation rock music. It wasn’t actually music that was gelling with our audiences, who could possibly be quite spiky.
“We didn’t actually speak to them. I do not assume they preferred us, and we did not actually like them that a lot both.”
Talking to Basic Rock, Don Henley described the dates with Tull as “an absolute mismatch”.
However a month later they discovered themselves opening for not one however two extra British prog bands – first Sure after which Procol Harum.
No less than this time, the expertise was extra nice for the People.
“The fellows in Sure had been good to us,” recalled Henley. “And Procol Harum had been very variety to us. I bear in mind their wives translating a few of the evaluations in German for us.”