Post by erik on Nov 27, 2021 18:23:28 GMT -5
The Eagles are in this week's Classical Works Spotlight with their third Top 40 hit (from their self-titled debut album), a perfect slice of California C&W/rock.
PEACEFUL EASY FEELING (The Eagles; Asylum; 1972)—As despised by (mainly East Coast) music critics as they were loved by their fans and their peers, the Eagles, with a sound ingrained in the C&W-influenced L.A. rock sound of the late 1960’s, became one of the biggest-selling groups of all time after the demise of the Beatles. The original quartet of Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Randy Meisner, and Bernie Leadon came together in 1971 intended as the backing band for Linda Ronstadt, although that line-up actually backed Linda up only once, at a graduation night at Disneyland in Anaheim in June of that year. In separate configurations, they were featured on Linda’s self-titled album, which was released in January 1972. With Linda’s blessing, the four of them became the Eagles. But the road to success began for them when Asylum Records chief David Geffen teamed them up with British rock producing legend Glyn Johns, who had worked with the Beatles, the Stones, and Led Zeppelin, and they had to go all the way to England to record what would be their self-titled album. The four of them felt ill at ease in England with a producer who, despite his record, seemed more like a tyrant than a mentor. Still, they managed to put out a solid album, one that came out in June 1972. Their first two singles became permanent staples on the radio: “Take It Easy” (#12, August 1972); and “Witchy Woman” (#9, October 1972). The third single from the album was a form of the authentic C&W/rock sound of Los Angeles, “Peaceful Easy Feeling”, which San Diego-based songwriter Jack Tempchin, a friend of Frey’s, wrote for them. Besides the band’s four-part harmony, the song was also dominated by the twang of Leadon’s B-Bender Telecaster electric guitar, which he had used while a member of the Dillard and Clark Expedition, the Corvettes (Linda’s early backing band), and the Flying Burrito Brothers. Although it wasn’t quite the big hit of its two predecessors, reaching #22 in February 1973, it too became a standard on AM Top 40 and FM rock radio, much later also finding a place on country radio as well.
PEACEFUL EASY FEELING (The Eagles; Asylum; 1972)—As despised by (mainly East Coast) music critics as they were loved by their fans and their peers, the Eagles, with a sound ingrained in the C&W-influenced L.A. rock sound of the late 1960’s, became one of the biggest-selling groups of all time after the demise of the Beatles. The original quartet of Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Randy Meisner, and Bernie Leadon came together in 1971 intended as the backing band for Linda Ronstadt, although that line-up actually backed Linda up only once, at a graduation night at Disneyland in Anaheim in June of that year. In separate configurations, they were featured on Linda’s self-titled album, which was released in January 1972. With Linda’s blessing, the four of them became the Eagles. But the road to success began for them when Asylum Records chief David Geffen teamed them up with British rock producing legend Glyn Johns, who had worked with the Beatles, the Stones, and Led Zeppelin, and they had to go all the way to England to record what would be their self-titled album. The four of them felt ill at ease in England with a producer who, despite his record, seemed more like a tyrant than a mentor. Still, they managed to put out a solid album, one that came out in June 1972. Their first two singles became permanent staples on the radio: “Take It Easy” (#12, August 1972); and “Witchy Woman” (#9, October 1972). The third single from the album was a form of the authentic C&W/rock sound of Los Angeles, “Peaceful Easy Feeling”, which San Diego-based songwriter Jack Tempchin, a friend of Frey’s, wrote for them. Besides the band’s four-part harmony, the song was also dominated by the twang of Leadon’s B-Bender Telecaster electric guitar, which he had used while a member of the Dillard and Clark Expedition, the Corvettes (Linda’s early backing band), and the Flying Burrito Brothers. Although it wasn’t quite the big hit of its two predecessors, reaching #22 in February 1973, it too became a standard on AM Top 40 and FM rock radio, much later also finding a place on country radio as well.