Although the Eagles were already in the process of breaking up,[3][4] the band owed Elektra/Asylum Records one more album and fulfilled that contractual obligation with a release of performances from the Hotel California and The Long Run tours.

Eagles Live was mixed by Glenn Frey and Don Henley on opposite coasts in Los Angeles and Miami, respectively, and as producer Bill Szymczyk put it, the record's harmony and instrument fixes were made "courtesy of Federal Express."

The other ten tracks were recorded in July 1980, from three shows at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium and one at the Long Beach Arena in California.

[4] Five lead singers are featured in the 14 vocal songs on the album [excluding the brief musical interlude of "Doolin Dalton (Reprise II)"]: Henley, Frey, Joe Walsh, Meisner and Schmit.

The version of "All Night Long" for Eagles Live was recorded at this show, which was most notable for a dispute between bandmates Frey and Don Felder that culminated backstage, when they nearly came to blows.

[citation needed] Original pressings of the vinyl double-album had text engraved in the run-out grooves on each side, as had been the band's tradition since their 1975 album One of These Nights.