The album yielded two number-one singles in the US and Canada, "New Kid in Town" and "Hotel California", the latter of which became their only top-10 hit in the United Kingdom, while also reaching the top ten in New Zealand and many European countries, including number two in France.

The Eagles had their origin in early 1971, when Linda Ronstadt and her manager John Boylan recruited musicians Glenn Frey and Don Henley for her band.

[20] Geffen and partner Elliot Roberts initially managed the band; they were later replaced by Irving Azoff while the Eagles were recording their third album.

The first single and lead track, "Take It Easy", was a song written by Frey with his neighbor and fellow country-folk rocker Jackson Browne.

The pair also began to dominate in terms of leadership; the early assumption had been that Leadon and Meisner as veteran musicians would have a greater influence on the band.

The Eagles initially started with Glyn Johns as the producer for this album, but he tended to emphasize the lush side of their double-edged music.

[34] The album included a cover version of the Tom Waits song "Ol' '55" and the single "James Dean", which reached number 77 on the charts.

Felder missed the show when he was called away to attend the birth of his son; Jackson Browne filled in for him on piano and acoustic guitar.

[37] The second single was "Lyin' Eyes", which reached number 2 on the charts and won the band their first Grammy for "Best Pop Performance by a duo or group with vocal".

Leadon was disillusioned with the direction the band's music was taking and his loss of creative control as their sound was moving from his preferred country to rock and roll.

Hotel California topped the charts and was nominated for Album of the Year at the 1978 Grammy Awards, but lost to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours.

Considered a disappointment by some critics for failing to live up to Hotel California, it proved a huge commercial hit nonetheless; the album topped the charts and sold seven million copies.

Elektra, the band's long-time record label, initially owned the rights to solo albums created by members of the Eagles.

During this period, Walsh performed as a session musician for Dan Fogelberg, Steve Winwood, John Entwistle, Richard Marx and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, among others, and produced and co-wrote Ringo Starr's Old Wave album.

His solo career was cut short due to a contract dispute with his record company, which was finally resolved when the Eagles reunited in 1994.

In 1992, Schmit and Walsh toured as members of Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band and appeared on the live video from the Montreux Jazz Festival.

For the induction ceremony, all seven Eagles members (Frey, Henley, Felder, Walsh, Schmit, Leadon, and Meisner) played together for two songs, "Take It Easy" and "Hotel California".

[68][69] Felder alleged that from the 1994 Hell Freezes Over tour onward, Henley and Frey had "... insisted that they each receive a higher percentage of the band's profits ...," whereas the money had previously been split in five equal portions.

Also in 2003, Warren Zevon, a longtime Eagles friend, began work on his final album, The Wind, with the assistance of Henley, Walsh, and Schmit.

A special edition 2006 release, exclusive to Walmart and affiliated stores, includes a bonus audio CD with three new songs that were to appear on their upcoming studio album: "No More Cloudy Days", "Fast Company", and "Do Something".

[73] The American edition was published by John Wiley & Sons on April 28, 2008, with Felder embarking on a full publicity campaign surrounding its release.

The band had performed the song as part of their live sets in the early to mid-1970s, but did not record it at the time because Souther wanted to reserve it for use on his first solo album.

[86] On January 18, 2016, founding member Glenn Frey died at the Columbia University Medical Center in New York City at the age of 67.

[87][88][89] At the 58th Annual Grammy Awards in February, the Eagles, joined by Leadon, touring guitarist Steuart Smith, and co-writer Jackson Browne, performed "Take It Easy" in honor of Frey.

[101] The band performed their 1976 album Hotel California in its entirety during three concerts at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada in September and October 2019.

Following the Las Vegas shows, the band announced the Hotel California 2020 Tour to take place in six cities between February 7 and April 18, 2020.

[1] On April 6, 2022, the band announced on their Facebook page that Deacon Frey was leaving the group in order to pursue a solo career.

[106] Later that month, on July 26, founding bassist Randy Meisner died at the age of 77 from complications related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, leaving Henley and Leadon as the two remaining original members.

[114] In the words of Sal Manna, author of the CD liner notes of the band's 1994 album Hell Freezes Over, "no one knew quite what 'California rock' meant – except perhaps that, because in California anything was possible, music that came from that promising land was more free-spirited and free-ranging.

The 1975 follow-up album One of These Nights saw the group explore a softer sound, notably exemplified on the hit singles "Take It to the Limit", and "Lyin' Eyes".