126 Fun Facts About The Eagles Trivia (Band)

As of 2025, which album ranks second to the Eagles' Their Greatest Hits among America's best-selling albums?

Thriller moved ahead after Michael Jackson's death in 2009 sent his sales soaring, but a 2018 recount by the RIAA put the Eagles' collection back in front.

Which singer's backing band brought the four founding Eagles together?

Linda Ronstadt hired Frey and Henley for her 1971 tour, then helped them leave: Frey credited her with suggesting Leadon, and all four future Eagles played on her 1972 album.

Which label, newly started by David Geffen, signed the Eagles in 1971?

Asylum Records was David Geffen's new label, and Frey reached it through songwriter friends already signed there, who told Geffen the young singer would make him more money than they ever would.

Under what name did the not-yet-named Eagles play their first show, in Aspen in 1971?

Teen King and the Emergencies was the billing at The Gallery, an Aspen club, where the band played four sets a night; Frey recalled 40 people at the first set and a packed room by the fourth.

Which comedian recalls in his memoir urging Glenn Frey to call the band "the Eagles", not just "Eagles"?

Steve Martin tells the story in his memoir Born Standing Up: he suggested 'the Eagles', but Frey insisted the name was simply 'Eagles', with no 'the'.

Which Coen brothers comedy has a hero who hates the Eagles, yet features a flamenco cover of "Hotel California"?

The Big Lebowski's Dude can't stand the band, yet the film hands the Gipsy Kings' Spanish-language 'Hotel California' its showpiece: a slow-motion bowling scene for John Turturro's character.

Which instrument did Henley play on stage while singing lead for the Eagles?

Drums: Henley sang lead from behind the kit, and when the Eagles reunited in 1994 they hired a second drummer, Scott Crago, who has toured with them ever since.

Which English producer made the Eagles' first two albums in London?

Glyn Johns banned drink and drugs in the studio and pushed the band's country harmonies; Frey and Henley wanted to rock harder and changed producers partway through the third album.

In which California desert park were the Eagles photographed for the artwork of their 1972 debut album?

Joshua Tree: the band set out for the desert with blankets, tequila and a bag of peyote buttons, and Frey later admitted they were all high when the pictures were taken.

Who co-wrote "Take It Easy" with Frey?

Jackson Browne was stuck on the second verse when Frey, who lived in the same Echo Park apartment building and had heard him working on the song, supplied the lines that got it moving again.

Which Arizona town, name-checked in "Take It Easy", built a statue and park in the song's honour?

Winslow opened Standin' on the Corner Park in 1999 with a bronze statue and a mural, and one line of a song turned a small desert town into a regular stop for road-trippers.

In the Eagles' "Take It Easy", what make of flatbed truck is the girl driving when she slows down?

Ford gave Frey his rhyme: shown a song stuck at its second verse, he added the girl, 'my Lord', in a flatbed Ford, and its delighted writer shared the credit with him.

Who wrote "Peaceful Easy Feeling"?

Jack Tempchin, a San Diego folk singer, began the song on the back of one of his own gig posters while stuck overnight on the floor of a club in El Centro, California.

Which early Eagles hit did Henley write while feverish with flu and reading a biography of Zelda Fitzgerald?

Witchy Woman began as a strange minor-key riff of Bernie Leadon's; Henley wrote the words between bouts of fever, blending Zelda with girls he had met in the Hollywood clubs.

Which British prog band took the country-rocking Eagles out as a support act on a 1972 tour?

Yes had the Eagles open shows on the Close to the Edge tour, and by Don Felder's account he first jammed with the band backstage at the Boston date, two years before they hired him.

On Desperado, the Eagles used Old West outlaws as a metaphor for which modern figures?

Rock stars: Henley called the album a commentary on the evils of fame and success with a cowboy metaphor, seeing a touring band and a gang as living outside the same everyday rules.

Which outlaw gang, famous for the 1892 Coffeyville bank raid, inspired the Eagles' Desperado album?

The Dalton Gang hit two banks at once in their old hometown, where armed townspeople were waiting; Leadon's song 'Twenty-One' takes its title from Emmett Dalton's age that day.

How do the Eagles appear on the back cover of their album Desperado?

Lying dead in the street: after a mock gun battle with blank rounds on an old Western film lot, the band played corpses while their manager, producer and roadies stood over them as the posse.

In which sitcom does the heroine's boyfriend fall into a trance whenever the Eagles' "Desperado" plays?

Seinfeld's 1996 episode 'The Checks' has Elaine dating a man who won't let her speak while 'Desperado' plays; when she asks to share it as their song, he tells her it's his alone.

The Eagles' 1974 song "On the Border" fades out with a whispered "Say goodnight, Dick" aimed at whom?

Richard Nixon was the target: the song was written as Watergate came to a head, and Henley called the whisper the band's little kiss-off to a president who was plainly on his way out.

Which producer took over the Eagles' On the Border partway through to give the band a harder rock sound?

Bill Szymczyk let the band stretch out and rock harder, and his call for a tougher slide guitar on one track brought Don Felder into the studio and then into the line-up.

What nickname did Don Felder earn among the Eagles for his guitar playing?

Fingers was Frey's name for him, by Felder's account, after a backstage jam in 1972; two years later the band called him in to add slide guitar to one song and asked him to join the next day.

Which song became the Eagles' first US number-one single in March 1975?

'Best of My Love' reached number one in March 1975; by Frey's account he stumbled on its guitar part after getting lost in a tuning Joni Mitchell had shown him a few days earlier.

Which Tom Waits song did the Eagles cover on On the Border?

Ol' '55 was the first song on a Tom Waits demo that David Geffen played for Frey; Waits was less taken with the result and called the Eagles' version a little antiseptic.

Which 1974 festival at Ontario Motor Speedway did the Eagles play alongside Deep Purple and ELP?

California Jam drew a crowd in the hundreds of thousands to a speedway east of Los Angeles; the Eagles played it with a guest guitarist because Don Felder's wife was giving birth to their first child.

Which album became the Eagles' first US number-one album in 1975?

One of These Nights topped the chart in July 1975 after the band leaned away from country toward rhythm and blues; Frey called it the most fluid and painless album they ever made.

Which song won the Eagles their first Grammy?

'Lyin' Eyes' won Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus at the 1976 Grammys, and its country storytelling carried a rock band to number 8 on the country chart, their only Top 10 there.

At which LA bar did Frey and Henley get the idea for their song about a cheating wife?

At Dan Tana's, their favourite haunt, Frey watched a beautiful young woman with a much older, wealthy man and remarked that she couldn't even hide her lying eyes; the song grew from that line.

Which Eagles hit single has bassist Randy Meisner, not Frey or Henley, singing lead?

Take It to the Limit became, by Frey's account, the band's first single to sell a million; he recalled being very happy for Randy, for whom they had long tried and failed to find a hit.

Which Leadon instrumental became the theme for the BBC's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?

Journey of the Sorcerer was Douglas Adams's own pick: he wanted a theme that sounded spacey but not too serious, something with a banjo, and found it among his own LPs.

What did Bernie Leadon famously do to Frey shortly before quitting the Eagles?

Poured a beer over his head and told him to chill out: Leadon was unhappy with the band's move from country toward rock and worn down by the touring, and his exit was confirmed in December 1975.

Which film star does a 1974 Eagles single call too fast to live and too young to die?

James Dean was written for a planned album about antiheroes; when that idea turned into the Old West story of Desperado the song was shelved, then finished a year later for On the Border.

The Eagles' Their Greatest Hits was the first album to receive which new RIAA award in 1976?

Platinum certification was created in 1976 for albums shipping a million copies, twice the gold mark, and the hits collection sold fast enough to claim the first one within a week of its release.

Which landmark was photographed at sunset for the cover of the Eagles' album Hotel California?

The Beverly Hills Hotel was shot from a 60-foot cherry picker over Sunset Boulevard in fading light, and few recognised it; once they did, the hotel objected and warned of legal action over the picture.

In the opening verse of "Hotel California", the warm smell of what rises up through the air?

Colitas was Henley's word, Spanish for 'little tails'; Frey explained it as the very top of a cannabis plant, while Don Felder took it for a desert flower that blooms at night.

What was the working title of "Hotel California"?

Mexican Reggae is how the band heard Don Felder's demo, a 12-string figure over a drum machine with a loose reggae lilt, and the nickname stuck until the lyrics were written.

After re-recording "Hotel California" in a lower key for Henley, why did the Eagles scrap that version too?

Too fast: the first take was pitched too high for Henley's voice and the second, in the new key, raced, so the band started again in Miami and kept the third version.

Which heavy metal band, recording next door in Miami, kept drowning out the Eagles' Hotel California sessions?

Black Sabbath were making Technical Ecstasy in the adjacent studio, and Tony Iommi admitted they were too loud: the noise came through the wall and forced retakes of the album's quiet closing ballad.

Told to copy his year-old demo for the "Hotel California" solo, how did Don Felder hear it again in Miami?

Played down the phone: the cassette was at home in California, so someone there held the receiver to a tape player while Felder and Walsh relearned the lines Henley wanted note for note.

Why did the label resist releasing "Hotel California" as a single?

It ran over six minutes, too long for radio, and the label asked for a shorter edit; the band refused to cut a second, and the full-length single went to number one anyway.

What unusual instrument does Don Felder play on stage for "Hotel California"?

A double-neck guitar solved a rehearsal problem: Felder couldn't play the 12-string intro and the solo without swapping instruments mid-song, so he strapped on a Gibson with a neck for each.

Which Grammy did "Hotel California" win in 1978?

Record of the Year went to 'Hotel California' in February 1978 with nobody there to collect it: the band skipped the ceremony and watched the win on television from a rehearsal.

Which album beat the Eagles' Hotel California to the Album of the Year Grammy?

Rumours by Fleetwood Mac took the prize in February 1978; the two bands were friendly rivals in the same town, and the Eagles' producer recalled the pressure that put on them to keep producing hits.

Which song was the first single released from the Eagles' album Hotel California?

New Kid in Town went to number one; its writers said they were really singing about their own replacements, the faster newcomer who would one day ride in and take the band's place.

Randy Meisner's guitarrón on a 1976 Eagles single is the bass of which kind of band?

Mariachi bands use the big-bodied acoustic guitarrón as their bass; Meisner played one in place of his usual electric, and it adds to the single's south-of-the-border feel.

Where did Glenn Frey get the title "Life in the Fast Lane"?

From a drug dealer during a high-speed drive: on the way to a poker game Frey asked the man they called the Count to slow down, and got the song title as his answer.

Which band, who had told listeners to turn up the Eagles, got a playful nod in the Hotel California lyric?

Steely Dan's 'Everything You Did' (1976) had the line 'Turn up the Eagles, the neighbors are listening'; 'Hotel California' answered with 'They stab it with their steely knives'.

What is etched into the run-out groove of side two of Hotel California?

'V.O.L. Is Five-Piece Live' records that the instruments on 'Victim of Love' were cut live in the studio by all five Eagles at once, with only the vocals added afterwards.

How did the Eagles' manager distract Don Felder while Henley recorded the "Victim of Love" vocal?

Took him out for a meal: the manager broke the news over dinner that Felder's own takes had fallen short, while Henley sang the lead back at the studio on a song Felder had expected to be his.

Which Hotel California song did Frey call "Henley's opus"?

'The Last Resort', the seven-minute closer about the spoiling of the American West, was 'Henley's opus' to Frey; Henley himself felt it was never fully realised musically.

Which Hotel California track was written entirely by Meisner?

Try and Love Again was Meisner's last song and last lead vocal as an Eagle; Frey said it would probably have been the album's fourth single had its singer not left the band first.

Which Hotel California song did Walsh write with his old bandmate Joe Vitale and sing himself?

Pretty Maids All in a Row has the band's new guitar hero at the piano instead; Walsh wrote it with Joe Vitale, his drummer in Barnstorm, who later joined the Eagles' touring band.

Joe Walsh first recorded "In the City", later an Eagles track on The Long Run, for which 1979 gang film?

The Warriors carried Walsh's solo version, which was not widely known; Frey always loved the song and thought it could have been an Eagles record, so the band cut it again months later.

On which Randy Newman hit did the Eagles' Frey and Schmit sing backup in 1977?

Short People reached number 2 with Frey and Schmit in the backing chorus; Newman said he was playing a crank nobody could take seriously, mocking prejudice itself and not anyone's height.

What was the Eagles' album The Long Run originally intended to be?

A double album was reportedly the plan, but after Hotel California the band struggled to write songs they could stand behind, and The Long Run came out as a single disc of ten tracks.

Which Eagles song was their last to top the Hot 100, in November 1979?

Heartache Tonight began with Frey and a friend clapping and singing along to Sam Cooke records; Frey called it a romp with no heavy lyrics, and it won the band a Grammy as well.

Which Michigan rocker blurted out the chorus of the Eagles' last number-one single and earned a co-writing credit?

Bob Seger had taken the teenage Frey under his wing back home; shown the unfinished verse years later, he sang a chorus on the spot, and Frey asked a co-writer if four names on the credits was all right.

Which was the first Eagles song to feature Schmit on lead vocals?

I Can't Tell You Why grew from a title and fragments Schmit brought in; Frey and Henley wanted the new man's first lead vocal to be soul, not country, and steered it toward Al Green territory.

Which holiday standard did the Eagles release as a single in 1978, reaching number 18?

Please Come Home for Christmas was cut on a sweltering autumn day in Miami because The Long Run was nowhere near finished; Henley had loved Charles Brown's original since hearing it on the radio as a boy.

At the Eagles' last concert of 1980, what did Frey and Felder keep doing between songs?

Trading threats: after a backstage row at a benefit for Senator Alan Cranston in Long Beach, the two spent the set promising to settle it afterwards, and the band fell apart within months.

How were the harmonies on Eagles Live fixed with the band split between coasts?

Tapes sent by Federal Express crossed the country because Frey would no longer work in the same room as the others; the producer joked that the three-part harmonies came courtesy of the courier.

Which song by country singer Steve Young gave the Eagles a harmony-drenched live hit single in 1980?

Seven Bridges Road is an ode to a country lane outside Montgomery, Alabama; the Eagles adapted the harmony arrangement from Iain Matthews's 1973 recording and sometimes opened their shows with it.

The liner notes of the Eagles' 1980 album Eagles Live thanked five of which professionals?

Lawyers: five were thanked on a live album pieced together after Frey stopped speaking to his bandmates, and the band turned down $2 million to add two new songs to it.

Which Henley solo hit, released in 1984, had a black-and-white video by Jean-Baptiste Mondino?

The Boys of Summer began as a Mike Campbell demo that Tom Petty turned down; Henley wrote the words, and the stark video swept the 1985 Video Music Awards.

With whom did Henley duet on "Leather and Lace" in 1981?

Stevie Nicks wrote 'Leather and Lace' for Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter to sing together; when Jennings wanted it as a solo, she kept it and cut the duet with Henley for her 1981 debut, Bella Donna.

Which film soundtrack gave Frey the number-2 hit "The Heat Is On"?

Beverly Hills Cop's makers sent Frey a finished demo by Harold Faltermeyer and Keith Forsey; he sang 'The Heat Is On' in a day for about $15,000 and it reached number 2.

Which 1980s TV series cast Frey as a pilot in an episode named after his song "Smuggler's Blues"?

Miami Vice turned the song's story into a 1985 episode with Frey as a smuggler's pilot, then handed him a number-2 hit when he recorded 'You Belong to the City' for its soundtrack.

Which 1982 film, produced by the band's manager, featured solo songs from four Eagles on its soundtrack?

Fast Times at Ridgemont High put solo tracks by Henley, Walsh, Schmit and Felder on its soundtrack; Cameron Crowe wrote the story after spending a year undercover at a San Diego high school.

What did Walsh promise to make the national anthem if his mock 1980 presidential run succeeded?

Life's Been Good was to be the new national anthem and 'Free gas for everyone' his platform; born in 1947, he was too young to be eligible for the office anyway.

Which Ohio band made Walsh famous with "Funk 49" before the Eagles?

The James Gang were a Cleveland power trio, so Walsh had to sing and cover every guitar part himself; he left at the end of 1971 and headed for Colorado.

Which 1982 Crosby, Stills & Nash hit has Schmit singing harmony in place of the absent David Crosby?

Southern Cross was recorded before Crosby rejoined Stills and Nash for the Daylight Again album, so Schmit sang the missing harmony; Crosby still turns up in the video.

Whose Coral Reefer Band did Schmit join on tour in the mid-1980s?

Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band took Schmit on the road after the Eagles split, and he coined 'Parrotheads' for the singer's devoted fans, a play on the Grateful Dead's Deadheads.

Which two Eagles toured with Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band in 1992?

Schmit and Walsh both toured in Ringo's 1992 All-Starr Band; Walsh grew closer still in 2008, when he married the sister of Ringo's wife, Barbara Bach.

What was the title of the 1993 country tribute album to the Eagles?

Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles became a multi-million seller and won the CMA's Album of the Year; its success helped persuade the estranged band to reunite the following year.

In 1971 Walsh turned down an offer to replace Peter Frampton in which British band?

Humble Pie wanted him in England after Frampton quit, but Walsh chose Colorado instead and started a band of his own.

Which country star's 1993 video shoot brought the estranged Eagles together for the first time since their split?

Travis Tritt asked the Long Run-era Eagles to appear in his 'Take It Easy' video; they turned up, found they could still get along and reunited the following year, ending a 14-year break.

Which opening track of the Eagles' 1994 reunion album was the first song Henley and Frey wrote together after reuniting?

Get Over It mocks the talk-show culture of complaint and borrows a bloodthirsty line from Shakespeare; as the first single it put the Eagles back in the Top 40 after 14 years.

Which two songs did all seven Eagles play at their 1998 Hall of Fame induction?

'Take It Easy' and 'Hotel California' brought ex-members Leadon and Meisner back on stage beside the then-current line-up at the January 1998 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony.

How did Felder's lawsuit over his 2001 firing from the Eagles finally end?

Settled out of court, on terms nobody may discuss: Felder says he was fired for asking too many questions about how Henley and Frey were running the band's business.

What was the title of Felder's tell-all memoir?

Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles (1974–2001) gave Felder's side of the story after his firing had landed him and his old bandmates in court.

Which 2003 single, written about the September 11 attacks, appeared on The Very Best Of?

'Hole in the World' began on the day itself: Henley sat down at his piano on September 11, 2001 and started on the chords, later finishing the song with Frey.

Which retail chain had the exclusive US rights to sell Long Road Out of Eden for its first year?

Walmart got the album for a year because the Eagles, by then their own record company, cut the deal directly; the chain priced it at $11.88 to pull shoppers into its stores.

Who wrote "How Long", the 2007 single that won the Eagles a country Grammy?

JD Souther put 'How Long' on his own 1972 debut album, so the Eagles, who played it on stage in the early 1970s, left it alone and didn't record it for another 35 years.

To which British guitarist did Walsh sell a 1959 Gibson Les Paul around 1970?

Jimmy Page nicknamed the sunburst guitar his 'Number One', and it became the Les Paul he is famous for playing in Led Zeppelin.

Leadon wrote the Eagles track "I Wish You Peace" with girlfriend Patti Davis, daughter of which future president?

Ronald Reagan's daughter got her songwriting credit over the band's objections: Henley dismissed the track as smarmy cocktail music, and it stayed on the album only because Leadon insisted.

Which guitarist joined the Eagles in 2001 to take Felder's place on stage?

Steuart Smith, long Rodney Crowell's guitarist, took over Felder's parts in 2001 and co-wrote several Long Road Out of Eden songs, though never as an official member.

In which football film did Frey play the Arizona Cardinals' general manager?

Jerry Maguire cast Frey as Dennis Wilburn, the tight-fisted Cardinals boss whom Tom Cruise's agent must coax into finally showing receiver Rod Tidwell the money.

Which two singers shared the late frontman's vocals when the Eagles returned in 2017?

Deacon Frey and Vince Gill split the late frontman's songs from 2017: Deacon is Glenn's son, while Gill is a country star who had covered an Eagles ballad on the 1993 tribute album.

Which award, planned for 2015, did the Eagles receive a year late because of Frey's health?

The Kennedy Center Honors named the Eagles for 2015 but deferred them at the band's request; Frey died in January 2016, and the surviving members accepted the honour that December.

What did the Eagles perform from start to finish at three Las Vegas shows in 2019?

Hotel California was played in full with an orchestra and choir, followed by a set of hits; the Las Vegas shows went so well that the production went on the road as the Hotel California 2020 tour.

What was the Eagles' 2023 farewell tour called?

The Long Goodbye opened at Madison Square Garden in September 2023; two decades earlier the band had winked at the idea of quitting by calling a tour Farewell 1.

At which Las Vegas venue did the Eagles begin a residency in September 2024?

Sphere, the Las Vegas dome with a wraparound LED screen that opened in 2023, hosted the Eagles from September 2024; the run kept being extended, with dates still being added two years later.

Which lifelong hobby does Walsh pursue under the call sign WB6ACU?

Ham radio caught Walsh as a boy in New York, where he set up his first amateur station at about 12, and he has stayed on the air ever since.

In which state was Henley born and raised?

Texas: Henley grew up in the small town of Linden and studied English at North Texas State before heading west with his band Shiloh.

Which environmental cause is Henley best known for founding?

The Walden Woods Project was Henley's answer to plans for commercial development near Walden Pond: founded in 1990, it bought the threatened sites in the woods around the pond where Thoreau lived and wrote.

On which 1968 Bob Seger single did the 19-year-old Frey play guitar and sing backup?

'Ramblin' Gamblin' Man', Seger's first big hit, had the 19-year-old Frey on acoustic guitar and backing vocals; Frey later called Seger the most important individual in his career for pushing him to write.

Which Michigan city was Frey born in?

Detroit-born Frey played the city's clubs with his first band, the Subterraneans, then left for California at 19, three years before co-founding the Eagles.

Walsh made his name in Ohio, but in which Kansas city was he born in 1947?

Wichita was only a first stop: his father, an Air Force flier, died in a crash when Joe was a baby, and the family moved on to Ohio and then New York.

Leadon wrote the debut album's "Train Leaves Here This Morning" with Gene Clark, a founder of which 1960s band?

The Byrds lost Gene Clark in 1966; two years later he and Leadon wrote the song for their own group, Dillard & Clark, and Leadon brought it with him to the Eagles.

Where was Meisner born?

Scottsbluff, Nebraska: the farmers' son called himself shy and nervous about putting himself on the line, and he walked away from the Eagles in 1977 when the lifestyle became too much.

Which future star did Leadon replace in Felder's teenage Gainesville band, the Continentals?

Stephen Stills had just left the Continentals when Leadon met Felder and stepped in; a decade later Leadon urged the Eagles to hire his old Gainesville bandmate.

Walsh pops up as a dancing prisoner in the jailhouse finale of which 1980 comedy?

The Blues Brothers ends with the band playing 'Jailhouse Rock' behind bars, and Walsh, a friend of John Belushi, is the first inmate to jump up on a table and dance.

Which manager took over the Eagles from Geffen and Elliot Roberts during their third album?

Irving Azoff was working for Geffen and Roberts's own management company when he began handling the Eagles, and he has stayed with them for more than forty years.

Szymczyk, a Navy sonar operator turned producer, made his name in 1969 working with which blues guitarist?

B.B. King was his idol: Szymczyk, who never played an instrument, talked his label into the pairing and then phoned King at four in the morning to suggest adding strings to what became King's biggest hit.

Which band's "Can't Fight This Feeling" kept Frey's "The Heat Is On" at number 2 in 1985?

REO Speedwagon's power ballad held him off in March 1985, and that November he was stuck at number 2 again with 'You Belong to the City'.

"Love Will Keep Us Alive" was never a US single, yet it reached number one on which Billboard chart?

Adult Contemporary: Schmit sang the ballad, which Paul Carrack, Jim Capaldi and Peter Vale wrote when Carrack and Capaldi were planning a new band with Schmit and Felder.

After how many episodes did CBS cancel Frey's 1993 detective series South of Sunset?

Just 1 episode aired: the premiere flopped in October 1993 and CBS pulled Frey's private-eye series at once, leaving the rest of the filmed episodes on the shelf.

Which Hotel California track was the album's third single, peaking at number 11?

'Life in the Fast Lane' grew out of a riff Walsh was playing to warm up before a rehearsal; the band made him repeat it and built the song on top, and it peaked at number 11.

Which 1980 film soundtrack paired an Eagles hit with a Boz Scaggs single three Eagles sang backup on?

Urban Cowboy's soundtrack set an Eagles oldie beside Boz Scaggs's 'Look What You've Done to Me', a single with the Eagles on backing vocals, though the mix used in the film swaps their voices for a female chorus.

Which 1975 album track closes Greatest Hits Volume 2, its title summing up the band's state?

'After the Thrill Is Gone' was Henley and Frey taking stock of their own band: as Henley put it, some of the lustre of being an Eagle was beginning to wear off by 1975.

Who sang lead vocals on the Eagles' 1975 single "One of These Nights"?

Don Henley sang lead on a song written to escape what he called the ballad syndrome: with Don Felder now in the band, he said, the Eagles could really rock.

At which two studios was the Hotel California album made between March and October 1976?

Criteria and Record Plant: the band wanted to stay in California, but their producer, rattled by an earthquake there, pushed for Miami, so the sessions were split between the two coasts.

A shadowy figure on a balcony in Hotel California's inner sleeve was rumoured to be which occult leader?

Anton LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan, was the rumour's favourite, part of a wider myth that the song was about devil worship; Henley says it is about the excesses of American culture.

The cover of Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) shows a painted plastic cast of what?

An eagle skull, cast in plastic and painted by artist Boyd Elder, sits on a bumpy Mylar background that spawned a myth the cover had been dusted with cocaine.

Which Henley single from his 1982 solo debut reached number 3 in early 1983?

'Dirty Laundry' was Henley hitting back at anything-for-a-story news reporting, a grudge sharpened by coverage of his own arrest in 1980.

Long Road Out of Eden's 2007 number-one debut blocked whose album Blackout from the top?

Britney Spears's Blackout looked set to debut on top until Billboard reversed its own rule that same day and let albums sold by a single retailer chart, ending her run of number-one debuts.

The Hell Freezes Over live tracks were recorded in April 1994 for a special on which network?

MTV taped the reunion at a Burbank studio in April 1994; the title quoted Henley, who after the 1980 split had said the band would play again when hell freezes over.

Which 1973 Walsh hit, cut with his band Barnstorm, is famous for its talk-box guitar solo?

'Rocky Mountain Way' came to Walsh while he was mowing his Colorado lawn: looking up at the snow-capped Rockies, he decided on the spot that his move west had been the right call.

Henley's 1989 title track 'The End of the Innocence' was a collaboration with which pianist?

Bruce Hornsby co-wrote the song and played its rolling piano part; Henley's lyric mourns lost innocence and takes a swipe at the politics of the 1980s.

Which future country superstar took Henley's pre-Eagles band Shiloh under his wing and produced its only album?

Kenny Rogers took a shine to the band, urged them out to California and produced the one album they made there.

Which Frey single from his 1982 solo debut No Fun Aloud reached number 15?

'The One You Love' is sung to a woman torn between the man who loves her and the ex who has just phoned her; the saxophone-led ballad peaked at number 15.

In which style did Leadon's 1990s novelty band Run C&W replay classic soul hits?

Bluegrass was the joke: Leadon and three fellow musicians posed as the quadruplet Burns Brothers, took pun names and reworked classic soul songs across two albums.

Before the Eagles, Meisner played bass in the Stone Canyon Band, formed to back which singer?

Ricky Nelson's Stone Canyon Band had Meisner from 1969, after he walked out of Poco; he talked Nelson into hiring two of his old bandmates as well.

Which Henley ballad from The End of the Innocence builds to a chorus about forgiveness?

The Heart of the Matter grew from a home demo by Mike Campbell; Henley told him its lyric was one he had been trying to write for a long time and had finally got right.

Frey and Henley first met in 1970 at which California club?

The Troubadour's bar was where Frey and Henley, both signed to the same small label, fell in together in 1970; the band later wrote 'The Sad Café' about the club and its fading glory days.

With which singer did Henley duet on the 1992 number-2 hit "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough"?

Patty Smyth, the former Scandal singer, had sung on Henley's solo records; he returned the favour on the ballad she co-wrote for her own 1992 album.