November 6: Glenn Frey of the Eagles, is 65-years-old today.

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Glenn Lewis Frey was born November 6, 1948 in Detroit, Michigan. Growing up in Royal Oak, Michigan, he studied keyboard with concert pianist John Harrison and became part of the mid-1960s Detroit rock scene. One of his earliest bands was called the Subterraneans.

Frey's first professional recording experience was performing acoustic guitar and background vocals on Bob Seger's Ramblin' Gamblin' Man in 1968. Frey and Seger remained friends and occasional songwriting partners in later years.

Frey then moved to Los Angeles to follow a girlfriend who was an aspiring singer. His first recording as a musical writer was while fronting Longbranch Pennywhistle, a duo with J. D. Souther, in 1969. Frey also met Jackson Browne there, with whom he subsequently wrote songs. The three lived in the same apartment building for a short time.

After a stint in 1971 backing Linda Ronstadt, Frey, along with Don Henley, formed the Eagles, playing guitar and keyboards. Frey wrote or co-wrote (often with Henley) many of the group's songs, and sang lead vocal on a number of Eagles hits including "Take It Easy,” "Peaceful Easy Feeling,” "Already Gone,” "Tequila Sunrise,” "Lyin' Eyes,” "New Kid in Town,” "Heartache Tonight,” and "How Long.”

The Eagles broke up in 1980 and reunited in 1994. They released a new album titled Hell Freezes Over. In 2012 on the Tavis Smiley Show, Frey told Smiley, "When the Eagles broke up, people used to ask me and Don, "When are the Eagles getting back together?' We used to answer, 'When Hell freezes over.' People have the misconception that we were fighting a lot. It is not true. We had a lot of fun."

The Eagles' album Long Road out of Eden was released in 2007. Glenn Frey participated in the Eagles' The Long Road out of Eden Tour (2008–2011). In 2013, the two-part documentary History of the Eagles, directed by Alison Ellwood and co-produced by Academy Award winner Alex Gibney, was aired on Showtime. The authorised documentary caused a stir among fans, since it reportedly "shines a surprisingly harsh light on Glenn Frey and Don Henley.

After the Eagles disbanded, Frey found solo success in the 1980s, especially with two No. 2 hits: the soundtrack songs "The Heat Is On" (from Beverly Hills Cop) and "You Belong to the City" (from the television series Miami Vice, the soundtrack of which stayed on top of the U.S. album charts for 11 weeks in 1985).

His other contribution to the soundtrack, "Smuggler's Blues,” hit No. 12 on the Hot 100. Frey also contributed the song "Flip City" to the Ghostbusters II soundtrack, and "Part of Me, Part of You" to the soundtrack for Thelma & Louise.

He released his first solo album in 20 years, After Hours, featuring covers of pop standards from the 1940s-1960s, on May 8, 2012.

During his solo career he had 12 songs in the U.S. Top 100. Eleven of those were written with Jack Tempchin who also wrote "Peaceful Easy Feeling.”

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For more about the Eagles, visit this Website:

 

http://www.eaglesband.com/

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