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Eagles · S1 E5
Linda Ronstadt
She hires all four as her backing band for a summer tour. By the time it ends, they know they belong together
A tour bus somewhere in the American West, summer 1971. Linda Ronstadt's new backing band is supposed to be running through her songs. Instead, the four of them are in the back, playing something nobody has written down yet, harmonizing like they have known each other their whole lives.
Linda Ronstadt, You're No Good (1975). Her biggest hit, number one on the Billboard Hot 100. This is who Linda became after the four musicians she hired left to form Eagles. She did not need them.
The Queen of Laurel Canyon
By 1971, Linda Ronstadt is the best-known female voice on the Laurel Canyon scene. She has been recording since she was eighteen with the Stone Poneys, holds a deal with Capitol Records, and plays the Troubadour regularly. When she needs a touring band, she picks the four best musicians in the room.
“We were supposed to be Linda's band. But about halfway through the tour, we started looking at each other during soundcheck and going, wait a minute. This is the band.”
— Glenn Frey, History of the Eagles documentary, 2013
The Soundcheck Discovery
On the road backing Linda, the four musicians start playing their own songs during soundchecks and in hotel rooms. The harmonies lock in immediately: Glenn and Don writing together, Bernie adding country textures, Randy floating above everyone with that high tenor.
TAP TO REVEAL: Who was the first person to sense the Eagles' potential, before the band members themselves?
Earlybird
From Eagles (1972). A deep cut from the debut album driven by Bernie Leadon's banjo and the tight vocal harmonies the band perfected while backing Linda Ronstadt. It captures the sound of a group still fresh from the road, still carrying the energy of those hotel room jams and soundcheck discoveries.
What was the name of Linda Ronstadt's first group before her solo career?
Four musicians walk away from the best backing gig in Los Angeles and tell David Geffen they want a record deal. Next: Asylum Records, a handshake agreement, and a flight to London where a famous British producer tells four Americans to keep it simple.
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