The Eagles-Eagles (1972)

The Eagles' beginnings were, to say the least, curious. They started in 1971 when producer John Boylan was looking for a backing band for country singer Linda Ronstadt. Almost overnight, Boylan assembled a group of folk and country musicians from the American West Coast. These musicians were Don Henley, Randy Meisner, Bernie Leadon, and Glenn Frey. Glenn Frey had been in a band called Longbranch Pennywhistle with Jackson Browne and J.D. Souther, who would later play a very important role in the Eagles. Don Henley, for his part, had been in a jazz band called Felicity, while Bernie Leadon was a member of several of the most important country bands of the late 1960s, such as The Flying Burrito Brothers and Dillard & Clark, with whom he recorded the albums "The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark" (1968) and "Through the Morning, Through the Night" (1969). Randy Meisner, for his part, belonged to Poco, with whom he recorded their first and fantastic album, "Picking Up the Pieces", in addition to playing in Ricky Nelson's band, with whom he also recorded several albums. Once in the recording studios for what would be Ronstadt's third album, producer Boylan began to realize that these four musicians had enough talent to start a joint career as an independent group. And so, on Boylan's own advice, they were approached by David Geffen, who had founded the Asylum label dedicated exclusively to country and folk-rock artists. He offered them a contract, and they recorded their first album at Olympia Studios in London, self-titled "Eagles" (1972), which they also named the group. It was produced by Glyn Johns, who would also produce the band's next album. The Eagles' mix of styles on this debut album ranged from soul influences to country and roots folk, but with a marked rock accent a sound that would be the group's constant in all their subsequent work. The album contains Jackson Browne's "Take It Easy", which would become one of the band's classics, as well as the intense "Take the Devil", the rocker "Chug All Night", the vigorous "Tryin' ",  the folk-tinged "Early Bird", and the elegant, soulful "Witchy Woman". Although it initially failed to climb the charts, this debut album would eventually sell a million copies, reaching the top ten on the Billboard charts, and simultaneously launching the brilliant career of one of the most important groups in the history of rock music.