I can't tell you why...

Here's a silly "Dad joke" for you.  I used to ask our kids, "Why were the Eagles better with Timothy B. Schmit versus Randy Meisner?"  They would respond, "I don't know.  Why?"  I would then respond with, "I can't tell you why".

In a recent post ("Find your way back!"), I mentioned that rock-n-roll bands are just like any other group, team, or organization in that the relationships between individuals in the group ebb and flow.  I am reminded of the psychologist Bruce Tuckman's model of group development (originally published in 1965) which refers to four key stages in the life of a group, "Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing".  Unfortunately, some groups get stuck in the "Storming" stage, where the group can't move on to the next stage until individuals settle their disagreements and resolve their personality clashes.  Tuckman apparently added a fifth stage several years after he developed the model, namely the stage called "Adjourning" when the group (hopefully) completes its task and breaks up or disbands.  

If you read about the history of the rock-n-roll supergroup, the Eagles, you start to appreciate the concept of Tuckman's stages of group development.  Over the years, the group has progressed all the way to the "Performing" stage, at which point someone got into an argument with one or more of the other members and left the group (usually due to "creative differences" or in a few cases, outright hatred).  When that occurred, the group went back through the "Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing" stages with a new member.  Let's take a closer look at what I mean.

The group formed in Los Angeles, California in 1971 when drummer Don Henley and guitarist Glenn Frey were joined by bassist Randy Meisner and guitarist Bernie Leadon (recently from the folk rock band, The Flying Burrito Brothers) as the back-up band for singer Linda Ronstadt.  While on tour with Rondstadt, Henley and Frey decided to form their own band, actually with Rondstadt's encouragement.  In reality, the group that came to be known as the Eagles only played live together with Linda Ronstadt once for a July concert in Disneyland (they did play on her eponymous third studio album).  Here we have a great example of Tuckman's "Forming" stage.  During this stage, members of the group are usually highly motivated and enthusiastic about coming together to discuss their mutual goals and interests.  In this particular case, "Forming" included coming up with a name for their band (I've heard several different stories on who originally came up with the name, one of which suggested that it was the comedian and actor Steve Martin, who was a friend of the band from their very early days).

In rather impressive fashion, the Eagles recorded and later released their first studio album, "Eagles", in June, 1972.  The album was an immediate success, topping the album charts at #22 with three Top 40 hits ("Take It Easy", "Witchy Woman", and "Peaceful Easy Feeling").  Had the band progressed all the way to the "Performing" stage? I actually don't think so.  It was not until their second studio album, "Desperado" that Henley and Frey began to collaborate more effectively, assuming the bulk of the songwriting duties for the band.  In addition to taking over most of the songwriting duties, the pair began to dominate as the true leaders of the band.  Clearly the group was in the "Storming" stage here, as they were trying to figure out their different relationships, roles, and responsibilities.  Meisner and Leadon had perhaps wrongly assumed that they would be the leaders of the band, given that they were veteran musicians.  However, that was not to be the case.

The "Norming" stage is the point at which all of the personality clashes and disagreements between individual group members have been resolved.  All of the members in the group at this point understand their role and responsibilities, and everyone is working toward a common, shared goal.  The Eagles, by this point in the life of the band, were starting to move in a different direction musically.  Henley and Frey wanted to break away from their country rock roots (if you listen to their first two albums, you will appreciate Leadon's banjo, dobro, steel guitar, and mandolin playing skills) and move more towards hard rock.  So, in at least one sense, they were moving into the "Norming" stage.  However, Leadon and Meisner were still unhappy with their role and level of influence with the creative direction of the band vis-à-vis Frey and Henley.  Importantly, highly functioning groups still can experience conflict, they just seem to manage it so that it doesn't have an adverse impact on the group's progress towards their goals.  Leadon and Meisner may have just simply accepted their limited influence.      

The band invited guitarist Don Felder to play and eventually join the group full time on their third studio album, "On the Border" in 1974.  The album featured a couple of hits, including the band's first of five number one singles, "The Best of My Love".  The band quickly moved to the "Performing" stage with the release of their fourth studio album in 1975, which was their first of four consecutive number one albums, "One of These Nights".  Later that same year, the band won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and Best Song of the Year (for the song, "Lyin' Eyes").  At this point, the Eagles were international superstars.  

Unfortunately, Bernie Leadon had grown more and more disillusioned with the direction that the band was taking, and he was no longer satisfied with his role in the band.  Apparently, during one argument with Frey, Leadon poured beer over Frey's head and told him, "You need to chill out, man!"  He eventually left the band for good in December of that same year.  Here we have the "Adjourning" stage, and like most groups that experience changes in membership, the Eagles found themselves back in the "Forming" stage of group development.  The band invited guitarist and singer Joe Walsh, formerly of the band, the James Gang.  I guess at this point, the band's status as a rock-n-roll supergroup was solidified.  

The band would apparently quickly progress with the new line-up through the "forming" and "norming" stages to get back to the "performing" stage.  They released "Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)" in early 1976, which quickly became the top-selling album of all time until Michael Jackson's "Thriller" took that distinction over in 2009.  The band recorded and released "Hotel California", one of my personal favorites, in December, 1976.  The title track won the Grammy for song of the year, but the album lost the Grammy for Album of the Year to Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" album (another personal favorite).  

Unfortunately, once again there was trouble between the different members of the band.  Don Felder originally sang the lead vocals for the song, "Life in the Fast Lane" (which he mostly wrote), but the rest of the band wasn't happy with the sound.  Apparently, the band's manager took Felder out to lunch so that Henley could re-record the lead vocals.

During the "Hotel California" tour, Meisner started growing more disillusioned with the band and his role (similar to Leadon before him).  Apparently at one point, Meisner refused to come back on stage for an encore to sing the hit song "Take It to the Limit" (the only song he ever sang lead vocals for the group) because of health-related issues with hitting some of the high notes on the song.  Frey and Meisner got into an altercation backstage, at which point Meisner decided to leave the band.  The band replaced him with bassist and singer Timothy B. Schmit, who incidentally had replaced Meisner once before in the band Poco.

Once again there was a new member of the band, which required going back to the forming, storming, and norming stages.  Schmit would fit in well, and the band recorded their next studio album "The Long Run" in 1979 after spending two years in the recording studio.  While this album wasn't as successful as "Hotel California", it did feature several hit songs, including the song that featured Schmit as the lead vocalist, "I can't tell you why".

Unfortunately again, personalities and egos continued to clash.  The band performed at a fundraising event for then California Senator Alan Cranston.  When the Senator and his wife thanked the members backstage, Felder responded with "You're welcome - I guess."  Frey and Felder would spend the rest of the night onstage telling each other about the beating that they had planned to administer once the show was over.  Frey reportedly told Felder on stage, "Only three more songs until I kick your ass, pal!"  While that appeared to be the end of the Eagles, the band did release a live album in November 1980 ("Eagles Live") whose credits included the names of five attorneys and ended with "Thank you and goodnight."  The band broke up, and the former members pursued solo careers.  They would come back together several years later ("When Hell Freezes Over"), and they have had several different iterations over the years (with Felder coming back and getting fired again, Frey dying and being replaced by his son, and country music singer Vince Gill joining for a couple of tours).

While there is no question that the Eagles have been highly successful, like any group, team, or organization, the group has had their fair share of struggles and difficulties.  Their history provides us with a great illustration of Tuckman's model of group development, as well as providing some reassurance that in any group, there will be good times and bad times.  Lastly, and certainly with apologies to Randy Meisner, I really do think the Eagles were a better band with Timothy B. Schmit.