The Eagles took the creation of their music incredibly seriously, something Don Henley began to think was pointless. He admitted to wondering if they took themselves too seriously while working on an album. When reading back some of the lyrics he’d worked so hard on, Henley found himself wondering why people cared about them.
Don Henley wondered why people cared about The Eagles’ music
When Henley and Glenn Frey worked on music together, they pored over every note, line, and melody.
“Sometimes I wonder if we don’t take ourselves too seriously,” Henley told Rolling Stone in 1975.
He wondered if fans actually cared about the emotional lyrics. Bands like The Beatles wrote silly, nonsensical songs that people enjoyed.
“Every time I start writing one of these wonderfully sensitive songs that we write, I start wondering, ‘Who really gives a s***?’ Do I really give a s***? I want to do something semihumorous on one of these records someday,” Henley said. “Something that doesn’t demand so much f***in’ time and energy. We’ve never had an easy time making Eagles albums.”
The band often dealt with themes of fame and disillusionment in their music.
The Eagles wanted their music to stay relatively underground
The Eagles were already seeing massive success by the mid-1970s, but they didn’t want people to view them as superstars.
“We definitely believe in maintaining the underdog status,” Henley said.
In some ways, they felt that not appealing to broad swathes of the public was a good thing. They didn’t think that some of the most popular artists necessarily were making good art.
“Mass appeal is definitely suspect,” Frey said. “Just look at our Grammy winners, Stevie Wonder excluded. Sometimes all that mass appeal means is that you simplified your equation down to the lowest common denominator.”
Frey outright rejected the idea of altering his songs to attract an even wider audience. It felt soulless to him.
“That must be weird s***, to sell a bunch of records and make a bunch of money off something that didn’t mean a f***in’ thing,” he said. “I don’t ever want to face that.”
They are one of the best-selling bands of all time
While Frey said that many Grammy winners weren’t deserving of admiration, Henley conceded that some popular artists impressed him.
“It’s not a sin to be in the Top 40. Look at Paul Simon and Joni [Mitchell],” Henley said. “They sell millions of records.”
Despite their hopes to remain underdogs, The Eagles have sold millions of records over the years. Per Business Insider, they are among the best-selling musicians of all time. While The Beatles take the top spot, The Eagles are not far behind. As of 2024, they’ve sold 120 million units. Their album, Their Greatest Hits, was the top-selling album of the 20th century in the United States.
