CoronaVinyl Day 285 (E): Eagles by Eagles

For an explanation of CoronaVinyl, click here.

I was going to post this yesterday, but I ended up going to a professional sporting event for the first time this decade, which was quite pleasant.  Anyway, today's CoronaVinyl category is "E," and the remaining options are limited, so I'm going with the Eagles' self-titled debut album from 1972.

The band formed in 1971, when guitarist Glenn Frey and drummer Don Henley were members of Linda Ronstadt's backing band.  They decided to form their own band, and they recruited former Flying Burrito Brothers' guitarist Bernie Leadon and bassist Randy Meisner, who had been playing in Ricky Nelson's backing band.  Legend has it they chose the name Eagles as a result of your standard early '70s peyote and tequila binge in the Mojavi desert.  Though they were not the first country rock band, Eagles popularized the genre, thanks in large part to their debut album, which was produced by legendary producer Glyn Johns.

The band wrote most of the songs on the album, though they had some help from Jackson Browne on a couple songs.  They also shared lead vocal duties, with each member of the band singing lead on at least two songs on the album -- complemented by the others' smooth harmonies, of course.

The album went to #22 on the Billboard album chart and produced three Top 25 hits on the Billboard Hot 100:  "Witchy Woman" (#9), "Take It Easy" (#12), and "Peaceful Easy Feeling" (#22).  The album eventually went platinum in the U.S., and it set the course for their massive success over the remainder of the '70s, when their remaining five studio albums each went at least double platinum in the U.S., and their 1976 Greatest Hits (1971-1975) album has gone on to sell 38 million copies in the U.S. alone, making it the best-selling album in U.S. history.

All told, the band had 6 #1 albums on the Billboard album chart (including live albums and compilations), and they had 17 Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including ten Top 10 songs and five #1s.  They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

Favorite song from Side 1:  "Chug All Night"
Written and sung by Frey, this is an uptempo country rock song about drinking all night, so I obviously like it.

Favorite song from Side 2:  "Tryin'"
The last song on the album -- written and sung by Meisner -- is probably the most rocking song on the album.