Oh man, this one really sucks. He was a hugely talented guy.
My condolences to his family and friends.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
This is awful. The Eagles were my favorite band, and Glenn Frey was the voice of the Eagles as far as I was concerned. Take It Easy, Ol' 55, Already Gone, New Kid In Town, How Long ... and on and on. I'm always sorry to hear news of musicians and celebs dying, like David Bowie last week, but this one hits me hard.
RIP Glenn Frey.
Well, my time went too quickly I went lickety-splitly out to my old fifty-five As I pulled away slowly, feelin' so holy, God knows I was feelin' alive And now the sun's comin' up I'm ridin' with Lady Luck Freeway cars and trucks
Stars beginning to fade, and I lead the parade Just a wishin' I'd stayed a little longer Lord, don't you know the feelin's gettin' stronger
Six in the morning, gave me no warnin' I had to be on my way Now the cars are all passin' me, Trucks are all flashin' me I'm headed home from your place
And now the sun's comin' up I'm ridin' with Lady Luck Freeway cars and trucks ...
The words coming to me is how old I must be getting as I'm watching my beloved heros passing on in their later years.
Don't think that it hasn't crossed my mind as well.
I also have to admit this: over the last 5 years, the notes I've been playing seem more important than they did 20 years ago. The mistakes, while not bigger or worse-sounding, seem somehow more significant.
[Amy]: "You are not happy like me. You are always happy." (Amy is from Taiwan, and English is her 'second language.' She's never learned how to use contractions in speech. I'll forgive her- because I can't speak a lick of Mandarin OR Cantonese...and she can speak all three-). [Clem]: "It makes me a little sad that I'll only get to play this piece a handful of times more..." "Clem! You are not sick-?" "No, Amy. I'm good. But Sibelius 2 only comes around every few years. How many good years do I have left? 5? 10? Every one of these old favorites is becoming more important each time we play them." [Amy]: "Then you should just enjoy tomorrow night- because you get to enjoy it NOW."
BOOM.
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Every musician knows what a metronome is. It marks the steady passage of time. I have a really cool, sophisticated electronic one that I keep in my case for lessons and chamber rehearsals. Thing's the size of a pack of cigarettes, and does everything but walk my dog at night.... but I use my old wind-up pendulum-type when I'm grinding out scales and doing gruntwork in the practice studio. Wood case. Spring-wound. Just like J. Maelzel made, back in Beethoven's time.
It sounds more like an old grandfather clock, measuring the bars of a piece- and the minutes of my life. That old tick-tock box connects me directly to the kid who first found a cello 4 decades ago. It also reminds me that I'm much closer to 60 than I am to 40... an important thing to keep in mind. I can't afford to live and make Life choices like I'm immortal.
That mindset is why I choose to post as I do, here at EE. If I'm going to waste time at a football fansite "catchall forum," I might as well use that time to connect with others- not just drop a snarky anonymous comment and move on. Even if I disagree with someone, I want our disagreement to be rooted in mutual respect and a 'meeting of minds,' instead of a 'butting of (brainless) heads.' I want any Dawgs who might eventually meet me to already know me when we shake hands. I've always been kinda fearless in that way... once I've lurked for a few years, and learned the 'lay of the land'...
Takes a little extra time at the keyboard; saves a buttload of facetime when we finally do that tailgate together, you know?
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Glenn Frey is but the latest. I got my indoctrination about 20+ years ago, when the Lions of Jazz I'd idolized since childhood started leaving, one by one. My most recent wake-up call was a few years ago, when Rick Wright (keyboards/Pink Floyd) died. Upon hearing the news, I immediately played 'Time' from "Dark Side':
"Tired of lying in the sunshine, staying home to watch the rain. But you are young and life is long- and there is time to kill today. And then one day you find ten years have got behind you. No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.
So you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking Racing around to come up behind you again. The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older, Shorter of breath- and one day closer to death."
...and I chuckled at the irony of hearing it for the first time- when I was still in my teens.
I play Bach. His music is 300 years old. I play Floyd. Their defining music is 40 years old. I play the Police and Prince. Their music is 25 years old. I played a piece last October that was hours old at first hearing....
...and 'my personal metronome' has measured and divided all that time.
Seconds are precious. That fact must mean that years -truly are gifts beyond measure.
Saying goodbye to so many notables (in such a short period of time) drops the weight of the metronome squarely in the laps of we survivors.
Off I go to think for a week after another one of your posts. I've learned so much about my life from your posts. Not always directly from your actual words, some, yes, but from my own thoughts after reading what you say on a subject.
I can't begin to tell you what I've learned from sharing cyberspace with you. I'm sure others would say the same about you.... ...if they approach Life like we do.
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I've learned more than I can say by interacting with My Dawgs here at DT. It's why I can't quit The Community, even though I've felt myself take an 'emotional step back' from the Cleveland Browns Football Team, of late.
Trust me, ddub: I get much more than I give. This place is a bargain.
I'll just sign off now... before other Hounds tell us to "go get a room, yo!"
"He was like a brother to me; we were family, and like most families, there was some dysfunction. But, the bond we forged 45 years ago was never broken, even during the 14 years that the Eagles were dissolved. We were two young men who made the pilgrimage to Los Angeles with the same dream: to make our mark in the music industry -- and with perseverance, a deep love of music, our alliance with other great musicians and our manager, Irving Azoff, we built something that has lasted longer than anyone could have dreamed. But, Glenn was the one who started it all. He was the spark plug, the man with the plan.
He had an encyclopedic knowledge of popular music and a work ethic that wouldn't quit. He was funny, bullheaded, mercurial, generous, deeply talented and driven. He loved is wife and kids more than anything. We are all in a state of shock, disbelief and profound sorrow.
We brought our two-year 'History of the Eagles Tour' to a triumphant close at the end of July and now he is gone. I'm not sure I believe in fate, but I know that crossing paths with Glenn Lewis Frey in 1970 changed my life forever, and it eventually had an impact on the lives of millions of other people all over the planet. It will be very strange going forward in a world without him in it. But, I will be grateful, every day, that he was in my life.
Rest in peace, my brother. You did what you set out to do, and then some."
That's too bad. I love the Eagles. Don't know much about them, but love their music.
I knew a few of their songs, but never realized how good they were till I got working on a Tugboat and found The Hotel California CD someone left out. That was a helluva CD. From there I'd notice all the other Eagles songs I'd be listening to on SiriusRadio.
I think The Last Resort is my favorite of their songs. I had to look it up, I just knew it as the last track on Hotel California. Quite the song to finish up an album with
Love the Eagles. One of my all-time favorite songs is Desperado. Henley wrote part of it early on, but Frey helped him finish it later on. I thought the lyrics might be appropriate here:
Quote:
Desperado, why don't you come to your senses You been out ridin' fences for so long now Oh, you're a hard one I know that you got your reasons These things that are pleasin' you Can hurt you somehow
Don't you draw the Queen of Diamonds, boy She'll beat you if she's able You know the Queen of Hearts is always your best bet
Now, it seems to me some fine things Have been laid upon your table, But you only want the ones that you can't get
Desperado, oh, you ain't gettin' no younger Your pain and your hunger, they're drivin' you home
And freedom, oh freedom, well that's just some people talkin' Your prison is walking through this world all alone
Don't your feet get cold in the winter time? The sky won't snow and the sun won't shine It's hard to tell the night time from the day You're losin' all your highs and lows; Ain't it funny how the feeling goes away?
Desperado, why don't you come to your senses? Come down from your fences; open the gate It may be rainin', but there's a rainbow above you You better let somebody love you, before it's too late
Don Felder played such beautifully understated guitar. Not a technical whiz, but so melodic.
Sometimes, that's exactly what's needed. We call that "complementary playing." One of the EASIEST things to do... is get in the way. 'Comping' is as much an art as soloing.
I just watched a two hour special on the Eagles last night on Showtime. It's amazing how time flies when your having fun. It was great while I was watching it but when it was over it was just another reminder of how fast life passes us by.
Walk through any nursing home today and you are likely to hear Dean Martin singing, or Cab Calloway, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Perry Come, or hear the sound of Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, or the Dorsey Brothers. When many of us were younger you would hear Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Ma Rainey, Sophie Tucker, Eddie Cantor, Paul Whiteman, or Bessie Smith if you spent any time at all in a nursing home.
10 years from now it will be the norm to hear The Rolling Stones, The Who, Janis Joplin, Kansas The Eagles, Pink Floyd, Queen, Jackson-5, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top, Blackfoot, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Van Halen, Journey, AC/DC, Bob Seger, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Black Sabbith, and even Kiss.
That's the truth, GM. It's hard when the people who helped shape your memories during the time you were growing up start leaving us. Especially musicians, nothing defines us, or takes us back to a time like music. Especially during the time when you are trying to figure out what it's like to be a young adult.
The Eagles were great. So many memories from the songs and where I was at that point. I was having so much fun and angst at the same time.
I just watched a two hour special on the Eagles last night on Showtime. It's amazing how time flies when your having fun. It was great while I was watching it but when it was over it was just another reminder of how fast life passes us by.
Walk through any nursing home today and you are likely to hear Dean Martin singing, or Cab Calloway, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Perry Come, or hear the sound of Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, or the Dorsey Brothers. When many of us were younger you would hear Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Ma Rainey, Sophie Tucker, Eddie Cantor, Paul Whiteman, or Bessie Smith if you spent any time at all in a nursing home.
10 years from now it will be the norm to hear The Rolling Stones, The Who, Janis Joplin, Kansas The Eagles, Pink Floyd, Queen, Jackson-5, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top, Blackfoot, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Van Halen, Journey, AC/DC, Bob Seger, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Black Sabbith, and even Kiss.
My how time does fly.
And then they will be largely forgotten.
As a 20 year old kid today to name a Frank Sinatra song, a Sammy Davis Jr. song, or a Ray Charles song, and many will say "Who?".
No matter what accomplishments a man has, it seems that even the most famous are largely forgotten within 50 years of their deaths. (even in an information age like the one we live in) A few will be remembered, but even then, they may well become just a line in a textbook for most.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
That's the truth, GM. It's hard when the people who helped shape your memories during the time you were growing up start leaving us. Especially musicians, nothing defines us, or takes us back to a time like music. Especially during the time when you are trying to figure out what it's like to be a young adult.
The Eagles were great. So many memories from the songs and where I was at that point. I was having so much fun and angst at the same time.
A few months ago, I heard a radio interview with Carole King. I was shocked to realize that she's now 74 years old.
As far as I'm concerned, she's still that 20-something barefoot girl on the 'Tapestry' album cover (-although that cat in the foreground is 'fur sure' long gone...)
For me, this process has already been well-established. My Parents' music was always important to me, so I started 'feeling it' when we started losing Jazz greats like Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald. It still breaks my heart to remember seeing My Momz weeping at the news that Nat Cole had died.
Still... it doesn't hit quite as hard as when your own musical beacons start to leave. For me, it was Richard Wright, keyboardist for Pink Floyd. That one put me in a state of depression for at least a week. I never got to see the original DSOTM Floyd lineup... and now, I'm not sure it matters if I see them with Rick's replacement.
Another was Chris Squire, bassist for Yes (2015). It was another huge hit to learn that he'd passed. I got to see him 2 or 3 times, back in the Stadium days of ProgRock. My youth was fast becoming ancient history.
But hey... it's all good. After all, I make my living playing music written by guys who lived 50, 100, 200, 300 years ago.
And that's what so cool about what they've given us: their gifts secure a moment in time for an entire generation... but when it's truly good, it speaks to people who are hundreds of years removed from the original release date.
Just take those old records off the shelf I'll sit and listen to 'em by myself Today's music ain't got the same soul I like that old time rock 'n' roll Don't try to take me to a disco You'll never even get me out on the floor In ten minutes I'll be late for the door I like that old time rock 'n' roll
Still like that old time rock 'n' roll That kind of music just soothes the soul I reminisce about the days of old With that old time rock 'n' roll Won't go to hear 'em play a tango I'd rather hear some blues or funky old soul There's only one sure way to get me to go Start playing old time rock 'n' roll Call me a relic, call me what you will Say I'm old-fashioned, say I'm over the hill Today's music ain't got the same soul I like that old time rock 'n' roll
Still like that old time rock 'n' roll That kind of music just soothes the soul I reminisce about the days of old With that old time rock 'n' roll
He was a hugely talented guy.
![[Linked Image from i28.photobucket.com]](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c201/shadedog/mcenroe2.jpg)
