Being a member of a rock band can be tricky. It can have its rewards and its pitfalls too. Glenn Frey of the Eagles once had a beer poured on his head when a nasty confrontation turned even nastier. Fans can get unruly on a dime, especially if they become overly enthused. However, this incident wasn’t between Frey and a fan. It involved him and a fellow Eagle. What happened that time? Let’s see!
Eagles Member Bernie Leadon Was Said To Be Unhappy With The Band’s Supposed Leaning Toward Rock
Per Taste Of Country, Bernie Leadon was allegedly irked by the band’s transition from country to rock. According to the outlet, “‘We were getting more and more rocked out, and I think Bernie was less and less happy about that,’ One of These Nights producer Bill Szymczykk explained in the History of the Eagles documentary.”
Don Henley thought so, too. “Glenn and I always wanted the band to be a hybrid, to encompass bluegrass and country and rock and roll. There was a part of Bernie that really resisted that. After a while it became a real problem, particularly between Bernie and Glenn.”
Henley also posited that Leadon was uncomfortable with the band’s increased money-making as their popularity swelled. “To Bernie, success on any scale was synonymous with selling out. He wanted us to remain sort of an underground band.”
Leadon explained what some interpreted as a prickly attitude this way. “You’d have to remember how young we were, the fact that nobody had anything when we started, and you got all this stuff coming at you, meanwhile you’re touring all the time. It’s a lot.”
Bernie Leadon And Glenn Frey Have Differing Accounts Of Their Dust-Up
Per the outlet, simmering tension between these two boiled over at the Orange Bowl in Florida. Glenn Frey said, “We were backstage and we were talking about what our next move was gonna be. I was animated and adamant about what we needed to do next, here there and everywhere, and Bernie comes over and pours a beer on my head and says, ‘You need to chill out, man.'”
Bernie Leadon tells it this way. According to the outlet via Rock History Music, in an interview this year, Leadon claimed, “I said, ‘I’m gonna leave the band.’ It was about four months till the end of the year. I said, ‘Let’s do good shows, to prove how good we can do them, and then I’ll be gone.'”
That announcement was supposedly made amidst an Eagles’ get-together in 1975. Leadon did quit at the end of that year. Joe Walsh took Leadon’s place.
(Taste Of Country notes that nothing could be found that confirmed that the Eagles gave a concert at the Orange Bowl during their One of These Nights tour in 1975-76. They did, however, perform at that venue on July 7, 1974.)
Leadon Later Expressed Remorse About Dumping Beer On Glenn Frey
In the documentary History of the Eagles, Bernie Leadon reportedly said, “I have no idea, it was a spontaneous thing. I take that incident now quite seriously, That was a very disrespectful thing to do. Obviously it was intended to be humiliating to him, I would say, and is something I’m not really proud of. It did illustrate a breaking point.”
He also told Rolling Stone 17 years ago that he had actually been upset because he suggested that the Eagles take a breather. He claims that they were not eager to do that.
Years After The Incident, Leadon Wanted To Make Peace With Frey
Per Taste Of Country via Rock History Music, Leadon wrote to Frey “in the mid-2000s” via certified letter. He was sincerely contrite. “I became a recovering alcoholic and when you do recovery work, one of the things you do is you realize who you harmed and then you become willing to make amends to them.”
They did patch things up. According to Leadon, Frey eventually called him and said, “I got your letter and appreciated it.”
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