235.3 - RIP: Glenn Frey

RIP: Glenn Frey

With our other rip, another bit of my earlier years drops away.

Glenn Frey, Eagles guitarist and co-founder of the group and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, died January 18. He was 67. According to a statement by the band, he "fought a courageous battle for the past several weeks but succumbed to complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis, and pneumonia."

Frey co-wrote or sang some of the Eagles' most successful songs, including among others "Tequila Sunrise," "Peaceful Easy Feeling," "Take It Easy," and "Lyin' Eyes."

Glenn Frey

In my opinion, one of the best comments about his death came from a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, who said of the Eagles "few bands were better at distilling the vibe of Los Angeles in the 1970s." The thing is, from the late '60s to the late '70s, the cultural image of southern California was one of a mellow, laid-back embrace of sun and surf and the Eagles certainly reflected that. That columnist called Frey LA's "mellow ambassador."

That same embrace of that culture, however, still earns the group scorn from those who claim their music was just pap, apparently because it was not hard-edged and hostile. One even said that hating the Eagles was the mark of being interested in the music as opposed to being a bandwagon-jumper.

So I'll say this on behalf of Eagles fans and Glenn Frey's career: I have neither patience with nor time for those who equate popularity with inferiority and obscurity with significance and spend their energy desperately trying to prove how hip they are by sneering how much they hate music other people like.

With that, I say RIP, Glenn Frey - and encourage all of you to find and listen to the acoustic version of "Hotel California."

Sources cited in links:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/glenn-frey-eagles-guitarist-dead-at-67-20160118
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-glenn-frey-appreciation-20160119-story.html?track=lat-pick