Eagles: Before the Band: The Legendary Band that Changed the Sound of American Rock & Roll – Forever

by Rik Forgo

The Eagles were the breakthrough act for Country Rock, the template for countless bands that followed. After their meteoric rise to the top of the charts, fusing electric guitars, pop sensibilities, and country and bluegrass music, the genre was never the same.

The Eagles showed everyone how it should be done – creating a new blueprint for the Californian sound.

This blow-by-blow account of the Eagles' epic journey to the limelight begins with their inspirations—the shoulders of the rock and roll giants on which they The Beatles, Elvis Presley, The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Crosby, Stills and Nash, and many others.

The band scored gold records for every album release in the first nine years together. They won scores of Grammy awards. They delivered songs that changed the musical landscape. Their thought-provoking, intimate lyrics joined with precision instrumentation that sounded as good live as in the studio—and legions of fans followed them.

But where did they come from? Before the Band maps their individual histories before they became the best-selling rock and roll band in American history. Their journey is as legendary as their music.

Genres: Music, History

539 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Crosby · Rating 2 out of 5]

For those wanting to know the musical history of the various individuals who would eventually serve as members of the ultra-successful band "Eagles", this book is a pretty good starter. I especially enjoyed the details about how their early hits, "Take it Easy", "Witchy Woman" and "Easy, Peaceful Feeling" came to be. Elsewhere, such details were mainly extended to naming the many members of obscure bands to which the eventual Eagle members originally belonged. These details were not nearly as interesting to me. I also had problems with the redundancy that resulted when information that was presented in boxed inserts was also presented in the narration almost verbatim. The boxed inserts often also split the narration up, in some cases by several pages. Having said that, I enjoyed the inserts more than the narration which often seemed disjointed and redundant. I was also distracted by the numerous typos throughout the book. Still, I enjoy the music the band produces and therefore found things to enjoy about the book.

[David H. Schurr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to put down and do something else!

If you enjoy the ins and outs of the music changes through the 60's and 70's you will enjoy this read. Ric uses a kind of Pulp Fiction style of writing but the book keeps building your curiosity from page one. I grew up following the bands mentioned throughout and to learn about their trials and tribulations, the ups and downs they went through, most of us would have given up years earlier. This book will keep you interested cover to cover.

[Marvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful historical perspective on the development of Country-Rock and the musical events that led to the formation of the Eagles. The band’s extensive and far-reaching family tree is covered in a timeline format. 

While I applaud the author’s thorough research on the topic, the book has a confusing layout, and there are issues with repetition and grammatical errors. It's also worth noting that this book is the first in a trilogy.

[Norman Schippert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting - I liked it

I liked the format of "short stories"... just interesting stories, anecdotes, and both meaningful and meaningless details. An easy read that goes great with me switching the music on my JBL between whichever artist, song, or album I'm reading about.

[jboyg · Rating 1 out of 5]

Repetitive History Of The Early Days Of The Eagles.

Poorly constructed and badly written and edited pre-history of The Eagle. Most of the info is well-known to fans and the author is merciless in repeating the same set of facts over and over.

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

A simple read of overly repetitive content covering the background and genesis of the Eagles band. The book could have been delivered in half the pages and doesn't add much of anything new to its topic.

[Steve Urbach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good read on what led to the birth of the Eagles

Great attention to detail and history of country rock! Great insight into the intestinal fortitude it takes to make it to the top and the luck that is still needed to get there.

[Richard Halseth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about country rock.

I enjoyed this book from start to finish. Even though it goes through the beginnings of the Eagles and how they came together, I learned a lot about many other bands I have listened to for years.

[Seann Haver · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rock history!

It was an interesting to learn about different musicians and their evolution in their music careers through the sixties and seventies. But I guess I was more interested in reading more on the Eagles experiences through the seventies. Still very informative. Thanks!

[ernie baum · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poorly written, factual errors. Not woth the $7 I paid.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Needed an editor, a fact checker, a proofreader, and a researcher.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gave a lot of facts and newsy tidbits. Very interesting and seeing how the groups are kind of all inter-related with members being in multiple groups and knowing the same people. Enjoyable format and laid out so nicely.