Eagles Enlist Glenn Frey’s Son for New York, L.A. Concerts
Deacon Frey – the son of the Eagles‘ singer Glenn Frey, who died in 2016 – and country stalwart Vince Gill will join the Eagles for their upcoming shows at Classic West and Classic East, Los Angeles Times reports. The two new additions to the band will split vocal duty on the many classic songs that featured lead vocals from Glenn Frey, including “Peaceful Easy Feeling,” “Already Gone” and “Lyin’ Eyes.”
“The primary thing is I think Glenn would be good with it – with both of these guys,” said the Eagles’ Don Henley. “I think he’d go, ‘That’s the perfect way to do this.'”
The younger Frey is eminently qualified for his new gig: “The first songs I learned on guitar were ‘Take It Easy’ and ‘Peaceful Easy Feeling,'” 24-year-old Deacon explained. “[The remaining Eagles] came to me with the idea, and it’s been really great,” he added, likening his new bandmates to his uncles. “It’s another family we would have been missing [if the band did not carry on].”
Longtime country hitmaker Gill has always been vocal about his appreciation for the Eagles: in 1993, he recorded an aching rendition of “I Can’t Tell You Why” for Common Thread, an album of Eagles covers by country singers. More recently, Gill contributed to Don Henley’s country album, participated in the Eagles tribute concert at the Kennedy Center and honored Glenn Frey with a performance of “Peaceful Easy Feeling” at the Grand Ole Opry.
“In my mind, I always thought I’d have made a good Eagle,” Gill quipped. “But in a million years, I never would have seen this coming.”
The new version of the Eagles will perform at Classic West (Los Angeles, July 15th and 16th) and Classic East (New York City, July 29th and 30th) alongside Fleetwood Mac, Earth Wind & Fire, the Doobie Brothers, Journey and Steely Dan.
Henley acknowledged that moving forward with the band in the wake of Glenn’s death was not a certainty. “While I was still in shock during some interviews after Glenn passed away, I did say that I thought that was the end of the band,” he admitted. “But I reserved the right to change my mind. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, ‘A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.'”
Added longtime manager Irving Azoff, “I think with Glenn’s passing, there was also a natural legion of Eagles fans out there who weren’t ready to let go. To me, the fans and the legacy and everything was saying, ‘It doesn’t have to be over.'”