The Heat Is On

I took this picture Sunday while the sunshine I happily greeted came and began the melting we wee waiting for. Looking back at the photo I thought about a title and The Heat Is On came to mind. And Glen Frey. 

Growing up I thought the Eagles were country musicians because the local country station played them alongside Alabama, Ronnie Milsaps, and The Oak Ridge Boys. I also listened to the rock  station blasting Hotel California and Life in the Fast lane, but it was later before I put it all together that it was the same band.

Desperado was hugely popular among one group of my friends despite coming out before we were born. As a teen I collected all of their albums. Wanting to learn more about the Eagles, I found out how Glen was inspired by Gram Parsons and I ran down that rabbit hole of beautiful cosmic American music.

Despite Don Henley’s singing, the Eagles were Glen’s band. He was the leader and the reason they didn’t regroup for the longest. I attended a Glen Frey and Joe Walsh concert in 93 that I thought would be the only time I’d get to see him live. Luckily, hell froze over a few years later and I got to see the whole band.

My favorite Glen Frey quote was from an interview his did on In The Studio with Redbeard. Glenn described riding in a car listening to the radio with his pal Bob Seegar before either had hit it big. When a crappy song came on Glen turned it off and Bob said to wait. “They’re on the radio and we’re not. Let’s figure out what they’ve got that we don’t,” he told him. Frey realized he needed to respect others and to contemplate on what he needed to accomplish on how to make it big. That I’ve remembered that story for ten years, or so, probably says what an impact it had on me, too.

I’ll miss Glen Frey and the music he had yet to create. His contributions to my taste in music are enormous and the joy of listening to his songs will never diminish.