Posted on 01/14/2022 10:57:04 PM PST by nickcarraway
Interesting gossip out of the classic rock world today: apparently Steely Dan producer Greg Katz once had to fire the Eagles’ Don Henley from tracking vocals on Steely Dan’s 1977 hit “Peg.” And it’s still awkward. Musicians Review 2021: Billionaires' Race To Space Speaking to Ultimate Classic Rock, Katz talked about how both Steely Dan and the Eagles were tight, as they were both managed by Irving Azoff. “In the chorus, the backgrounds are sort of the lead,” Katz said. “It wasn’t like a [usual] background part.” And while the song was originally coming together, Katz and Donald Fagen talked about how they “both liked Henley’s singing. ‘Why don’t we call Henley and Linda Ronstadt? Maybe that would be cool and something different.’ So, I called Irving … Linda wasn’t feeling well, so Nicolette Larson came.”
But when Henley went to learn the part and sing, it sounds like the chemistry just wasn’t there. “There wasn’t patience as much as instant reaction of the realities of the moment,” Katz said. “We didn’t jerk people off by letting them think it was going to work and have them sit for two hours. When we knew it wasn’t going to be OK, Fagen would tell me to end it. So they sang it again, and it was no good.”
Soon after, Fagen apparently went to go get a sandwich with bandmate Walter Becker, before which Fagen told Katz: “Oh, fire them.” Recalling the experience, Katz said, “Which I did — and have heard about for 35 years since, in various ways.”
Katz added: “The last time I saw Henley, he sidled up to me … and he said, ‘Are you going to fire me again today, Katz?’ But he didn’t smile when he said that.”
It was “a difficult day at the office,” Katz added, “because, like [Fagen and Becker], I was part of that inner-circle crowd. We were all in the same little area. We lived in the same place and had the same manager. It was always Eagles and Steely Dan for a long time in L.A.”
Anyway, Michael McDonald was brought in to do the backing vocals, and “Peg” became what it is today. Henley would later join Steely Dan for “FM (No Static at All)” (along with Glenn Frey and Tim Schmit), so I guess it’s safe to assume that Fagen and Becker remained on good terms with Henley in the end.
That said, and notwithstanding that Henley and Frye wrote many of the hits, songwriting and business prowess doesn't eclipse THE BAND. Keith Moon wrote maybe three songs but The Who wasn't the same without him. They already got more money from songwriting royalties and business advisory services...now they want a bigger cut of the gate, too?
Frye's death and subbing by his son showed he's replaceable. I'd pay to see Joe and Don solo, but I'd never pay to see the Eagles.
Great thread and posts.
That was Great.😂
Thanks.
Henley is not a nice person, from what i know from people in the industry. The bio was probably too kind! LOL.
Get back, Jack, do it again.
Turn up the Eagles, the neighbors are listening.
They have indeed.
L
I agree. Desperado is not only an amazing song, but one of the greatest albums of all time, in my opinion, with amazing musicianship, and even a story to tell. When they ended up with Those Shoes as one of their last singles, it showed how far they had fallen. Others will disagree of course, which is perfectly fine. But the bands that put those 2 songs together were completely different.
When I think of Michael McDonald I think of that SCTV skit that has him running around all over the place to do his backing vocals.
“Turn up The Eagles the neighbors are listening”.
They stab it with their Steely knives, but they just can't kill the beast.
Joe was pretty funny in this clip from The Drew Carey Show
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJTqvNLQlG0
Wow..they sure didn’t like each other. Ha Ha Ha!
I’ve read Meisner had stage fright, and sometimes had trouble delivering a performance to match the album, as the main reason he was fired/left. Who knows, but it’s too bad he was replaced, as he was a major force in the original band and their sound.
LOL - Love Mojo Nixon.
“We said if you don’t got Mojo Nixon then your store could use some fixin’”
Ok, that’s cool.
It’s an excellent album. I still listen to it once in a while. Songs like “Outlaw Man,” “Bitter Creek,” “Doolin-Dalton” (and its reprise and mashup with “Desperado”) and, of course, “Tequila Sunrise” are great listening and sound nothing like the Eagles’ later sound.
I love the way the band slipped those “Hotel California” riffs in there.
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