In Memoriam: Randy Meisner - Founding Eagles Band Member (1946-2023)

We bid farewell to a true legend of the music industry, Randy Meisner, founding member of the iconic rock band, the Eagles. On Wednesday night, in Los Angeles, Randy passed away at the age of 77 due to complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, leaving behind a legacy that will forever echo through the annals of rock 'n' roll history.

Born on March 8, 1946, Randy Meisner's journey in music began in the vibrant streets of Scottsbluff, Nebraska, where his innate talent and passion for the art of music started to bloom. As destiny would have it, Randy's extraordinary abilities on the bass guitar and his smooth, velvety voice soon caught the attention of other aspiring musicians, leading him on a path that would change the course of popular music forever.

In 1971, along with Glenn Frey, Don Henley, and Bernie Leadon, Randy Meisner played an instrumental role in forming the Eagles, a band that would go on to become one of the most influential and successful acts in the history of rock music. With his distinct harmonies and exceptional bass playing, Randy's contributions to the Eagles' sound were immeasurable, helping to shape the band's unique blend of country, rock, and folk into a captivating symphony that touched the hearts of millions.

Throughout his tenure with the Eagles, Randy Meisner's talents shone brightly, enriching the band's sound on hits such as "Take It Easy," "Peaceful Easy Feeling," "Take It to the Limit," and many others. His performances brought a sense of warmth and depth to the group's music, leaving an indelible mark on the hearts of fans across the globe.

As with any great journey, Randy's time with the Eagles eventually took its own course, and he pursued a solo career in the late '70s, releasing albums that continued to showcase his incredible artistry. Despite the ups and downs life threw at him, Randy's dedication to his craft and his love for music remained steadfast, earning him admiration and respect from fellow musicians and fans alike.

Beyond the stage, Randy Meisner was known for his humble nature, gentle spirit, and his genuine kindness towards others. He cherished every moment shared with his family, friends, and fans, always grateful for the love and support he received throughout his illustrious career.

As the Eagles stated in their heartfelt tribute, Randy Meisner's passing is a profound loss to the world of music. His legacy will endure, inspiring countless musicians and fans to follow their dreams and to seek the magic of music within their hearts.

Today, as we mourn the departure of a cherished musician and cherished soul, we celebrate Randy Meisner's remarkable journey. Though he may have taken his final bow, his music will forever soar, resonating in the hearts of those who found solace and joy in his extraordinary talents.

Rest in peace, Randy Meisner. Your memory will forever remain a precious melody that lingers on, forever entwined with the sound of the Eagles' timeless music.

New Music Video From Timothy B. Schmit - "Simple Man"

Dan Fogelberg Tribute Album Includes Garth Brooks, The Eagles, Zac Brown, Vince Gill & More

Album: A Tribute To Dan Fogelberg
Label: BMG
Release date: 11/1/18

Produced by Fogelberg’s wife, Jean, Norbert Putnam, his lifelong friend/manager, Irving Azoff, and Chuck Morris, the homage to Fogelberg will be released through BMG.

The album contains recreations of some of Dan's biggest hits, such as the Top 10 hits, including "Longer," "Hard to Say," "Leader of the Band," performed by Zac Brown and "Same Old Lang Syne," performed by Train. Songs from his multi-platinum albums are also featured, such as the eponymously titled hits "Phoenix," performed by Garth Brooks, and "Nether Lands," performed by Donna Summer. Additionally, a moving rendition of "Part of the Plan," from 1974's Souvenirs, performed by the Eagles, is included on the collection. A complete track listing can be found below.

"A good thing never dies and that 'good thing' is Dan's music. As for me, my life has been a poor attempt to imitate the man. That man is Dan Fogelberg, and he will live forever in those of us who have let his gift bring so much light to our paths." - Garth Brooks

"I first heard some of Dan's music from Irving Azoff, while visiting him in the early 70's. he played me some demos of songs by a young kid from Peoria, Illinois; a part of the country were both from. I was immediately transported to a musical place that I would look forward to returning to time and again over the years with each new release of a Dan Fogelberg album. So proud to be part of this project." - Michael McDonald.

"I always loved Dan's music and getting the opportunity to sing on the High Country Snows record, over 30 years ago, is still a great memory for me." - Vince Gill

A Tribute to Dan Fogelberg track listing:

 

1.Phoenix performed by Garth Brooks

2.Nether Lands performed by Donna Summer

3.Better Change performed by Michael McDonald

4.Longer performed by Amy Grant/Vince Gill

5.Same Old Lang Syne performed by Train

6.Don’t Lose Heart performed by Dobie Gray

7.Old Tennessee performed by Fool’s Gold/Denny Henson and Tom Kelly

8.As the Raven Flies performed by Casey James

9.Sutters Mill performed by Randy Owen

10.Run for the Roses performed by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with Richie Furay

11.Hard to Say performed by Boz Scaggs

12.Part of the Plan performed by Eagles

13.There’s a Place in the World for a Gambler performed by Jimmy Buffett

14.Leader of the Band performed by Zac Brown

Bob Seger Debuts New Song About Friend Glenn Frey

About four months ago, Bob Seger went down to Nashville to record a song he'd written about his late friend Glenn Frey. The sparse, tender "Glenn Song" recounts their long friendship. Instead of releasing it on a future album, Seger decided to give it away to mark the one-year anniversary of Frey's death. You can listen and download the track for free by clicking on the link below.

"It's obviously not meant to be a hit," he says. "There's no chorus per se or title section or anything. The idea was just to honor his memory and talk, very specifically, about my impression of him in 1966 when we first met."

"I think it was take one or two," Seger says. "It was the first song we did that day. I said to the drummer, 'Hit it hard even though its a ballad and that's a little incongruous.' I wanted a ballad with a heavy beat because that's the way I remember Glenn."

 

The Day The Music Died: To Those Country Music Lost in 2016

K.F. Raizor, author of the website Raizor's Edge and the book We Can't Sing and We Ain't Funny: The World of Homer and Jethro is our guest writer today on That Nashville Sound. She's ever so gracious to provide wonderful tributes to honor those to whom the music we treasure just wouldn't be the same without. Thank you, K.F.

-------------------

Here are the performers who sang their final song in 2016.



Guy Clark

Bonnie Brown (July 16, lung cancer, age 77): one-third of the Country Music Hall of Fame sibling trio the Browns, she lost her battle with lung cancer 13 months after her brother Jim Ed's death from the same disease.

Rick Christian (May 3, unknown cause, age 61): songwriter best known for writing Kenny Rogers' hit "I Don't Need You."

Guy Clark (May 17, long illness, age 74): far beyond a "songwriter's songwriter," he was more of a novelist's novelist. One of the most brilliant, heart-touching, detailed storytelling songwriters of this -- or any other -- generation.

Jack Davis (July 27, natural causes, age 91): the co-founder of Mad magazine lent his brilliant artistic skills to a number of country music album covers, including those by Ben Colder, Johnny Cash, and nine Homer & Jethro albums.



Holly Dunn

Andrew Dorff (December 19, unknown causes, age 40): songwriter with a number of modern hits including Kenny Chesney's "Save It for a Rainy Day."

Holly Dunn (November 15, ovarian cancer, age 59): singer/songwriter with a string of hits in the 90s including "You Really Had Me Going" and her signature song, "Daddy's Hands."


Richard Fagan (August 5, liver cancer, age 69): country songwriter who wrote hits for Mel McDaniel ("Real Good Feel Good Song"), George Strait ("Overnight Male"), and John Michael Montgomery ("Sold [The Grundy County Auction Incident]"). His "Overnight Male" co-writer, Kim Williams, also died this year.



Joey Feek

Joey Feek (March 4, cervical cancer, age 40): half of the husband-and-wife duo Joey + Rory who had a TV series on RFD TV and saw their album, Hymns, debut at #1 on the Billboard country charts despite being "too country" and never having a "hit."

Brien Fisher (March 11, unknown cause, age 82): Nashville music producer whose best-known work included hits with the Kendalls such as "Heaven's Just a Sin Away" and Vern Gosdin's "Today My World Slipped Away."

Joey Floyd (February 15, cancer, age 54): longtime guitarist in Toby Keith's band.


Glenn Frey (January 18, pneumonia/acute ulcerative colitis, age 67): co-founder of the legendary Eagles, the band that personified country-rock in the 70's, and lead singer on their biggest country hit, "Lyin' Eyes."



Glenn Frey

Gogi Grant (March 10, natural causes, age 91): pop singer who recorded what is probably the best-known version of the classic song "The Wayward Wind."


Mark Gray (December 2, unknown cause, age 64): one-time member of the country-rock band Exile and songwriter of Alabama's hits "The Closer You Get" and "Take Me Down."

Ray Griff (March 9, post-operative pneumonia, age 75): Canadian-born country singer with a string of hits in the 70's including "If I Let Her Come In," "Patches," and "You Ring My Bell."

Merle Haggard (April 6, pneumonia, age 79): the legendary "poet of the common man" who sang of prison, blue collar life, and heartache died on his 79th birthday.

Bill Ham (June 22, natural causes, age 79): Texas-based manager of rock legends ZZ Top as well as the man who discovered and managed country superstar Clint Black.



Merle Haggard

Hoot Hester (August 30, cancer, age 66): fiddler for the Opry staff band for years who backed acts as diverse as the Manhattan Transfer and Ray Charles. He helped co-found the Time Jumpers. And, on a personal note, he was my aunt's cousin.

Dan Hicks (February 6, liver cancer, age 74): eclectic and quirky singer/songwriter, best known for the song "I Scare Myself," who incorporated elements of country, western swing, and jazz into his performances.

Pete Huttlinger (January 15, stroke, age 54): noted flat picker guitarist who made several solo albums as well as toured with LeAnn Rimes and John Denver.

Bud Isaacs (September 4, natural causes, age 88): the Steel Guitar Hall of Famer who played on the first #1 song to feature a pedal steel ("Slowly" by Webb Pierce in 1953), he was a steel guitar master and innovator.

Sonny James

Sonny James (February 22, natural causes, age 86): Country Music Hall of Famer who went from playing fiddle as a session musician to international superstardom with hits such as "Young Love," "True Love's a Blessing," and "Born to Be With You."

Kacey Jones (September 1, colon cancer, age 66): humorist, singer, musician, leader of the country humor act Ethel and the Shameless Hussies, and a writer of songs such as Mickey Gilley's hit "I'm the One Mama Warned You About."

James King (May 19, liver disease, age 58): bluegrass singer who went from an unofficial member of Ralph Stanley's Clinch Mountain Boys to leader of the James King Band and member of the supergroup Longview, known for his heartfelt story songs such as "Thirty Years of Farming" and "Bed By the Window."

John D. Loudermilk (September 21, bone cancer, age 82): Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer who wrote countless songs from lighthearted novelty songs ("Road Hog") to love songs (Bob Luman's "The Great Snowman") to protest songs ("Indian Reservation [Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian]").

Charlie "Sonny" Louvin Jr. (January 27, unknown causes, age 61): the son of Hall of Fame member Charlie Louvin frequently played guitar with his father on the road and on the Grand Ole Opry.

Lana Meisner (March 6, accidental shooting, age 63): wife of original Eagles bassist/vocalist Randy Meisner.

Ned Miller (March 18, natural causes, age 90): singer and songwriter whose best-known composition was "From a Jack to a King," a hit for himself and Ricky Van Shelton and covered by acts from Jim Reeves to Elvis Presley.

Chips Morman (June 13, long illness, age 79): Grammy-winning songwriter (for BJ Thomas' hit "[Hey, Won't You Play] Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song") who also contributed songs as diverse as "The Dark End of the Street" (an R&B hit covered by Archie Campbell) and "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)." Morman died the day after his 79th birthday.

Don Parmley (July 30, long illness, age 82): banjo player and founder of the bluegrass band the Bluegrass Cardinals.

Joyce Paul (February 15, unknown cause, age 78): 60's country singer who had songs such as "Phone Call to Mama" and "I'm the Girl on the Billboard."

Gary S. Paxton (July 16, unknown cause, age 77): singer, songwriter, and producer who went from a member of the Hollywood Argyles ("Alley Oop") to country hits songwriter ("Woman (Sensuous Woman)" for Don Gibson) to Grammy-winning gospel songwriter and performer.

Curtis Potter (January 23, pneumonia, age 75): a member of Hank Thompson's Brazos Valley Boys, he enjoyed his own career as well as performing with Tony Booth and Darrell McCall as The Survivors.

Curly Putnam

Curly Putman (October 30, long illness, age 85): Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member who wrote or co-wrote countless hits, including "Green, Green Grass of Home," "He Stopped Loving Her Today," "D-I-V-O-R-C-E," and "War Is Hell (On the Homefront Too)."

Jim Ridley (April 8, cardiac arrest, age 50): longtime editor and journalist at the Nashville Scene music paper.

Floyd Robinson (May 28, long illness, age 79): songwriter and singer who had one charted hit, the controversial 1959 country crossover song "Makin' Love."

Mildred Haynes Rymer (November 10, stroke, age 86): sister of Henry "Homer" Haynes of Homer & Jethro.

Jean Shepard

Jean Shepard (September 25, Parkinson's disease, age 82): Country Music Hall of Fame singer who began as the duet partner on "A Dear John Letter" and went on to legendary status with a career that spanned seven decades.

Red Simpson (January 8, heart attack, age 81): one of the unsung heroes of the Bakersfield sound, he had one of the great "truck driving" songs with "Roll, Truck, Roll," wrote hits for Buck Owens ("Sam's Place"), and played on Merle Haggard's legendary "Okie From Muskogee."

Icey Sloan-Hawkins (December 17, stabbed to death, age 18): granddaughter of Jean Shepard and Hawkshaw Hawkins. She was killed by her ex-boyfriend, who was then shot by Shepard's widower Benny Birchfield (who also suffered stab wounds).

Carol Smith (December 24, natural causes, age 94): songwriter who collaborated on a number of Sonny James hits including "True Love's a Blessing," "A Little Bit South of Saskatoon," and "Don't Keep Me Hanging On."

Ralph Stanley

Dr. Ralph Stanley (June 23, skin cancer, age 89): one of the most important and significant figures in bluegrass history, Ralph overcame the 1966 death of his brother and music partner Carter to become the standard by which bluegrass performers are measured.

Kay Starr (November 3, Alzheimer's disease, age 94): singer with a long string of pop and jazz hits, she also had two top ten country hits in 1950 singing with Tennessee Ernie Ford.

Gordie Tapp (December 18, pneumonia, age 94): the head writer and one of the mainstays of the long running TV series Hee Haw.

Bob Tubert (April 10, natural causes, age 90): Ozark Jubilee scriptwriter, music publisher who helped found the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) and helped establish Belmont University's Music Business program.

Janet Watson (February 8, unknown cause, age 70): a Broadway choreographer who worked on the play Big River, which earned Roger Miller a Tony.

Kim Williams (February 11, unknown cause, age 68): 2012 Nashville Songwriters' Hall of Fame inductee who gave us, among others, Joe Diffie's "If the Devil Danced in Empty Pockets," George Strait's "Overnight Male," and Randy Travis' classic "Three Wooden Crosses."

Steve Young

Mentor Williams (November 16, unknown cause, age 70): country music singer/songwriter who teamed up with Troy Seals for a number of country hits ("A Few Ole Country Boys") but will be best remembered for his oft-covered song, "Drift Away" (which was a country hit for Narvel Felts in 1973). He was also the longtime partner of Lynn Anderson.

Rick Wright (February 7, car wreck, age 57): guitarist for Connie Smith's band for nearly two decades.

Steve Young (March 17, complications from a brain injury, age 73): "outlaw" singer/songwriter best known for writing the classics "Lonesome, Orn'ry and Mean" and "Seven Bridges Road."

Farewell, and thank you for the music.

New Early 1970's Live Eagles Concert Recording To Be Released- With An Assist From Jackson Browne

Artist: Eagles
Album: Lives of Outlaw Men: Live Pop Gala 1973 & California Jam 1974
Label: Iconography
Release date: January 13, 2017

With the death of Glenn Frey last year, the future of the Eagles remains cloudy at best. But fans can look back this next year rather than look forward with the release of a single album featuring live performances from the early 70's- many with contributions from Jackson Browne.

Shortly before the worldwide release of Desperado in April 1973 the Eagles, while touring Europe, performed at the Sporthal de Vliegermolen in Voorburg, Holland on 10th March. Recorded for a Dutch TV broadcast, the band played a rip-roaring set for 50+ minutes, including a storming 11 minute version of the classic, debut album cut "Witchy Woman." Don Henley and Glenn Frey wanted the band to break away from the country rock style and move more towards a harder-edged sound, and turned to Bill Szymczyk to produce. Requiring a rawer guitar sound, the band brought in Don Felder, a guitarist who had jammed backstage with them in 1972 when they opened for Yes in Boston. The Eagles played at the California Jam festival in Ontario, California on 6th April 1974. Attracting more than 300,000 fans and billed as "the Woodstock of the West Coast". Portions of the show were telecast on ABC television in the United States, exposing the Eagles to a much wider audience.

Felder missed the show when he was called away to attend the birth of his son, but Jackson Browne filled in for him on piano and acoustic guitar. The group played a short 20 minute set at the festival and these tracks are also included on this project.

Interview Flashback - Talking Bob Dylan Influence With Love and Theft

I have been blessed to write contributions/reviews/interviews/opinion pieces for several country music and roots-oriented websites and publications over the years including Saving Country Music, Nashville Scene, Country California, Country Weekly, American Noise, The 9513 and Engine 145. As a regular contributor to the last two in that list, I did close to a 100 interviews with different artists- and since both of those great sites have come down, I will reprint some of those interviews here to give them a home in perpetuity. This interview was originally published in January 2010 on The 9513.

1984. Ronald Reagan is re-elected President. The Summer Olympics were held in Los Angeles. Transformers are unleashed on the world. And from three different points across the United States, three baby boys are born that will eventually form the country group, Love and Theft. 

Stephen Barker Liles grew up in Palm Harbor, Florida on early gospel and contemporary Christian music. Eric Gunderson was raised in Charlotte, North Carolina developing a deep love for his family’s favorite artists such as Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and the Eagles. Brian Bandas spent his youth in Austin, Texas. His was a very music-oriented family with his grandfather and uncle both were well-respected jazz players. 

All points converged on Nashville just a few short years ago when all three came to Music City looking to make their mark in country music. They first began working with one-another as songwriting partners, but as they began to work out demos, they realized that they had something unique in their ability to fluidly trade lead vocals and in their love of harmonies. From there, Love and Theft was born. 

They signed with Disney’s Carolwood Records- now Lyric Street after a consolidation- and opened up for Taylor Swift’s 2008 World Tour. (Swift’s song “Hey Stephen” is widely accepted to be written about Barker Liles.). In March of this year, they released their first single, "Runaway" which ran away to number ten on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. They followed up that with the debut of their first album, World Wide Open.  

The 9513 had a chance to catch the guys in person before going on to do a fundraising performance for the Sacramento Sheriff’s Toy Project to chat about their first full year on the national music scene. 

Ken Morton, Jr.- I recognize the name of the band from an old Bob Dylan album, what made you guys decide on that as a band name?

Brian Bandas- We are influenced heavily by all kinds of classic music. It could everything and anything by Dylan, Elvis, the Rolling Stones, Johnny Cash- anything in that classic musical style. When we started looking for a name, we started going through old discographies of artists we had idolized for years. We came across that name and loved the phrase. And as songwriters, who better to pay tribute to than Bob Dylan? We think he’s one of the best songwriters of all time. And there you go.

KMJ- How did you guys all meet up in Nashville?

Eric Gunderson- We all got there around the same time but we didn’t know each other then. We all dropped out of college and moved to Nashville with the hopes of getting a publishing deal or a record deal somehow. We all met through the songwriting community in Nashville. We met through some mutual friends of ours and different roommates we were living with. We actually wrote a track together- it’s the last track on our album called “Drowning” together. We recorded in the attic of my house and when we were putting the harmony part on there, we thought, “Wow, this is pretty cool.” And now we’re Love and Theft. 

KMJ- You guys mentioned some classic country artists that you were influenced by. Are there some more modern country artists who you’d say you influenced by as well?

Stephen Barker Liles- Tim McGraw is one. And the fact that we’re going to be on his tour next year is amazing.

BB- Yeah, that is pretty amazing.  George Strait. I think I have every single one of his albums. And he has a lot of albums. (Laughing)

KMJ- For someone who hasn’t had the opportunity to hear your new album, World Wide Open, describe it from the artist’s perspective.

BB- We wrote everything on there and our first goal was to not have any filler. We didn’t want to have three or four good singles on there and fill up the rest with eight more tracks. We wanted to put the same amount of energy and passion into every song. We wanted every song to stand on its own. We feel like we accomplished that. It’s definitely a work of passion, it’s all very personal to us. Everything comes from something in our lives, something that’s happened to us. Any of us could sit down and write a song about anything.

SBL- Like Bill Nye the Science Guy.

BB- It’s about one of us coming into the room and saying, “This just happened in my life,” and us writing a song about it. It’s writing about it from that point of personal place. That’s something we’re proud of, that sort of raw kind of authenticity. It’s a little scary kind of baring your soul like that. You’re kind of open to the world like that. 

KMJ- Is that where the title of the album, World Wide Open, comes from?

BB- Absolutely. Eric wrote that song about a specific situation he found himself in and after he wrote it, we all felt it applied to our own lives and to the band as a whole. This ride could go anywhere, we just don’t know where. 

KMJ- It’s not often that bands will share lead vocals like you guys do. Was that a conscious decision to do it differently or did it just evolve that way?

EG- A little bit of both. We all came into it as solo singers. So I don’t think any of us were anxious or willing to totally give up the lead vocals. We all love to sing and we all love that time when we get to sing solo. 

SBL- If you look at the Eagles, they tried it out that way. And it worked out pretty well.

BB- Yeah, we’re huge Eagles fans. 

EG- As for as lead vocals and group harmonies, that’s really what we’re striving towards. It really never ever came up though between us who would sing what. I never had to defend my position and say, “No no no, I want to sing too.” No one even ever asked that question. We all sing. We just all kept singing. 

KMJ- Were you guys ever encouraged to do it differently and find that one lead singer?

SBL- (Stephen pretends he’s a music executive) “How are you guys going to do that without one lead singer? That’s impossible to establish.” We just told them, “You know, we’re going to try it.” 

EG- Especially when we were going around looking for a record deal at different studios. I don’t remember who it was, but they were like, “You guys sound great, but I can’t see this ever working in this town. It’s hard enough with one lead singer, I don’t know how they’ll ever react positively to three.” Which is valid I guess.

BB- But that was definitely one of the biggest responses and reactions to our thing. “We love it… but the multiple lead singer thing isn’t going to work.” But through all of our songs, we’ve never had a problem of who was going to sing what. It’s never really mattered. I think the three of us have worked enough together so we know who sings what parts best. Now it’s only our first record… (laughter from all three)

KMJ- What’s been the highlight of the year for each of you so far?

SBL- The Jason Aldean Tour was the highlight for me. Oh, and playing the Grand Ole Opry. We’ve got a chance to play the Grand Ole Opry three times this year which is awesome. And this last time, we got to play the Ryman. Incredible. 

EG- For me, that’s probably our favorite thing this year. It was our second time playing at the Ryman. The first time we got to play a J.D. Souther tribute. That was an incredible honor for us. We got to get up there with Lee Ann Womack. But then we got the chance to go up and do the Grand Ole Opry right there at the Ryman. So that was pretty special. 

BB- For me, it was Jimmy Fallon. For years, that was one of my little pipe dreams. “Someday, I’m going to be on the Late Night Show.” That was the coolest thing for me.

KMJ- Great experiences for you guys. Stephen, you wrote a track on Martina McBride’s latest album Shine called “Wrong Baby Wrong Baby Wrong.” That has to be a pretty remarkable accomplishment for you this year in itself.

SBL- Yeah. I mean songwriting is my favorite thing in the whole world. I was very honored that she picked it to record. And I just found out it’s going to be her next single that’ll be coming out right around the end of the year. I’m so very excited about that. 

KMJ- You guys opened up for Taylor Swift in 2008. How important was that to your successful launch?

EG- At that point we didn’t have a single. We didn’t have a record.

SBL- Anything.

EG- We didn’t have anything. Halfway through that tour we recorded a live EP because we wanted people to have something that wanted it something to take home. But it was really important because it gave us the opportunity to go out in front of 6,000 to 10,000 fans almost every single night. And it helped to fine-tune our live show and our acoustic show. There wasn’t any pressure to out there and sound like our record because there wasn’t a record. We could go out there and work on performing in front of a huge audience. So it was really unique in that perspective. And it was very cool for them to take a chance on us. 

KMJ- You guys mentioned the upcoming tour, you’ll be going out with Lady Antebellum and Tim McGraw. How many dates- how long will you guys be out on tour?

EG- I think forty-something dates.

SBL- It goes from April to August. 

KMJ- So you won’t be seeing anyone you know- no family or friends- for five months, will you?

BB- But that’s how it’s been all year long, anyways. I think we’ve only been home 30 days the whole year. But we love it.

SBL- Yeah we do. We had like six days off at home. And I started to feel weird. We hadn’t had that many days off all year. So I actually had to go to Florida to take a vacation and go do something. 

BB- It does feel weird. I know for me, I get antsy if I’m not doing something with the band, if we’re just not doing anything.

KMJ- This last one’s meant pretty open-ended. What is country music to Love and Theft?

EG- For me, country music is really just all about the song. Songwriting is such a big part of country music. From Johnny Cash to Waylon to Hank to all these others great songwriters- all those great writers that came before us make it really inspiring to go back and listen to their songs and then go write a song. It’s cool to me to see that they were writing about some of the same things back then. It’s just the world evolving and moving on a bit. It’s about relationships and the things you love. It’s all about the songwriting. 

BB- That has been the other thing that has been eye-opening through this process. It’s the fans. It’s these people that are passionate about it. They put it on as they’re driving across the country or are listening to it as they’re working in the shops or whatever it may be. This is their soundtrack of their life. And they embrace it passionately. We’re constantly blown away by what it means to people, what a huge part of people’s lives it is. 

Interview Flashback - On The Road With The Eagles' Timothy B. Schmit

I have been blessed to write contributions/reviews/interviews/opinion pieces for several country music and roots-oriented websites and publications over the years including Saving Country Music, Nashville Scene, Country California, Country Weekly, American Noise, The 9513 and Engine 145. As a regular contributor to the last two in that list, I did close to a 100 interviews with different artists- and since both of those great sites have come down, I will reprint some of those interviews here to give them a home in perpetuity. This interview was originally published in November 2009 on The 9513.

At some level, it has always been about the road for Timothy B. Schmit. Before travelling uncountable highway miles playing bass in the country-rock band Poco for nearly a decade and before charting courses around the world as a member of The Eagles, it was about chasing the song on tires. For this Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame inductee, music and home were one as a child in a trailer on wheels. 

Close to 50 years after its purchase, Schmit has gotten reflective about the Expando double-wide mobile home trailer that his family upgraded to after his musician father settled down working at a club in Sacramento. After chasing the next gig with his family in tow, Schmit’s father finally put down roots when Timothy B. Schmit was roughly a tween. The brand new shiny trailer with the pop-out sides, nearly twice as big as their old home, was the place where Schmit was raised and bitten by the music bug. 

Now, a worn classic advertisement for that trailer is blown up large and is mounted on the wall of Schmit’s studio- partly for inspiration, but also partly for reminding him of his roots and exactly where he came from. Expando is also the title for his latest solo album released this past month on Lost Highway Records.

The 9513 had an opportunity to sit down with the legend and talk trailers and tracks.

KEN MORTON, JR.- Let’s open up by looking back a bit. You got your start in music playing in a band called Tim, Tom & Ron in our hometown of Sacramento at Encina High School. Is that what brought you to music in the first place or was it before?

TIMOTHY B. SCHMIT- It was before. My father was a musician, that’s what he did for his livelihood. From before I was born, he played the club scene and standards of the day. They were a trio and did a little comedy. He was gone for the first part of my life a lot until I was about five years old. Then about that time, my parents sold our house down in the Bay Area (San Francisco) and moved into a trailer house. He pulled us around from town to town to wherever he was playing. He was probably my first real musical influence. From there, I started playing various instruments in early school. I sang in the chorus at school. I always took to the music thing.

KMJ- What kind of music was your dad playing in those days?

TBS- He was pretty active through the 50’s and early 60’s actually in the club scene.  The club scene back in the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s was a lot of supper clubs. They would host a group for a week at a time. He was one of those groups that they would hire. It was really standards of the day. It was pre rock and roll actually. It was whatever was popular on the radio at the time. They weren’t songwriters, they’d just interpret the songs. 

KMJ- Were you into his type of music back then or did you play the role of the rebellious teen and do your own thing musically?

TBS- It was the latter- a natural course of events where I would be interested in something else. But I never shunned what he was doing. I thought it was great. I was the only one in Sacramento where when they were filling out a form at school or something about what their parents did, they would write musician for my father. I was always really taken with it and he was always pretty magical in my eyes. I loved music and I’ve even purchased some of his old recordings that he did and I’ve transferred them to CD’s and gave them out as Christmas presents to significant people like family members. I’ve always been into all kinds of music. Anything I hear with my ears is really what influences me. 

KMJ- That probably leads us to your newest project. You’ve got this brand new album called Expando that just came out this last month, before we talk about its content, explain the title.

TBS- I mentioned that I lived in a trailer house for most of my younger years- most of grade school and all of high school, really. Over the years, they kept upgrading our trailer house and when we started staying pretty solidly in Sacramento they got a big one and it was called an Expando. You could park it where you wanted to park it and it would literally expand out from 8 feet to 15 feet wide. That’s where the word came from. My first encounter with that word was this mobile home called The Expando. Later on, when I was making this record, I thought of that. My engineer friend and I started to look for it and do research on it. We found this old website and we found a brochure of this very same trailer house that I used to live in called The Expando. And I printed it out and I have it big on my wall here in my studio. When it came time to start to think about titles, I didn’t want to title the album any of the song titles. None of them seemed to quite get it. This word popped into my head and it seemed to sum it up pretty good. It’s such an autobiographical record anyways in many of the songs. I like the word and it’s different and it implies growing and expanding and I think that’s what I’ve done with this record. I think I’ve done on this record a bit. I think I’ve taken a big step in my songwriting and recording abilities. 

KMJ- For someone that hasn’t heard the album yet, describe what they’ll hear.

TBS- For people that are familiar with my solo work, and even for those that aren’t, this is the best work I’ve done to date. It’s something I’ve done in my spare time with the time off with the Eagles. I’ve been really busy with the band for a long time. And we’re gearing up to go back out again after the first of the year- probably in the spring. For awhile, we’ve been working all the time, but have a month off here and there. That’s when I would write and record a little at a time. It’s the truest music I’ve done. I chose not collaborate with any other songwriters- even though I know plenty. I didn’t want to go down that path this time. I decided to do this all on my own just to see what would happen- no matter how long it took. And it did take awhile. I thought I would start everything with my roots which is kind of a type of folk music. I would come out to my studio on a regular basis and these songs kind of came together that way. I would figure out how I would want to treat them and then record them. I think it’s the truest representation of my music and partly me than anything I’ve done. 

KMJ- Fans know you well for your work with the Eagles. How would you say your solo album is different from your stuff with the other guys?

TBS- I’d say it’s way different. Certainly there will be hint of that, because that’s what I do on a regular basis. I think it’s quirkier and at times, more raw than the Eagles. It’s looser than the
Eagles. It is two different types of things for me. In a group situation, you have parameters. In my case, it’s the Eagles. You stay somewhat in those parameters. People look expect certain things from the Eagles. They expect lots of harmony and melodic songs- and whatever else the Eagles might imply to the fan. When any of us go into the studio alone, we don’t have those parameters any longer. We can do whatever we want. I did a lot of experimenting. I didn’t do anything extreme, but I definitely wasn’t as careful as maybe the Eagles are. 

KMJ- You have some special guests play with you on the album as well, don’t you?

TBS- When it came time for extra singing or extra instruments, I would literally sit down and think of who would be great on this or that. If I could have anybody, who would I choose? I would think of somebody and I would find out their info and I would get a hold of them. I would personally ask if them if they were available and if they’d do this. Luckily, the majority of the people I asked took me up on my offer. Some people I already knew, some people I didn’t. That’s how it happened. I did it all myself. I used management to get a few phone numbers, but I would do the legwork. 

KMJ- Who are some of those people you felt important enough to ask?

TBS- One is a really great new friend who I didn’t know before I contacted him and he’s on the first song “One More Mile” and that’s Keb Mo. He’s a really terrific musician and a really sweet guy. He took my call right away and he came right out. I have the legendary Van Dyke Parks who is more known as a write and an arranger. He played accordion on some things. I had Benmont Tench from Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers who did a lot of organ and keyboards for me. I had Garth Hudson from The Band- which is one of my favorite bands of all time. He was over here and did some organ on a song. I had Dwight Yoakam and Kid Rock on the same record. They’re both hard workers- in fact everyone was. On “White Boy,” my son Ben played drums and a little guitar. I have the Blind Boys of Alabama even on a song called “Secular Praise.” I ran into them on an elevator and got talking to them one night and that’s how that got started. And of course, Graham Nash, who is an old friend of mine. When I first wrote that song, “Parachute,” I figured out that I shouldn’t be in denial that it sounded like the Eagles. I decided just to not take it another way and have Graham sing harmony on that. 

KMJ- Do you have a favorite track on the album?

TBS- Not really. Everything on here is on here for a reason. I don’t really have a favorite track- I’m happy with all of it. 

KMJ- We mentioned your work with the Eagles a couple times. You guys finished an amazing 16 month international tour this summer, how was that experience overall?

TBS- It was great. We had a really good European run. And before that, we were doing most all of the states. It’s been an incredible experience for all of us. The fact that’s still alive and vibrant is amazing. The music still means a lot to a lot of people. We have a lot of people come experience it with us. I couldn’t have imagined that it would be going this strong at our ages. It’s still very exciting and pretty great. And now with some stuff that’s new in my life, it’s recharging me in another way too. It’s great to have the newness in my solo career and then the thing with the Eagles. I couldn’t really ask for anything more. I hear people around my age talking about
retirement and it’s just not something that is in my future. There’s no stop sign out there. And luckily, I don’t have to. I have a great job. 

KMJ- The relationship dynamic between the group members has been well-documented, how is that today?

TBS- It’s really good. Basically, we all have our separate lives and our separate families. We come together and we work. And we work very hard. And when it comes to take breaks, we scatter. We don’t socialize all the much together outside of work. And that is okay, it doesn’t mean that anyone is having problems. It simply means that we have our own things going on. It just means that we’re not young and sharing a big house together. You know what I mean? The other three guys have young children that they’re raising. My youngest is 19 and in college. So things are really good. We have a really good work ethic. We come together to go to work. 

KMJ- Will we be hearing new music again from the Eagles anytime in the future? 

TBS- You know, that’s hard to say. It was pretty difficult to get out this last record. It took a long time. There’s a lot of elements to take into consideration. We’re a complicated group of people- including myself. I think we’ll just wait and see. My tendency is to say probably not. But I’m not so sure. I’ve learned to not make statements like that. So we’ll have to wait and see. 

Timothy B. Schmit Plans New Solo Album Leap of Faith For September Release

Artist: Timothy B. Schmit
Album: Leap of Faith
Label: Benowen Records
Release date: September 23, 2016

Schmit, the Hall of Fame bass player from the legendary rock groups Eagles and Poco, will release a solo album, Leap of Faith, Friday, September 23 via Benowen Records. The project was recorded at his Los Angeles studio and co-produced with engineer Hank Linderman.

On his new album he goes further up the path he began to explore on his 2009 solo album Expando. "Again, I wanted to write this album on my own." Timothy further explains,"In any collaboration one has to make a series of compromises.  That's not a bad thing, it's simply not what I've chosen to do with this project.  I'm just putting it out there, and maybe some of these ideas might resonate with listeners." 

For all their diversity, these songs are bound by a candor and craftsmanship that are rare in today's music. Schmit says: "I don't feel confined by any outside perceptions about what I do.  I just try to pull songs out of the ethers and shape them as they come, whatever the genre." 

"I hired Hank quite a few years ago to help me learn how to maneuver through my then-new demo studio. But as the studio grew I eventually chose to concentrate on my craft, so I put him in charge of the technical part, among other things. He is an excellent engineer, musician and singer."

"Over the last ten years or so, I've felt like I'm finally getting the hang what it is I do best," Schmit sums up with his knack for wry understatement. "Although this project took some time to complete, this is what I came up with... This is who I am.  This is a Leap of Faith."

New Grand Ole Opry Performance Music Video From Vince Gill- "Peaceful Easy Feeling" (Glenn Frey Tribute)

New Projects From Don Henley, Bucky Covington & Toby Keith

Artist: Don Henley
Album: Cass County
Release Date: 9/25
Label: Capitol Records

"I'm associated with California a lot because of that other band that I play in, but I really and truly was born and raised in Cass County, Texas," Henley said last month during a private listening party in Nashville. "I'm a Southerner and a Texan. I have ancestors in Tennessee, Mississippi and Georgia. So this is a natural progression for me. It's not me trying to do the 'Don Henley country album.' It's who I am and where I come from." 
Track listing:
1. "Bramble Rose" (with Mick Jagger and Miranda Lambert)
2. "The Cost of Living" (with Merle Haggard)
3. "Take A Picture of This"
4. "Waiting Tables"
5. "No, Thank You"
6. "Praying for Rain"
7. "Words Can Break Your Heart"
8. "That Old Flame" (with Martina McBride)
9. "When I Stop Dreaming" (with Dolly Parton)
10. "A Younger Man"
11. "Train In The Distance"
12. "Where I Am Now"

Artist: Bucky Covington
Album: Happy Man
Release Date: 7/14
Label: Independent

“This project means a lot to me as an independent artist,” Bucky says. “The good part is that there’s no one telling me what songs to pick, and the bad part is no one is there to tell me what songs to pick or paying for making the music, so all the risk is on me. That said, I hope everyone loves it as much as I do!”

Track listing:
1. “I Feel Ya” (Eric Mallon, Ruben Estevez, Jason Afable)
2. “Girl You Get To Me” (Dale Oliver, Serg Salinas, Michael Harter)
3. “I’m Saying Something” (Matt Warren)
4. “Somewhere Looking Beautiful” (Bucky Covington, Dale Oliver, Dan Couch)
5. “Buzzin” (Brad Hull)
6. “Happy Man” (Shannon Lawson)

Artist: Toby Keith
Album: 35 MPH Town
Release Date: 10/9
Label: Show Dog Nashville

Brandy Clark, Bob DiPiero, and Shane McAnally penned the collection’s debut single, “Drunk Americans,” and songwriters Pinson, Scotty Emerick, and Rivers Rutherford also have cuts on the new project.

Track listing: TBD

JD Souther To Release Tenderness On May 12

Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee, iconic musician and actor JD Souther releases his new album Tenderness via Sony Music Masterworks. Produced by Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell, Madeleine Peyroux, Melody Gardot, Herbie Hancock), the album will be available on May 12, 2015 and supported by select tour dates across the country and internationally.

JD Souther is both a legendary and mysterious figure in American popular music," says Chuck Mitchell, SVP of Sony Music Masterworks. "He's a self-described 'classicist' who, in his new work, draws a through line between the first great songbook of Porter, Kern, etc., and his own generation's massive impact on the art of the song. The result is an album that brings a new and fresh perspective to this amazing singer-songwriter's contributions."

Now there are many ways to listen to music, and my intention is, as always, that each song tell its own story," adds Souther.  "However, Tenderness is designed as a set.  I invite you to enjoy it this way."

JD Souther proves once again why he's an American treasure," says Irving Azoff, the music industry icon whose company manages Souther. On Tenderness, Souther balances his pop and jazz sensibilities paying particular homage to his earliest influences, the geniuses of the 20th Century Great American Songbook, while maintaining the signature qualities that have made him one of the true contemporary giants of American song. Souther is best known penning countless hits for the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Roy Orbison, James Taylor, Don Henley, George Strait, Trisha Yearwood, Brooks and Dunn and others; while establishing a cult following as a performer with the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band and as a solo artist.

As an actor, he has appeared in the TV Shows Thirtysomething and Nashville, among others. A passionate animal lover and advocate, JD is also involved with Best Friends Animal Society.

Track Listing:
   • Come What May   

   • Something in the Dark   

   • This House   

   • Let's Take a Walk   

   • Dance Real Slow   

   • Show Me What You Mean   

   • Horses in Blue   

   • Need Somebody   

   • Downtown (Before The War) 

TNS Video History- Carrie Underwood- "Desperado"

Cancer Scare Behind Him, Timothy B. Schmit Readies For Eagles Film Debut In February

Longtime Eagles member (and former Poco band member) Timothy B. Schmit just recently announced his fight and subsequent recovery from throat and neck cancer. His struggle with the disease was first made public in late-December by his assistant, Julie, who told fan site Timothy B Schmit On-Line that:

In October, Timothy was diagnosed with throat and neck cancer. He flew to New York right after the 11/17/12 Las Vegas show for surgery with a top surgeon. He was only in the hospital for three days.

The good news is that the surgery was successful and Timothy has received a clean bill of health. The final pathology report stated that he appears to be cancer free, both in his throat and neck. He does not need to have chemo or radiation. Now he just has to keep an eye on things every month for about a year to be sure it stays away, and then not so often.

Last week, Schmit posted his own update and thank you on his website:

I’m way past due in expressing my sincere gratitude for the outpouring of get well wishes I’ve received over the last few weeks. They have come in various forms, like the great e-card that was signed by many, many people through the L & M’s Eagles Fastlane website, as well as all the touching cards I’ve received via snail mail. I very much appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers regarding my health. But, let me give you a brief update. Although my issues were disheartening, and I went through what the doctors called, “major surgery”, the truth is I was only bedridden during my three night stay in the hospital. I was up and about right after, starting with daily walks on the streets of Manhattan. After another week I received a clean bill of health and headed for home on the west coast. My voice is coming along nicely, and as many of you know, I was able to perform with the Eagles just before the new year. So … All is good. The brief synopsis is: I discovered a problem and took care of it; simple as that.

So, not to worry … I love my work, and plan on doing it for as long as possible. I’m chipping away at a new solo album, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you hear of more Eagles action in the near future.

Schmit's recovery comes just in time to participate in the festivities surrounding the debut of a brand new film about The Eagles. Fans will be able to watch the official trailer for History of the Eagles – The Story of an American Band this next month. A two-night premiere event Fri 2/15 & Sat 2/16 8PM on cable television's Showtime will kick it off. Visit www.eaglesband.com for more details and updates. You can watch a preview of the movie HERE.

TNS Video History- Travis Tritt & The Eagles- "Take It Easy"

New Music Video From The Eagles' Glenn Frey- "Route 66"

Eagles founding member Glenn Frey just released his sixth solo record, After Hours, on May 8th through Universal Records. The album consists of covers of classic tracks inspired by Frey's love of artists such as Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole and Dinah Washington.

Fab Four April- A Quartet of Things TNS Is Digging

Ray Wylie Hubbard

This is the third installment of a new monthly feature that is going to highlight four new, new to me, or recently rediscovered items that have made my own personal country music ESPN highlight reel over the last month. It follows up on lists from February and March. Some will be singles, some might be albums and some just might be a live performance or two. It’ll be a little look inside the head of this mad-about-country-music-man. 

Without further ado…

 1. Ray Wylie Hubbard – “Mother’s Blues”

Grizzled and gravelly in delivery, this storyteller’s storyteller delivers an amazing autobiography in four minutes. It’s filled with strippers, drinking, lost fortunes… and as amazing as it might sound… a love story. It has a genius line in it that reads, “The days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations, those are pretty good days" It marks one of the favorite tracks of the year. The track can be found off of his recently released The Grifter’s Hymnal album. Below is a live video from our friends over at Music Fog:



 2. Deric Ruttan- “Main Street, 1979”

If you’ve not heard of Mr. Ruttan, most likely you’re located somewhere south of North Dakota. This Canadian up and comer has made his biggest mark thus in the Great White North. In this day and age in where it seems like every country singer is telling us how everything is better out in the country, Ruttan delivers a heartwarming and sentimental song that highlights everything that was special in small town America… or small town Canada. You can choose. Listen for yourself below.



 3. Joe Walsh – “Analog Man”

If you saw the recent That Nashville Sound column about the best of the first quarter of 2012, you saw this single up on top of the list of favorite singles. The Eagles guitarist is back with a solo album soon and this is the first cut being released to the public. “What’s wrong with vinyl, I think it sounds great. LP’s, 45’s and 78’s. What’s wrong with those? But that’s just the way I am. I’m an analog man.” Amen, Joe.



4. Chris Stapleton- “Tennessee Whiskey”

Musicians Against Childhood Cancer stages a summer festival each year outside Columbus, Ohio, to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. Performances at the festival are recorded, edited and released as CDs to help raise even more money. In 2006, the International Bluegrass Music Association named one of those albums, Celebration of Life, as its album of the year. The newest effort, an album titled Life Goes On, is thirty-nine songs performed by a total of 139 artists. On it is this incredible track by Chris Stapleton, the former lead for the bluegrass band The Steeldrivers. It’s a cover of a classic George Jones and it’s perfection in sound. Do a good deed and buy this one at www.ruralrhythm.com.

TNS Video History- Eagles- "New Kid In Town"

TNS Video History- Eagles- "Learn To Be Still"

Don Henley Of The Eagles Finalizing Solo Country Record

Don Henley has always had one foot in the world of country music. While the Eagles may have been one of the best examples of country-rock, few of their songs made their way onto country radio. Until their latest album, "Lyin' Eyes" was the only record by the group to make the country top forty.

In between legs of the current Eagles tour, Henley has been busy in the studio recording a distinctly country album, mixing covers with original material. Co-producing is Stan Lynch, former drummer for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. He recently talked to the San Francisco publication called Diablo:

"Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers is one of my favorite bands of all time. I've known those guys for many years. Stan is one of my best friends, my son's godfather. We work together often and are currently co-producing my next album, which will be a collection of country songs, originals and covers. He's another quasi-redneck who is amazingly gifted and has a killer sense of humor. His dad was a professor at the University of Florida in Gainesville, and Stan lives on a sheep and timber farm, east of there."