The member of the Eagles Glenn Frey called “the worst”

The idea of the Eagles reuniting after 1980 seemed like a pipe dream. The band had enough hits to last a lifetime. But everything came to an end after a fight in Long Beach. It was with guitarist Don Felder fleeing a venue after arguing with frontman Glenn Frey on stage. The band was on better terms during their reunion. But it didn’t take long for tensions to flare up again.

Felder, on the other hand, had typically received a raw deal when working on his band’s hits. He may have created the iconic chord progression for ‘Hotel California‘. But the album that accompanied it never satisfied him. After insisting on singing the track ‘Victim of Love’, Felder was blindsided by the rest of the group when they recorded a new version of the song without him.

Once the band was on good terms, the live album Hell Freezes Over became the first official Eagles release since the breakup. It was with Felder trading licks with Joe Walsh on new songs like ‘Learn To Be Still‘ and ‘Get Over It‘. When it came time to go on tour for the next few years, Felder was not pleased with the pay he received every night.

When putting together the tour contracts, Frey made it clear that he wanted a bigger say. He told History of the Eagles, “I went to [manager] Irving [Azoff]. He said, ‘Irving, I won’t do it unless I and Don earn more money than the other guys.'” We’ve been the only people who have kept the band’s name alive after the breakup”.

Frey became enraged when Felder backed out of the deal, calling Felder’s manager and issuing a band ultimatum. Frey remembered his exact words as, “Hello Barry, this is Glenn Frey.” I’m sorry you’re the only asshole in the band, but let me tell you something. Either Don Felder signs this contract by the end of today, or we find another guitarist. That is the deal. He signs by sunset or he’s out of the fucking band. Then I hung up.

Despite signing the contract with gritted teeth, Felder did not feel like he was part of the band in the traditional sense. He explained, “I didn’t feel a great sense of camaraderie. You hardly saw anybody whether it was going on the plane or the stage”.

Instead of focusing on his job as lead guitarist, Felder was only concerned with money. According to Frey, who stated, “Don Felder was never, ever happy. It didn’t matter how much money he was earning. He was more concerned with how much money I was making from the tour.”

After a few too many months of bad blood on the road, the band decided to part ways with Felder. They eventually hired Steuart Smith as their touring musician after his work on their comeback album, Long Road Out of Eden. While Felder was not going to be pushed over his pay, he did regret not being able to mend fences. When asked about his dismissal, Felder expressed how hurt he was that everything had fallen through.“It just broke my heart. It’s not just about playing with Joe [Walsh]. I miss these guys, but I miss the friendship and the music”.