Each of the members has pursued a solo career, with Don Henley’s the most successful commercially and critically. In the ’90s, after what they considered a "14 year break", the band’s sound was frequently cited as an influence by young country stars, many of whom contributed tracks to the album Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles (#3, 1993), which won Album of the Year at the 1994 Country Music Associations's CMA Awards. That same year, the Eagles revival culminated in the band’s reunion tour and album.
The group originally coalesced from L.A.’s country-rock community. Before producer John Boylan assembled them as Linda Ronstadt’s backup band on her album Silk Purse (1970), the four original Eagles were already experienced professionals. Bernie Leadon had played in the Dillard and Clark Expedition and the Flying Burrito Brothers; Randy Meisner, with Poco and Rick Nelson’s Stone Canyon Band. Glenn Frey had played with various Detroit rock bands (including Bob Seger’s) and Longbranch Pennywhistle (with J.D. Souther, a sometime songwriting partner), and Henley had been with a transplanted Texas group, Shiloh. After working with Ronstadt, Henley and Frey decided to form the Eagles, recruiting Leadon and Meisner.
Intending to take the country rock of the Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers a step further toward hard rock, the Eagles recorded their first album with producer Glyn Johns in England. Take It Easy (#12, 1972), written by Frey and Jackson Browne, went gold shortly after its release, as did their debut album of the same name. (Another single, Witchy Woman, reached #9 that year.)
Desperado was a concept album with enough of a plot line to encourage rumors of a movie version. The LP yielded no major pop hits, but its title track, Desperado, a ballad penned by Henley and Frey, has become a classic rock standard covered by Linda Ronstadt among others.
With On the Border, the Eagles changed producers, bringing in Bill Szymczyk (who worked on all subsequent albums through 1982’s Greatest Hits, vol. 2) and adding Don Felder, who had recorded with Flow in Gainesville, Florida (and who once gave guitar lessons to another Gainesville native, Tom Petty), then became a session guitarist and studio engineer in New York, Boston, and L.A.
The increased emphasis on rock attracted more listeners - mid-’70s hits included Best of My Love (#1, 1975), One of These Nights (#1, 1975), Lyin’ Eyes (#2, 1975), and Take It to the Limit (#4, 1975) - but alienated Leadon. After One of These Nights, Leadon left to form the Bernie Leadon–Michael Georgiades Band, which released Natural Progressions in 1977. (Leadon went on to become a Nashville session musician, and in the ’90s formed Run-C&W, a jokester group who played a blend of country and R&B.)
Leadon was replaced by Joe Walsh, who had established himself with the James Gang and as a solo artist. His Eagles debut, Hotel California, was their third consecutive #1 album (the second was their record-breaking 1976 greatest-hits compilation). New Kid in Town (#1, 1976), the title cut Hotel California (#1, 1977), and Life in the Fast Lane (#11, 1977) spurred sales of more than 15 million copies worldwide.
Meisner left in 1977, replaced by Timothy B. Schmit, who had similarly replaced him in Poco. Meisner has released two solo albums, Randy Meisner (1978) and One More Song (1980). (In 1981, he toured with the Silveradoes; later, in 1990, Meisner reemerged in the group Black Tie, alongside Billy Swan and Bread’s James Griffin.) Henley and Frey sang backup on One More Song, and in the late ’70s they also appeared on albums by Bob Seger and Randy Newman. In 1981 Henley duetted with Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks on the #6 single Leather and Lace.
Between outside projects and legal entanglements, it took the Eagles two years and $1 million to make the multiplatinum LP The Long Run, their last album of all-new material. Parting hit singles included Heartache Tonight (#1, 1979), The Long Run (#8, 1980), and I Can’t Tell You Why (#8, 1980).
Walsh continued to release solo albums, though his biggest single to date has been 1978’s cheeky Life’s Been Good (#12). Felder and Schmit also put out their own albums and contributed songs to film soundtracks. Schmit’s second LP, Timothy B, included Boys Night Out (#25, 1987).
In 1982 Don Henley and Glenn Frey both embarked on solo careers. Frey charted with The One You Love (#15, 1982) and Sexy Girl (#20, 1984) before a movie proved his ticket into the Top 10: The Heat Is On, featured in Beverly Hills Cop, shot to #2 in 1985.
Frey followed this success by becoming an actor, making a guest appearance as a drug dealer on the popular TV series Miami Vice. The episode was based on a track from his album The Allnighter, Smuggler’s Blues, which consequently reached #12 (1985). Later in 1985, Frey’s You Belong to the City hit #2. While still dabbling in acting with roles in the short-lived TV series South of Sunset, the movie Jerry Maguire, and a guest spot on the Don Johnson post–Miami Vice series Nash Bridges in the ’90s, Frey also cofounded a music label, Mission Records, in 1997.
Ultimately, though, Henley was the ex-Eagle who garnered the greatest chart success, and the most critical acclaim as well. His Dirty Laundry (from his first solo effort, I Can’t Stand Still) made it to #3, but the 1985 album Building the Perfect Beast was to be his true arrival as solo hitmaker and respected singer/songwriter. The kickoff single, The Boys of Summer, went to #5 - supported by an evocative black-and-white video that fast became an MTV favourite - and earned Henley a Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male; the hits All She Wants to Do Is Dance (#9, 1985) and Sunset Grill (#22, 1985) followed. A third album, The End of the Innocence, produced a #8 title track, End of the Innocence, and the additional singles The Last Worthless Evening and The Heart of the Matter, which both hit #21. The LP won Henley another Grammy, in the same category as before.
In the early ’90s, Henley sought release from his Geffen Records contract, initiating a long and bitter legal dispute. After participating in the release of a solo best-of album in 1995, Henley was freed from his contract. Five years later, he released a studio album of all-new material, Inside Job (coproduced by former Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch), and embarked on a solo tour to support it. Henley had married for the first time in May 1995 and had three children before releasing Inside Job. This life-altering change for the longtime bachelour resulted in a new theme in his songwriting; several of Inside Job’s tracks were clearly about marriage and family, including the gentle ballad Taking You Home (#58 pop, #1 Adult Contemporary, 2000). Much of the rest of the album, however, still explored Henley’s cynicism toward the business world and the media.
In 1990 Henley founded the Walden Woods Project, dedicated to preserving historic lands around Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts (where Henry David Thoreau and others reflected and wrote), from corporate development. Among the singer’s various fund-raising means were holding charity concerts, featuring other top rock artists, and donating proceeds from some of his own recordings, including a reggae version of the Guys and Dolls standard “Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat” (1993). In 1993 the Walden Woods Project got a big boost from Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles, coorganised by Henley and featuring Clint Black, Trisha Yearwood, Travis Tritt, and others.
In 1994, after years of fielding off reunion rumours, Henley, Frey, Walsh, Felder, and Schmit - who had appeared together in the video for Tritt’s version of Take It Easy - hit the road for a massively successful tour, the third-highest grossing concert tour of that year. The tour went on hiatus toward the end of 1994, due to Frey’s gastrointestinal surgery, but it continued in 1995. In November 1994, the band released Hell Freezes Over, which featured four new songs, including the singles Get Over It (#31, 1994), Love Will Keep Us Alive (#1 Adult Contemporary, 1994), Learn to Be Still (#15 Adult Contemporary, 1995), and 11 of the old hits culled from the band’s 1994 live appearance on MTV. Within months the reunion LP had sold more than 10 million copies and gone to #1 on the pop album chart.
In 1998 the Eagles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. All seven members of the band performed together for the first time at the induction ceremony. The core members of the group - the ones who had recorded and toured together in the mid-’90s - reunited again for a few concerts at the end of 1999, including a New Year’s Eve show in L.A. A four-CD retrospective set, Eagles 1972–1999: Selected Works (#109, 2000), was released in November 2000.
Don Felder was fired from the band in 2000, leaving Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit as the remaining members of the band.
In 2007 they released a double album Long Road out of Eden, logically followed by a world tour, which was, regardless of people's opinion on the new album, a guaranteed sold-out event. The base line-up on this album is Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit. Also performing on the studio recording are Steuart Smith (guitar, keyboard, mandolin), Scott Crago (percussion) and Will Hollis (keyboard).
On January 18, 2016, it was announced that Glenn Frey had died at the age of 67 in New York City from complications arising from rheumatoid arthritis, colitis and pneumonia.
Fast Company
Eagles Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now, what's the rush?
You listen here
No, you just hush
I know what you think
That man don't know anything
But I've been around a while
I know what's happening
Everybody wanna check you out
Everybody wanna be your friend
And all this pressure
Where do I fit in?
They don't know nothin' you don't know
Ain't got nothing you ain't got
But you keep on runnin', you keep on runnin' with the
Fast company
Fast company
You're going nowhere, you're going nowhere fast
Fast company
Fast company
You're going nowhere, you're going nowhere fast
Now it's alright
To have some fun
This is your turn
Your life has just begun
You're racin' out the door
Don't have very much to say
Your motor's runnin' hot
You can't wait to get away
Lookin' up the road ahead
You can't see very far
Remember where you come from
Remember who you are
Be careful what you say
Be careful who you trust
This world is beautiful
This world is dangerous
Fast company
Fast company
You're going nowhere, you're going nowhere fast
Fast company
Fast company
You're going nowhere, you're going nowhere...
Talk to me and help me try to remember
How it feels to be so in doubt
Turn to me and help me try to remember
That ragin' fire that the years put out
Fast company
Fast company
You're going nowhere, you're going nowhere fast
Fast company
Fast company
You're going nowhere, you're going nowhere fast
Fast company
Fast company
You're going nowhere, you're going nowhere fast
Fast company
Fast company
You're going nowhere, you're going nowhere fast
Fast company
Fast company
You're going nowhere, you're going nowhere fast
Fast company
Fast company
You're going nowhere, you're going nowhere fast
The lyrics of Eagles' song "Fast Company" seem to be a warning to a young and ambitious person who is focused on achieving success and moving ahead quickly. The verses of the song tell the listener to take a step back, slow down, and be wary of those who might try to take advantage of them. The chorus repeats the idea that the person is going nowhere fast, suggesting that they need to re-evaluate the path they are on and consider whether it is truly leading them to where they want to be.
The opening verse is directed at someone who is in a hurry, perhaps too much so. The singer urges them to take their time and pay attention to what is going on around them. The second verse suggests that the person is under a lot of pressure to be successful and fit in with a particular social circle, but that they should remember that they are not alone in their struggles. The bridge of the song seems to be a plea for help, asking someone to remember what it was like to have doubts and uncertainty about the future.
Overall, "Fast Company" is a cautionary tale about the dangers of over-ambition and the importance of staying true to oneself. It urges the listener to slow down, take stock of their surroundings and priorities and to be mindful of the world around them.
Line by Line Meaning
Now, where you going?
Asking where the person is heading to
Now, what's the rush?
Questioning the person's hurry
You listen here
Trying to gain the person's attention
No, you just hush
Telling the person to be quiet
I know what you think
Acknowledging the person's thoughts
That man don't know anything
Contradicting the person's belief in one's ignorance
But I've been around a while
Asserting one's experience
I know what's happening
Claiming to know what's going on
Everybody wanna check you out
Explaining that many people are interested in the person
Everybody wanna be your friend
Pointing out the person's popularity
And all this pressure
Mentioning the stress that comes with popularity
Where do I fit in?
Questioning how the artist fits into the person's life
They don't know nothin' you don't know
Assuring the person that they are not missing out on anything
Ain't got nothing you ain't got
Suggesting that the person has everything they need
But you keep on runnin', you keep on runnin' with the
Observing that the person is running away from something
Fast company
Describing the people the person is surrounding themselves with
You're going nowhere, you're going nowhere fast
Warning the person that they are not progressing
Now it's alright
Acknowledging that it's fine to have fun
To have some fun
Encouraging the person to have a good time
This is your turn
Emphasizing that it's the person's time to shine
Your life has just begun
Pointing out that the person's life is just starting
You're racin' out the door
Observing that the person is in a hurry to leave
Don't have very much to say
Noticing that the person is quiet
Your motor's runnin' hot
Describing the person's eagerness
You can't wait to get away
Noticing that the person is in a hurry to leave
Lookin' up the road ahead
Describing the person's forward-thinking attitude
You can't see very far
Pointing out that the person's vision of the future is limited
Remember where you come from
Reminding the person of their roots
Remember who you are
Encouraging the person to stay true to themselves
Be careful what you say
Advising the person to watch their words
Be careful who you trust
Warning the person to be selective in who they confide in
This world is beautiful
Acknowledging the beauty of the world
This world is dangerous
Cautioning the person that the world can also be dangerous
Talk to me and help me try to remember
Asking for help in recalling memories
How it feels to be so in doubt
Reminiscing about a time when the person was unsure
Turn to me and help me try to remember
Requesting assistance in remembering a feeling
That ragin' fire that the years put out
Describing the extinguishing of a passionate spirit
You're going nowhere, you're going nowhere...
Continuing the warning from earlier
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Cass County Music / Wisteria Music / Privet Music, Red Cloud Music, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GLENN LEWIS FREY, DONALD HUGH HENLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Janet Carter
Absolutely love this song! Tbe beat draws you in then the words really are great! I love the TMB band! God bless y'all!!!🙏🙌🙌❤
Chad McCoy
Dude you are crazy for not putting out more like this. Really solid. I mean really do more of this.
Cefshah
Nice!! Great job!!
Christine Johnston
Lol
Christine Johnston
Wanna.dance