Don Henley Claims 2026 is Likely Eagles' Final Year
Henley Claims 2026 is Likely Eagles’ Last Year
- Eagles formed in 1971 and have had a remarkable 55-year career in rock music.
- Don Henley, co-founder, says the band's 'The Long Goodbye Tour' will likely be their last.
- Henley wants to spend more time with his family and pursue gardening, ending the band's legendary run.
The Eagles have had one of the most remarkable runs, not only in rock history, but all of music history. The legendary Los Angeles rock band formed in 1971, and has delivered and performed some of rock’s most recognizable music for the better part of 55 years, but that will soon be coming to an end.
In an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Eagles cofounder Don Henley stated he believes the band has just about reached its end.
“I think this will probably be it,” Henley said in an interview. “I feel like we’re getting toward the end, and that will be fine, too.”
The Eagles are in the midst of their “The Long Goodbye Tour,” which began on Sept. 7, 2023 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The tour has since brought them to Las Vegas’ Sphere, which they’ve sold out routinely since their first show there in September 2024.
The first eight Eagles shows at the Sphere have grossed $42.2 million, and their residency is expected to continue into March 2026. The band has eight remaining shows at the venue, and a performance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival set for May 2. That could potentially be the band’s final show.
Henley was asked if 2026 would be the band’s last, which he replied “I think so, yeah. And I am OK with that.” Henley’s reasoning for why is a simple one; family time.
“I would like to spend more time with my family, and I would like to spend more time growing vegetables,” Henley said.
Henley has been performing for over 55 years, between a long career with the Eagles and a successful solo career as well.
From Country Backing Band to Rock Legends
The original Eagles lineup was recruited by country music star Linda Ronstadt in 1971 to serve as her backing band on her self-titled third studio album, before venturing out on their own as the Eagles.
With Henley on drums, Glenn Frey and Bernie Leadon on guitar and Randy Meisner on bass, the band released their self-titled debut album in 1972, featuring hits like “Take It Easy” and “Witchy Woman.” 1973 saw the band release their follow-up record, Desperado, featuring the hit song of the same name.
Guitarist Don Felder was brought into the band to add slide guitar to their song, “Already Gone,” and ended up being invited to join the Eagles full time.
After touring for the band’s fourth studio album, One of These Nights, Leadon left the band due to his frustration with the band’s sound moving from country toward more of a mainstream rock sound. He would be replaced by former James Gang singer and guitarist Joe Walsh.
With Walsh in the fold, the Eagles would record and release Hotel California in 1976, the massively-successful record that spawned hits such as “Life in the Fast Lane,” “Victim of Love” and of course, “Hotel California.” The album is a RIAA-certified 28x Platinum record.
By the end of the 1970s, the band began to fall apart, due to infighting and burnout from writing, recording and touring. Meisner led the band abruptly in 1977 after a fight with Frey, and returned to Nebraska to be with his family. The Eagles replaced him with Timothy B. Schmit.
The band didn’t release another studio album until 1979’s The Long Run, which took a year and a half to complete. While some critics considered the record a “disappointment,” when compared to Hotel California, it produced hit songs like its title track, “I Can’t Tell You Why,” “In the City” and “Heartache Tonight.”
On July 31, 1980, during a show in Long Beach, California, Felder and Frey were verbally feuding with each other onstage during the band’s set, due to a dismissive comment Felder made toward California Senator Alan Cranston’s wife backstage before the show. The duo were making threats toward each other during songs.
Frey separated himself from the band as they mixed their live album, Eagles Live, which produced the single “Seven Bridges Road,” already a staple at their live shows. It was their last top-40 single until 1994. The Eagles broke up soon after.
Walsh reestablished his successful solo career, but not to the same levels of success as what he experienced in the 1970s.
Henley and Frey’s solo careers each saw commercial success into the 1980s, most notably with hit singles like Henley’s “Boys of Summer” and Frey’s “The Heat is On.”
Felder went on to release a solo record, and contributed a pair of songs to the soundtrack for the movie Heavy Metal.
Schmit had the hit song “So Much in Love, featured in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, while also contributing on several projects for artists like Crosby, Stills & Nash, Jimmy Buffett and Toto.
Walsh and Schmit toured together as part of Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band in 1992.
Hell Freezes Over
In 1993, several country artists collaborated to create the tribute album, Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles. Travis Tritt made a music video for “Take It Easy,” the song he was contributing to the record. He sought out the Long Run-era Eagles to appear in his music video, which they agreed to. Schmit was the only Eagle to feature on the album, singing backup on Vince Gill‘s cover of “I Can’t Tell You Why.”
Felder, Frey, Henley, Schmit and Walsh formally reunited in 1994, for which they performed two shows to record a live album and MTV television special, both titled Hell Freezes Over, which comes from earlier Henley statements when asked if the Eagles would ever get back together.
At their first live show, Frey quipped “for the record, we never broke up, we just took a 14-year vacation.” The “Hell Freezes Over” tour continued into 1996.
The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, which included Meisner and Leadon performing with the five other Eagles for two songs at the show.
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Henley Claims 2026 is Likely Eagles’ Last Year was originally published on houstonseagle.com
