Yeah, I know. This is supposed to be a sports blog, and 99% of the time it is devoted to just that.
But once in a great while yours truly makes an exception and devotes a column to something or somebody else.
This is one of those times.
Like so many others around the USA and the world, I mourn the passing of Glenn Frey. No doubt, age 67 is considered "old" in some circles, but not so much in others. It all depends on how one looks at it, and most times how old the "looker" is.
It appears Frey had a few different medical problems going on, and they finally came together to spell his demise.
No, I never met Glenn Frey, nor even ever saw Eagles live in concert. But dating back to the 70s, yours truly was fascinated by the musical genius he was capable of.
Frey was not only the "Founding Father" of Eagles, but immensely talented in so many other ways. He wrote a slew of hit songs that we all still remember to this day. He could play the guitar superbly and his singing voice was extraordinary.
His Eagles were known for a lot of things, but probably their four and five part perfect harmony during songs was the most noteworthy. And no other band, to my recollection, has ever combined easy listening music, lyrics that told a story, and prompted more people to sing along than what Eagles did at the height of their fame. To this day, decades later, put an Eagles song on the "jukebox" in a bar, turn it up, and even the younger folks that weren't born at the time the song originally came out -- somehow know the words and get into it. I suppose transcending generations is the very definition of "classic" music.
Unlike so many others in the entertainment industry since, Glenn Frey never saw or felt the need to hype himself to the media. He was content to let his (and the band's) work product speak for itself. And yes, back in the 70s, there were certainly a lot of musicians and bands that had become wildly popular in America and beyond.
But Glenn Frey and Eagles always had, and still do, their own little niche. Nobody did it quite like those guys.
And now he is gone at a rather young age, like so many musical geniuses before him. The list is long.
I shall miss you, Glenn Frey, but never forget what you accomplished during your life. So many memorable songs that made me think then, and still do to this day. And the music itself was glorious.
Not sure if there's a Tequila Sunrise in your future, but Take It Easy, wherever you are. Ain't no Lyin Eyes about it.
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