Thursday, March 10, 2016

Eagles Tribute Bands And Other Iconic Rock Bands

By George Fox


The Eagles, an internationally acclaimed band from California, were one of the most influential musical groups in the 1970s. The band was composed of musicians Randy Meisner (bass player and vocalist), Bernie Leadon (guitar, steel guitar, banjo, dobro, and mandolin), Don Henley (producer, drummer, singer-songwriter), and the late Glenn Frey (piano, guitar, keyboard, vocals). Over the years, they racked up numerous number one albums and singles, not to mention various awards, including American Music and Grammy awards. As might be expected, their success spawned a variety of Eagles tribute bands. Other influential and successful musical groups from the 60s and 70s include Boston, Derek and the Dominoes, Deep Purple, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, and the Allman Brothers.

Led Zeppelin, known originally as the Yardbirds and later the New Yardbirds, formed in 1968 Britain. The band was made up of Jeff Beck, Chris Dreja, Keith Relf, Jim McCarty, and Jimmy Page. Legendary guitar player, Eric Clapton, is also of the Yardbirds/Zeppelin stable. He, Page and Beck will dwell forever on Rolling Stone's list of Top One Hundred Guitar players.

Although they released only one album, Derek and the Dominoes remain one of the most influential bands of all time. The title track to the album, Layla, was based on a poem from fifth century Arabia. The song was about unrequited love and mirrored Clapton's love for the unavailable Pattie Boyd, who was then married to Clapton's friend and Beatle, George Harrison. Boyd's marriage to Harrison eventually fizzled out and she married Clapton in 1979.

The Florida sunshine shown on the Allman Brothers, considered to be the fathers of the Southern Rock music genre. The band was heavily influenced by country, jazz and blues. The leader of the band, Duane Allman, was killed in 1971, the victim of a motorcycle accident. Fellow musician Berry Oakley, who was morosely depressed by Allman's passing, lost his own life in a similar crash not long afterward.

Fleetwood Mac, a British-American rock group, formed in London during the year 1967. Their album, Rumours, became the eighth best-selling album of all time and sold more than 40 million copies. It spawned no fewer than four top 10 singles in the American charts.

The popular album, "Dark Side of the Moon, " was the product of Brit rock band Pink Floyd. Two memorable tracks from this album are The Wall and Careful With That Axe, Eugene. The former title was later made into a feature length film.

Deep Purple hail from the County of Hertfordshire in southern England. Their specialty is hard rock and heavy metal. A pub on the border between Hertfordshire and Essex called the Rising Sun, or Sid's to the locals, is a hugely popular real ale haunt and would have undoubtedly inspired the band to greatness.

Similar to the Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd are sons of the state of Florida. They formed in 1964 under the name of My Backyard in Jacksonville, home of the Jaguars NFL football team. They later called themselves One Percent and the Noble Five, before finally settling for the name, Lynyrd Skynyrd. Two of their best-known hits include "Sweet Home Alabama, " and a tune much loved by fledgling guitarists, "Free Bird."




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