Helping found The Eagles in 1971, Bernie Leadon famously exited the band in 1975 after pouring a beer over Glenn Frey’s head. Releasing two solo albums since, Leadon hasn’t dropped new music since 2004’s Mirror. However, that’s changing soon with the release of his upcoming single, “Too Many Memories.”
Bernie Leadon Is Letting Go of Resentment Toward Ex-Eagles Bandmates
Out July 18, “Too Many Memories” sees Bernie Leadon delving into his rocky history with the Eagles.
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“I’ve lived many lifetimes in one lifetime,” the 77-year-old guitarist told Rolling Stone. “I’ve lived in five or six different cities in America, on both coasts… And the conclusion to the song is that I need to let it all go and melt like rising fog off the meadow. Ultimately, I do think we do have to let a lot of stuff go. We need to let resentments go.”
Leadon worked with producer Glyn Johns on the song. Johns famously produced the Eagles’ first three albums in the mid-’70s, and the pair maintained a relationship even after Leadon’s departure.
“He was supposed to come and do a John Hiatt record, and it didn’t wind up happening,” Leadon said. “And one day he was like, ‘Maybe I’ll just come over and we’ll do some recordings anyway.’ And we did like eight songs in five days.”
Right now, the plan for those songs’ release remains uncertain. However, Leadon told Rolling Stone he planned to play new material at an upcoming solo gig in Nashville, and he hopes to build out a show from there.
[RELATED: Bernie Leadon’s Top 5 Guitar Moments with The Flying Burrito Brothers and the Eagles]
Why Did He Leave the Eagles?
The beer-pouring incident involving Glenn Frey was the last straw, but Bernie Leadon had been feeling burned out on his tenure with the Eagles for awhile. He suggested to his bandmates that they take some time off, but apparently they didn’t take to that idea.
“I don’t regret any of it,” Leadon told Rolling Stone in 2013. “It was a great time in my life, but everything since then has been great, too. What’s funny is that a year after I left they did wind up taking a long break.”
Don Henley has said that Leadon wanted to stay true to the Eagles’ country roots. Whereas, he and Glenn Frey wanted to bring bluegrass and rock into the fold. Leadon called this assessment “an oversimplification.”
“It implies that I had no interest in rock or blues or anything but country-rock.” he said. “That’s just not the case. I didn’t just play Fender Telecaster. I played a Gibson Les Paul and I enjoyed rock & roll. That’s evident from the early albums.”
Featured image by Rick Diamond/Getty Images
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