Glenn Frey, guitarist and founding member of the Eagles, died Monday, according to the band’s official website. He was 67 years old.
“It is with the heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of our comrade, Eagles founder Glenn Frey, in New York City,” the band wrote. “Glenn fought a courageous battle for the past several weeks but, sadly, succumbed to complications from Rheumatoid Arthritis, Acute Ulcerative Colitis and Pneumonia.”
Frey’s fellow Eagles band member Don Henley also released a statement following news of Frey’s death:
“I’m not sure I believe in fate, but I know that crossing paths with Glenn Lewis Frey in 1970 changed my life forever, and it eventually had an impact on the lives of millions of other people all over the planet. It will be very strange going forward in a world without him in it. But, I will be grateful, every day, that he was in my life. Rest in peace, my brother. You did what you set out to do, and then some.”
In addition to guitar, Frey played piano and keyboards for the Eagles, wrote many of the band’s hits, and sang lead vocals on songs including Tequila Sunrise, Take It Easy and Heartache Tonight. He won six Grammy Awards, five American Music Awards and was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Eagles.
After leaving the band in 1980, Frey embarked on a successful solo career with several top-40 songs including The Heat Is On, off the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack, and You Belong to the City, from Miami Vice’s soundtrack.
Among the many artists mourning the loss of Frey were KISS frontman Paul Stanley, Meat Loaf, Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson and Frey’s longtime friend, Bob Seger, who declared that Frey “was the leader of the Eagles”.
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