We already brought you part one of our list of 15 things you probably did not know about the Eagles, and now we’re back with part two! Check out eight more fascinating facts about the iconic rock band that you definitely (probably) did not know below. You might be surprised by what you find out!
Number Eight: Don Felder Has a Connection to Tom Petty. Before Petty was famous, Felder helped teach him some tricks on the guitar, back in Gainesville, Florida.
Number Seven: They Were Signed by Kenny Rogers. Before they were the Eagles, they were Shiloh, and it was under this moniker that they were signed by Kenny Rogers. With Rogers, they released both an album and a single; however, neither was met with success.
Number Six: They Experimented With Drugs. Before a photoshoot for their debut, self-titled album cover, the Eagles took peyote. According to Glenn Frey, “None of us were native Californians, but we were really into the mysticism of the high desert.”
Number Five: One of Their Songs Has Astrological Roots. The lyrics to “Desperado” were originally centered around astrology. Henley had had the lyrics to the song floating around in his head for several years, and he said that his initial lyric was going to be, “Leo, my God, why don’t you come to your senses?”
Number Four: They Were Mad About Their Greatest Hits. The Eagles were upset by the release date of their album titled Their Greatest Hits (1971-75), because they thought it was premature. However, the album eventually became the RIAA-accredited best-selling album of the 20th century, so they can’t be that mad about it.
Number Three: They Were Inspired by Steely Dan. Henley has said that “Hotel California” was actually inspired by the Eagles’ admiration for Steely Dan. He said that writing the song was “about thinking and writing outside of the box.”
Number Two: They Are Pretty Good Softball Players. In 1978, the Eagles played the staff of Rolling Stone in a softball game located at USC. They ended up winning by an impressive margin of seven hits; the final score was 15 to eight.
Number One: They Did Not Expect to Be Performing Into Old Age. In 1986, Frey said, “I can’t see myself at 41, up on stage with a beer belly singing ‘Take It Easy.'” Little did he know that he would be back up on stage performing when he was 65 years old.