Rocio Mateos
The Eagles are coming back after the death of founder member, Glenn Frey, in January 2016. Naturally, the band needed someone to fill the void left by the late singer, so they enlisted Frey’s son, Deacon, and country music star, Vince Gill.
Back in March, it was announced that the band would headline the Classic West and Classic East on July 15 and 16 at L.A.’s Dodger Stadium. And hit New York’s Citi Field, on July 29 and 30. The Eagles will be performing alongside Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan, Earth Wind & Fire, the Doobie Brothers and Journey.
Fans were skeptical about how the band would go on without its frontman. But surviving members did a very proper choice. Asking Deacon and Gill to split vocal duty on the many songs that featured lead vocals from Frey. Including “Peaceful Easy Feeling,” “Already Gone” and “Lyin’ Eyes.”
Gill had been considered for the role for a while
While it was previously announced that Frey’s 24-year-old son Deacon would join the band for the special shows. The band shared that Gill was considered to play a part in the band after the Kennedy Center Eagles tribute last December. “In my mind, I always thought I’d have made a good Eagle,” Gill joked in an interview with the LA Times. “But in a million years, I never would have seen this coming,” he added.
Eagles member Don Henley was the one who proposed Deacon, saying that it makes “perfect moral and ethical sense” to let the son take the place of the father, according to old cultural traditions. Deacon is excited with the idea as well. He shared with the Times that the first songs he learned on guitar were “Take It Easy” and “Peaceful Easy Feeling.” He said, “It’s another family we would have been missing [if the band did not carry on].”
Henley agrees with Gill joining as well. “The primary thing is I think Glenn would be good with it — with both of these guys,” he said to the Times. “I think he’d go, ‘That’s the perfect way to do this.’
The country music star is a longtime fan of the band. Back in 1993, he collaborated a country rendition of “I Can’t Tell You Why” for the Eagles covers album, ‘Common Thread.’ He also performed “Peaceful Easy Feeling” at the Grand Ole Opry in February 2016, honoring Frey.
