Tributes for Eagles co-founder Glenn Frey, dead at 67

The guitarist and founder of US rock band the Eagles, Glenn Frey, has died aged 67. The band’s website announced that the musician - who also played piano, keyboards and sang lead vocals on many Eagles tracks - had “fought a courageous battle”. Among the songs he wrote the lyrics for was Hotel California - a US number one and ranked as one of Rolling Stone magazine’s top 50 songs of all time. A statement from his family and band members Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit and Bernie Leadon and manager Irving Azoff, said Frey succumbed to complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis and pneumonia.

Words can neither describe our sorrow, nor our love and respect for all that he has given to us, his family, the music community and millions of fans worldwide.

Eagles statement

The band are one of the best-selling of all time, having sold an estimated 150 million records. The Eagles were founded after Frey and drummer Henley left Linda Ronstadt’s backing band to join guitarist Leadon and bassist Randy Meisner. After the Eagles split in 1980, Frey later embarked on a solo career, scoring a worldwide hit with The Heat Is On, which featured in Beverly Hills Cop. He also acted in a number of films and TV series, including Jerry Maguire and Miami Vice.