The exact opposite of a peaceful easy feeling, the Eagles announced Wednesday that singer and guitarist Deacon Frey, the son of late founding member Glenn Frey, is leaving the band after nearly five years on the road honoring his father’s legacy. Don Henley confirmed the news on his Facebook page. It comes weeks after the younger Frey, still the new kid in town, had to drop out of several Eagles tour stops because of an undisclosed illness. “He now feels that it is time for him to forge his own path. We understand, completely, and we support him in whatever he wishes to pursue in the years ahead,†Henley’s statement reads. “In the wake of his dad’s demise, Deacon, at age 24, did an extraordinary thing by stepping from relative anonymity into the very public world of his father’s long illustrious career. We are grateful to Deacon for his admirable efforts and we wish him well as he charts his future. Deacon’s Eagles family will always be here to surround him with love, support and goodwill, and he is always welcome to join us onstage at any future concerts, if he so desires.â€
In a move later replicated when Fleetwood Mac fired Lindsey Buckingham, the death of the virtuosic Frey required the Eagles to hire two musicians in his place in 2017 for touring purposes: Deacon and country ringer Vince Gill. (Gill is still performing with the band as well as guitar deity Joe Walsh and bass charmer Timothy B. Schmit, both of whom joined the Eagles as members in the late ’70s.) Henley previously stated that he doubted the band would’ve justified touring in the aftermath of Frey’s death if it wasn’t for the involvement of direct “family blood,†and he praised Deacon’s brave and composed spirit through it all. “He had done some gigs with his father — private parties, clubs, in front of maybe 200 people,†Henley told Rolling Stone at the time. “To go from that to 55,000 people is extraordinary. I don’t know many people who could have done that without freaking out.â€