Eagles founding member Glenn Frey dies at 67

Glenn Frey, the guitarist, singer and songwriter who co-founded the Eagles, whose country-tinged, melodic rock tunes, wistful love ballads, philosophical anthems, observations of the outlaw life and testaments to the wages of decadence made it perhaps the leading American band of the 1970s, died on Monday in New York City. He was 67.

An announcement on the band's website said the cause was complications of rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis and pneumonia.

The Eagles, founded in Los Angeles in 1971 by Frey and the drummer and singer Don Henley, lived furiously in the musical spotlight for nearly a decade, pumping out hits that defined a post-Beach Boys California pop in the midst of an era that otherwise gave birth to both disco and punk.

The band flamed out in 1980 and disbanded. It got back together 14 years later with its popularity barely subsided, but it was the rocket-like rise and spectacular early success that landed it in 1998 in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, whose website said the Eagles sold more records than any other band in the 1970s. It had four consecutive No. 1 albums, five No. 1 singles and its "Greatest Hits 1971-1975" album alone sold upward of 26 million copies.

The band's hit songs included yearning, battle-of-the-sexes musings like "Lyin' Eyes" and "Heartache Tonight," and the cool-cat lifestyle statements "Take It Easy" and "Peaceful Easy Feeling," all of which featured Frey's light, casual, relaxed lead vocals, as well as the No. 1 hit "Hotel California," the band's signature song from its 1977 album of the same name.

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