Bernie Leadon

From 1972 until 1975 Bernie Leadon functioned as an original Eagles member whose input was frequently overlooked yet remained essential, since he rotated among vocals, acoustic electric and pedal steel guitars, banjo, and mandolin while also contributing to songwriting. Ahead of his Eagles years he had already helped shape country-rock by performing in foundational ensembles Hearts and Flowers and Dillard & Clark and later the Flying Burrito Brothers. After exiting the Eagles he relocated to Nashville and established himself there as a session musician, producer, and songwriter.

Leadon entered the world on July 19, 1947 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Although he enjoyed rock & roll his deepest affinity was for country music, which led him to join the California bluegrass group the Scottsville Squirrel Barkers in 1962. By the middle of the decade he had moved to Florida and entered the short-lived country-folk outfit Hearts and Flowers, where he appeared on their concluding album Of Horses, Kids and Forgotten Women released in 1968, before helping launch Dillard & Clark. His stay proved brief once again; he performed on the entirety of their 1968 debut The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark and contributed to selected tracks on the follow-up Through the Morning, Through the Night issued the next year.

A short period backing Linda Ronstadt with the Corvettes followed, after which Leadon joined the pioneering country-rock band the Flying Burrito Brothers in autumn 1969. He stayed with them for several years and took part in Burrito Deluxe from 1970, their self-titled album the following year, and the live recording Last of the Red Hot Burritos in 1972. Upon leaving he rejoined Linda Ronstadt’s backing musicians, a lineup that already included guitarist and singer Glenn Frey together with drummer and singer Don Henley. The three soon decided to create their own band, completed by the addition of former Poco bassist Randy Meisner, and proceeded to refine and popularize the country-rock approach first explored by the Flying Burrito Brothers, with Frey and Henley emerging as especially gifted songwriters.

Leadon’s time with the Eagles spanned four albums widely regarded by longtime admirers as the band’s strongest work: the self-titled debut of 1972, Desperado in 1973, On the Border the next year, and One of These Nights in 1975. On these releases he wrote several under-recognized pieces including “My Man” and “Bitter Creek.” The relentless cycle of touring and recording eventually exhausted him, prompting his departure in what he later described as an “act of survival.” The group continued with Joe Walsh in his place and went on to release Hotel California, one of the highest-selling albums in pop history.

Leadon quickly resumed his career by forming the Bernie Leadon/Michael Georgiades Band in 1977; the ensemble issued the single album Natural Progressions that same year before disbanding. During the 1980s he supported Chris Hillman on Morning Sky in 1982 and Desert Rose in 1984, and he helped create the Christian bluegrass project Ever Call Ready, which released one self-titled album in 1985. Two years afterward he replaced John McEuen in the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and appeared on Hold On in 1987, Workin’ Band in 1988, and Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Vol. 2 in 1989.

Early in the 1990s Leadon started the novelty group Run C&W, known for delivering country renditions of rap songs, and the act put out Into the Twangy-First Century in 1993 together with Row vs. Wade in 1995. He issued the solo album Mirror in 2003. Beyond these endeavors he worked extensively as a Nashville session musician throughout the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, contributing to recordings by Gram Parsons, Alabama, Rita Coolidge, Andy Fairweather Low, Emmylou Harris, John Hiatt, David Crosby, and Stevie Nicks among many others.