When the Eagles lowered the keys of their songs.
Were they simply too old to sing the originals?
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Some aren't even aware that something has changed with their favorite Eagles songs. Not everyone is a musician who will notice these things. Something is different, but at least it's the same band singing the songs and it's the same lyrics. That's all that matters, right? Hardly. This article takes a look at the last bastion of the aging singers of a classic rock band, and their last-ditch efforts to remain relevant, by lowering the keys of their songs, and hoping that enough of the fans are okay with it.
Or maybe that's not what really bothers me.
I grew up an Eagles fan. It was the 1970's, and I was learning how to play the guitar by learning Eagles songs. Over the years, I collected their albums and played them all the time. These songs became songs I knew how to play on the guitar very well. They were the soundtracks to my youth. Then one day, many years later, I heard an Eagles song that had been dropped down an entire whole step from the original key. I almost didn't recognize it. What the hell is this? Are these guys so old that they can't even sing their own songs in the original keys? I didn't want to hear it. That version had no meaning to me. It wasn't the song I grew up with.
Yes, it was Don Henley singing, yes it was the same lyrics and yes it was the Eagles, but it wasn't the original version I knew almost as well as they did. Why were they resorting to changing their classic songs, just to please an audience? Were these guys that hard up for money? Nah, that can't be it. Maybe they just wanted to continue performing for their fans, even if it meant singing in lower keys. Probably. What about the long term diehard fans who have been around since the beginning? We don't want those old classic songs changed.
Some believe that it's okay for the artist to do this. After all, they wrote the songs, they can do whatever they want to them, right? Wrong. There comes a time when you write new songs and hope for the best. They did this with "Long road out of Eden", in 2007. All new songs. It wasn't Hotel California, but it was a mildly successful compilation of new songs.
The Eagles have gone on tour many times over the years since the death of Glenn Frey in 2016. I had no desire whatsoever to see them in concert. As far as I was concerned, the Eagles going on tour without Glenn Frey was about making more money. The keys in all of the songs had all been lowered to the point where they weren't even the same songs. For the first time in my life, I saw the Eagles as a novelty act with costly concert tickets that only the wealthy could afford in the name of bragging rights.
The Eagles are only one example of aging artists who are trying desperately to hold onto the past. They find ways to draw the old fans to the shows "for old times sake" while promoters and venues charge extraordinary fees for tickets. Remember the days when a concert ticket was under twenty bucks? I do.
One day, way back in 1993, I found out that the Eagles were back together and going on tour. I had never seen the Eagles in concert. They were coming to the Citrus Bowl, here in Orlando on July 23, 1994. I had to go. I was making good money, I could afford the tickets. Then I found out how much the tickets were. $50.50 for upper level, nosebleed seats. I got two tickets, took a girl I liked, went to the concert and we drank all afternoon. I remember thinking even back then, how expensive the tickets were, and that was nearly thirty years ago.
I don't blame the Eagles for any of that. As far as I was concerned, the Eagles were worth every penny. It was a chance in a lifetime to see one of my favorite rock bands. All of those old songs meant so much to so many for so long. The very idea that they would one day change those songs simply because they couldn't sing them anymore, was a real let down for me.
I'm an aging musician too. I can't sing those high notes anymore either. Maybe the problem I have with old rock stars trying to carry the torch longer than they should is because I'm right behind them. Maybe I simply don't want to admit that all of my rock heroes are dying, and that one day, I will die of old age too. Leaving the old songs the way they are, is my connection to the memories of my youth. That's really all I want.