Mourning Glenn Frey

I’ve been grief stricken since learning of Glenn Frey’s death on January 18, 2016. I’ll be the first to say my reaction seems irrational because I’ve always considered fans who cry over the death of a singer or an actor a little crazy. For the love of Pete, certify me right now! I’m still tearing up when I think about him dying. Simply put, I loved Glenn Frey.

Lisa -1978

This one-sided love affair began on a Friday night in 1973 while I was watching ABC Concert. During the show the most beautiful man I had ever seen started singing about a peaceful easy feeling. Bam! Boom! KaPow! I was IN LOVE!! I didn’t know who this Adonis was, but I was going to marry him. Is anything more pure than a pre-teen girl’s love?

I discovered the handsome man’s name and became one of the millions of fans who loved Eagles’ music and Glenn in particular. It was tragic when news spread in 1982 Eagles were no more. How could it all be over? Well, history shows Glenn Frey and Don Henley would continue making music and both would have successful solo careers. My history shows I grew up during that time and my silly teen fantasies came to an end.

I liked his solo work, but it was the Frey – Henley team I found magical. So, to say 1994 was anything but an incredibly happy year, musically speaking, would be an understatement. Glenn and Don would do something no other American rock group seemed to be able to do. They would reassemble the team and pick up where they left off. They were, for lack of a better term, an anomaly.

Fourteen more years would pass before I finally got to see Eagles in concert. I may be prejudiced, but it’s the best concert I’ve ever attended simply because it was low key and focused on the music. Glenn was older, but he still had it. It was a dream come true.

 

2015 would bring them back my way, but tickets were so expensive and I passed. As you might guess, I wish I had splurged because that was my last opportunity to share time and space with this beloved man.

For more than 42 years Glenn Frey, prolific song writer, gifted musician, and incredible singer, brought me indescribable joy. To call it love may not be accurate. In truth, I don’t know if you can really love someone you've never met, but I can’t think of any other term to describe the enduring place he holds in my heart. He's gone, but he will never be forgotten. I'll always have his music and the memory of a hot summer night when the most handsome man with long brown hair first sang to me; a time when we were young, full of big dreams, and still had a lifetime to live them.

Eagles 1973 - Live on BBC