1971年The Eagles（老鹰合唱团）在加州正式诞生。
1971-1975年是老鹰合唱团的第一阶段，此时期共发行四张专辑，分别是《Eagles》、《Desperado》、《On The Border》和《One Of These Nights》，这时的乐风是乡村摇滚。
1976-1982 年Bernie Leadon离团后主吉他手的空缺由来自硬式摇滚团James Gang的Joe Walsh取代，他为老鹰合唱团带来新气象，不仅摆脱前期萧瑟的乡村风格加强了电吉他的部份，更添一作曲主力。这些影响明显反应在1976年底的钜作《Hotel California》之中。它一举拿下专辑榜第一名，同时也是畅销百万的白金专辑。
1982年老鹰合唱团精选《Eagles Greatest Hits Vol.2》发表前正式宣布解散。五人再同台已是12年之后的MTV不插电演唱会了。
九○年代初就有谣言老鹰合唱团即将重组，1994年他们果然现身MTV的不插电演唱会，现场歌迷无不沈浸在怀旧的气氛中。
1996年8月在苏格兰的演唱结束后团员再次分手。1999年，大家原本认为的千帜瓿夕夜，老鹰合唱团举办跨年演唱会，2000年12月推出的套装精选《Selected Works : 1972-1999》中的第四张CD就是收录其中部份实况。2001年老鹰合唱团在北美只有两场演唱会，分别是7月28日在德州的达拉斯与8月11日在科罗拉多的丹佛市，其他更多的演唱会可能就要等到据Don Henley的说法是“新专辑完成之后”。全新的老鹰专辑似乎一直在只闻楼梯响的阶段，但随著2003年7月全新单曲 "Hole In The World"的推出，这张大众引颈期盼的作品或许真的在不久的将来就会问世，希望这次不要让全球歌迷再度失望。
老鹰合唱团曾拿过四座葛莱美奖：1975年以"Lying Eyes"得到最佳流行乐团；1977年"Hotel California"是年度最佳单曲；同年"New Kid In Town"获颁最佳和声编排；1979年以"Heartache Tonight"得到最佳摇滚乐团。
1976年之后的老鹰合唱团已从前期的乡村摇滚蜕变为加州摇滚（或称西海岸摇滚），它并无一定的音乐形态，但他们的共同点就是音乐之中透露了西海岸因气候、文化形成的特殊的人文气息，简单说就是一种安逸（Cozy）的感觉，而老鹰合唱团正是此种音乐的代表团体。1998年老鹰合唱团被引进摇滚名人殿堂（Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame）肯定了该团对流行音乐的重大贡献。
With five number one singles and four number one albums, the Eagles were among the most successful recording artists of the 1970s; at the end of the 20th century, two of those albums, Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) and Hotel California, ranked among the ten best-selling albums ever, according to the certifications of the Record Industry Association of America. Though most of its members came from outside California, the group was closely identified with a country- and folk-tinged sound that initially found favor in and around Los Angeles in the late 60s, as played by such bands as the Flying Burrito Brothers and Poco, both of which contributed members to the Eagles. But the band also drew upon traditional rock & roll styles and, in their later work, helped define the broadly popular rock sound eventually referred to as classic rock. That helped the Eagles to achieve a perennial appeal among generations of music fans who continued to buy their records many years after they had split up, which inspired the reunion they mounted in the mid-90s.
The band was formed by four Los Angeles-based musicians who had come to the West Coast from other parts of the U.S. Singer/bassist Randy Meisner (born in Scottsbluff, NE, on March 8, 1946) moved to L.A. in 1964 as part of a band originally called the Soul Survivors (not to be confused with the East Coast-based Soul Survivors, who scored a Top Five hit with Expressway to Your Heart in 1967) and later renamed the Poor. In 1968, he was a founding member of Poco, but left the band prior to the release of its debut album, joining the Stone Canyon Band, the backup group for Rick Nelson. Singer/guitarist/banjoist/mandolinist Bernie Leadon (born in Minneapolis, MN, on July 19, 1947) arrived in L.A. in 1967 as a member of Hearts and Flowers before joining Dillard & Clark and then the Flying Burrito Brothers. Singer/drummer Don Henley (born in Gilmer, TX, on July 22, 1947) moved to L.A. in June 1970 with his band Shiloh, which made one self-titled album for Amos Records before breaking up. Glenn Frey (born in Detroit, MI, on November 6, 1948) performed in his hometown and served as a backup musician to Bob Seger before moving to L.A. in the summer of 1968. He formed the duo Longbranch Pennywhistle with J.D. Souther, and they signed to Amos Records, which released their self-titled album in 1969.
In the spring of 1971, Frey and Henley were hired to play in Linda Ronstadts backup band. Meisner and Leadon also played backup to Ronstadt during her summer tour, though the four only did one gig together, at Disneyland in July. They did, however, all appear on Ronstadts next album, Linda Ronstadt, released in early 1972. In September 1971, Frey, Henley, Leadon, and Meisner signed with manager David Geffen, agreeing to record for his soon-to-be-launched label, Asylum Records; soon after, they adopted the name the Eagles. In February 1972, they flew to England and spent two weeks recording their debut album, Eagles, with producer Glyn Johns. It was released in June, reaching the Top 20 and going gold in a little over a year and a half, following the release of two Top Ten hits, Take It Easy and Witchy Woman, and one Top 20 hit, Peaceful Easy Feeling.
The Eagles toured as an opening act throughout 1972 and into early 1973, when they returned to England and Glyn Johns to record their second LP, Desperado, a concept album about outlaws. Released in April 1973, it reached the Top 40 and went gold in a little less than a year and a half, spawning the Top 40 single Tequila Sunrise. The title track, though never released as a single, became one of the bands better-known songs and was included on its first hits collection.
After touring to support Desperado, the Eagles again convened a recording session with Glyn Johns for their third album. But their desire to make harder rock music clashed with Johns sense of them as a country-rock band, and they split from the producer after recording two tracks, You Never Cry Like a Lover and The Best of My Love. After an early 1974 tour opened by singer/guitarist Joe Walsh, they hired Walshs producer, Bill Szymczyk, who handled the rest of On the Border. Szymczyk brought in a session guitarist, Don Felder (born in Gainesville, FL, on September 21, 1947), an old friend of Bernie Leadons who so impressed the rest of the band that he was recruited to join the group. On the Border was released in March 1974. It went gold and reached the Top Ten in June, the Eagles fastest-selling album yet. The first single, Already Gone, reached the Top 20 the same month. But the most successful song on the LP, the one that broke them through to a much larger audience, was The Best of My Love, released as a single in November. It hit number one on the easy listening charts in February 1975 and topped the pop charts a month later.
The Eagles fourth album, One of These Nights, was an out-of-the-box smash. Released in June 1975, it went gold the same month and hit number one in July. It featured three singles that hit the Top Five: the chart-topping title song, Lyin Eyes, and Take It to the Limit. Lyin Eyes won the 1975 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group, or Chorus, and the Eagles also earned Grammy nominations for Album of the Year (One of These Nights) and Record of the Year (Lyin Eyes). The group went on a headlining world tour, beginning with the U.S. and Europe. But on December 20, 1975, it was announced that Bernie Leadon had quit the band. Joe Walsh (born in Wichita, KS, on November 20, 1947) was brought in as his replacement. He immediately joined the tour, which continued to the Far East in early 1976.
The Eagles extensive touring kept them out of the studio, and with no immediate plans for a new album, they agreed to the release of a compilation, Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975), in February 1976. The first album certified platinum for sales of one million copies, it topped the charts and became a phenomenal success, eventually selling upwards of 25,000,000 copies and dueling with Michael Jacksons Thriller for the title of the best-selling album of all time in the U.S.
It took the Eagles 18 months to follow One of These Nights with their fifth album, Hotel California. Released in December 1976, it was certified platinum in one week, hit number one in January 1977, and eventually sold over 10,000,000 copies. The singles New Kid in Town and Hotel California hit number one, and Life in the Fast Lane made the Top 20. Hotel California won the 1977 Grammy for Record of the Year and was nominated for Song of the Year; the album was nominated for Album of the Year and for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group, or Chorus. The Eagles embarked on a world tour in March 1977 that began with a month in the U.S., followed by a month in Europe and the Far East, then returned to the U.S. in May for stadium dates. At the end of the tour in September, Randy Meisner left the band; he was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit (born in Sacramento, CA, November 20, 1947), formerly of Poco, in which he also had replaced Meisner.
The Eagles began working on a new album in March 1978 and took nearly a year and a half to complete it. The Long Run was released in September 1979. It hit number one and was certified platinum after four months, eventually earning multi-platinum certifications. Heartache Tonight, its lead-off single, hit number one, and I Cant Tell You Why and The Long Run became Top Ten hits. Heartache Tonight won the 1979 Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The Eagles toured the U.S. in 1980, and at a week-long series of shows at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, they recorded Eagles Live. (Also included were some tracks recorded in 1976.) Released in November 1980, the double LP (since reissued as a single CD) reached the Top Five and went multi-platinum, with the single Seven Bridges Road reaching the Top 40.
The Eagles were inactive after the end of their 1980 tour, but their breakup was not officially announced until May 1982. All five released solo recordings. (Walsh, of course, maintained a solo career before, during, and after the Eagles.) During the rest of the 1980s, the bandmembers received several lucrative offers to reunite, but they declined. In 1990, Frey and Henley began writing together again, and they performed along with Schmit and Walsh at benefit concerts that spring. A full-scale reunion was rumored, but did not take place. Four years later, however, the Eagles did reunite. In the spring of 1994, they taped an MTV concert special and then launched a tour that ended up running through August 1996. The MTV show aired in October, followed in November by an audio version of it, the album Hell Freezes Over, which topped the charts and became a multi-million seller, spawning the Top 40 pop hit Get Over It and the number one adult contemporary hit Love Will Keep Us Alive.
The Eagles next appeared together in January 1998 for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, when the five present members performed alongside past members Leadon and Meisner. On December 31, 1999, they played a millennium concert at the Staples Center in Los Angeles that was recorded and included on the box set retrospective Selected Works: 1972-1999 in November 2000. All was not well within the band, however, and Felder was expelled from the lineup in February 2001. A protracted legal battle ensued as the Eagles soldiered on as a quartet, releasing The Very Best of the Eagles in 2003 and achieving minor success with the single Hole in the World. Felders case was settled out of court in 2007; that same year, the Eagles returned with the bands seventh studio album, Long Road Out of Eden.
