Glenn Frey

The Eagles’ Glenn Frey cofounded one of the quintessential California bands, yet his native Michigan was always in his heart. Born in 1948, he cut his teeth in a Detroit rock scene steeped in R&B, and his mentor Bob Seger offered career advice while inviting the young singer and guitarist to play on his 1968 single “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man.” But Frey couldn’t resist the lure of L.A., where he and Don Henley formed the Eagles in 1971. Over the next nine years, they became rock royalty thanks to their sunbaked, countrified sound. Yet every now and then, Frey penned a tune like “James Dean” or “Heartache Tonight” that throbbed with a Motor City vibe. It’s a sound he would embrace more fully on ’80s solo hits “The Heat Is On,” “Smuggler’s Blues,” and “You Belong to the City.” The decade was a busy one for Frey, who also acted on the television shows Miami Vice and Wiseguy. After the Eagles reformed in 1994, he released one more solo record, the 2012 pop-standards set After Hours, dying four years later after a long struggle with rheumatoid arthritis.