Five astoundingly successful supergroups formed in the 1970s

Looking back at the 1970s there are some amazing examples of successful artists coming together then for a new super venture.

Journey in concert
Journey in concert | Michael Putland/GettyImages
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Eagles

Next of the five is country rockers Eagles which initially brought some successful band musicians and session artists together. When the band was first established it was as a backing band for Linda Ronstadt. The original lineup had Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Randy Meisner from Poco and Bernie Leadon from The Flying Burrito Brothers. That led to the Eagles flying free on their own with amazing levels of success to follow.

There were more lineup changes with Don Felder, Joe Walsh of Brainstorm well known as a solo artist, and Timothy B Schmidt, also from Poco all joining. Others left as they arrived and there were more changes in later years too. There are only two surviving members of the original four now and only Henley is still with the band, with Frey and Meisner both passing away and Leadon having left and only making brief returns for award performances and their History Of The Eagles tour in 2013-2015.

Of the band's seven studio albums, six were from the 1970s. The first of their three live albums, Eagles Live was released in 1980 but did feature five songs recorded in 1976. It was also compiled when the band had all but broken up due to major disagreements between members. 

Eagles reformed in later years and have been on their The Long Goodbye Tour since late last year. That culminates in a series of dates at the LA Sphere finishing in January 2025. It may not be the original lineup, but there is still a strong presence from the 1970s with Henley, Welsh, and Schmidt there, that’s still a long time to be a top act, quite a supergroup!

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