Eagles Co-Founder Bernie Leadon Set to Drop First New Song in 21 Years

After two decades of silence, Bernie Leadon, the first Eagles guitarist, will release "Too Many Memories" on July 18. This is his first song since his 2004 album, Mirror. Glyn Johns, the expert who recorded the Eagles' first three records, sat behind the production desk.

"I've lived many lifetimes in one lifetime," said Leadon, according to Rolling Stone. "I've lived in five or six different cities in America, on both coasts. ... And the conclusion to the song is that I need to let it all go and melt like rising fog off the meadow. Ultimately, I do think we do have to let a lot of stuff go. We need to let resentments go.”

In his Tennessee studio, Leadon spent five days recording eight tracks. He brought together Glenn Worf on bass, Greg Morrow on drums, and Tony Harrell manning the keyboards. The team stuck to old-school analog methods to catch the raw spirit of each take. "We did it all together, sitting in one room, looking at each other, listening to each other. ... There's a discipline that happens when you record that way," Leadon said.

The spark for this new music struck after Leadon's stint on the History of the Eagles tour from 2013 to 2015. He hadn't played with the band since their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in 1998. In 1975, Leadon walked away from the Eagles amid growing tensions. Now, he's happy that his relationship with the band is good and everyone stays in touch.

Nashville's City Winery will host his comeback show on September 12 as part of the AMERICANAFEST festival from September 9 to 13. The fate of those other seven tracks hangs in the balance as he weighs releasing them as singles or bundling them into an album.