The red Ford pickup truck that my dad drove when I was growing up is the setting of some of my most cherished childhood memories. My dad drove me in the red truck to hockey practices at 6 a.m. every Sunday morning, across the state for soccer games every Saturday, and down the road to my school during the week. My favorite thing about rides in the red truck was the music. My dad would stick a mixtape into the cassette player and my little fingers reached out to the dashboard to tap the little blue illuminated volume button; I was so eager to hear what amazing music my dad had in store for me. The red truck was a shrine for classic rock, and it’s where my dad taught me to sing. I discovered my love for music in the red truck.
The first songs that I memorized as a child were not by Aaron Carter or Jessie McCartney. Instead, I knew all of the words to The Eagles’ "Desperado," "New Kid in Town," "Lyin’ Eyes," and most importantly I could sing the entire guitar solo in "Hotel California." My older brother later told me that my air guitar accompaniment would not make me any friends. The Eagles were my favorite band, and I was probably the only ten-year-old that could say that.
It wasn’t until I was about 13 years old that I learned that my mom had been in a serious relationship with Glen Frey before she met my dad (we still cook the famous “Glen Freyed Chicken”). Naturally, I asked a million questions about the man who created the band that had such a profound influence on my musical taste. My mom had only good things to say about Frey, remarking that he was a talented entrepreneur, poet, musician, and companion. She said that he had been an incredible poet long before he was a musician. She said that he had a “love affair with words.”
Once when Frey was visiting my mom in her hometown in Grosse Point, Michigan, my grandfather, in his terrifying fatherly way, asked Frey what he did for a living. Frey’s answer was this: “I write America’s anthems.” From that moment on, Glen Frey and my grandfather were great friends. I imagine they are playing golf together in heaven at this very moment.
Glen Frey was a passionate “yes man” who captured the heart of every person he worked with in and out of the music industry. His contribution to the music world is significant; he created a new sound that blended rock with country and resulted in countless classics. We all know the song "Hotel California," but many don’t know the face behind the genius. Glen Frey. A father, a husband, a friend to my mother, and the reason for my love of music. So, to all of Glen Frey’s friends, family, my mom, and Eagles fans: “It may be rainin’, but there’s a rainbow above us.” Rest in peace, Glen Frey.
