Before forming the Eagles, all four founding members had played with which singer?

Before forming the Eagles, all four founding members had played with Linda Ronstadt. Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner were recruited for Ronstadt’s backing group in 1971.

Frey and Henley became the core partnership behind the Eagles. Leadon brought experience from country-rock groups including the Flying Burrito Brothers, while Meisner had worked with Ricky Nelson’s Stone Canyon Band. Their shared connection with Ronstadt brought the four musicians into the same Los Angeles music circle.

The musicians did not spend the entire period as a permanently fixed quartet onstage; backing-band personnel changed, and the four played together live only once during that early phase. However, all four appeared on Ronstadt’s 1972 self-titled album. Their work with her helped lead to the Eagles’ formation and their signing with David Geffen’s Asylum Records. The other options were influential singers, but they were not the common pre-Eagles link for all four founders.