Like Deacon Frey, the Eagles' other choice to join them at next month's Classic West and East festivals, Vince Gill, also had a personal connection to the late Glenn Frey.
In an interview with Herald-Mail Media, Vince says, “I’ve known most of those guys for most of my life... He was a great friend and I’m beyond honored to go sing these songs and step in for an old friend... It’s got to be pretty hard for them, and strange for them, but it’s got to be a logical move with myself and Deacon to come.”
Asked if he is intimidated about performing with the band, Vince says, "It’s still playing and singing and I’ve been doing that for 50 years, and I’m not afraid of that. I’m grateful to go around and play some of these songs. They are the best songs of any American band, I think, in history. And that legacy of songs is extremely important to me. I had all of those songs when I was a teenager. I was singing them out in all of the bands I was in.” But, he adds that it's "pretty heady to learn all of this stuff and step in there and play some of the most important music of all time.”
The Eagles, with Vince and Deacon, perform at Classic West on July 15th at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and Classic East on July 29th at Citi Field in Queens, New York.