Now an Amazon Bestselling New Release

About Eagles: Up Ahead in the Distance

Eagles’ debut single, “Take It Easy,” became the anthem of summer 1972, just as the band’s eponymous first album was also taking flight. Blending musical and commercial excellence, the Los Angeles-based musicians and songwriters became a multiplatinum Grammy-winning pop-rock phenomenon with few peers over the next several years. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of their debut, Eagles: Up Ahead in the Distance is the second of three volumes detailing the group’s colorful history and ascent into rock’s upper echelon.

Authors Rik Forgo and Steve Cafarelli pick up where book number one, Eagles: Before the Band, left off. They continue telling the stories behind the band’s evolution from promising opening act to can’t-miss stadium headliners who variously celebrated, vilified, and personified the fast-lane rock and roll lifestyle of the ’70s.

Meticulously researched, the book covers the Eagles’ core history: eight albums released on the Asylum label from 1972 to 1980, with all the lineup changes along the way, from founding quartet Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner to the addition of Don Felder, then Leadon’s and Meisner’s exits to their respective replacements by Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit.

This second volume tracks how the band soared to the top of the singles charts with hits like “Take It Easy,” “Witchy Woman,” “The Best of My Love,” “One of These Nights,” “Take It to the Limit,” “Hotel California,” and “The Long Run.” The book details how the Eagles racked up gold and platinum sales of all eight of those albums.

Eagles: Up Ahead in the Distance provides a close-up view of the inspirations behind the songs and explores the artistry and the personalities that blended so harmoniously on record and in concert but could clash so vehemently off-stage. It describes how the pressure to succeed and then top their previous achievements – along with an unrelenting drive for perfection in writing, recording, and performing – led not only to their international fame but also to their acrimonious breakup in 1980. Artfully arranged, the new book features more than 120 images by iconic photographers, including David Alexander, Gary Burden, Henry Diltz, Aaron Rapoport, Ebet Roberts, Ethan Russell, Norman Seeff, Jim Shea, and Peter B. Sherman.

“Eagles: Up Ahead in the Distance is a deep dive into the rise and fall of a rock and roll band over a tumultuous decade. Authors Rik Forgo and Steve Cafarelli provide a wealth of information about the band in a book chockful of interesting factoids from the chart success of various singles dropped throughout the Eagles’ rise to the top of the charts to the numerous collaborations. A well-written and informative book that will appeal to both old and new fans.”—San Francisco Book Review

Praise for The Book

A rigorously researched, captivating tome on one of the top bands of the 20th century. Definitive isn’t hyperbole here…The authors have done a beautiful job of concocting a volume that will appeal both to faithful and casual fans.”—Kirkus Review

“Meticulously researched” —Best Classic Bands, Greg Brodsky, Founder

“The definitive historical record”American Highways, Melissa Clarke, Editor

“Absolutely essential reading for the legions of Eagles fans…unreservedly recommended for personal, community, and academic library Rock Music/Biography collections.”—Midwest Book Review

Eagles: Up Ahead in the Distance is the ultimate resource guide for the best-selling rock band in American history. Both casual fans and life-long die-hards will revel in the pages of this carefully researched and cleverly presented encyclopedia of Eagles’ history. Full of exclusive interviews, chart information, infographics, photos, and untold stories, the second volume in this historical trilogy is a must-have addition to any fan’s collection. —L&M Eagles Fastlane, Lisa Mielke & Melissa Prepster, (largest Eagles fansite)

Click images to enlarge

Soaring to the top of the charts

the week of July 14, 1972

Eagles’ debut single “Take It Easy” peaked at #10 on KHJ’s Boss 30 in L.A. 

The first album, Eagles, debuted on KHJ’s Favorite Albums chart at #22. 

About the Authors

Rik Forgo developed his love of music while managing a store for a prominent Washington D.C.-area record chain. The burning interest in rock and roll he cultivated there would stay with him for the rest of his life. A few years later, he began his writing career as an Air Force journalist in Panama and the Middle East. He also filed a few stories from the jungles of Ohio and New Jersey. Eventually, he found his way into the halls of National Geographic, where he took on a different kind of writing—coding software—in support of the company’s heralded magazine and books divisions. In 2018 he put all that experience together with his passion for rock and roll and founded Time Passages, his own rock-oriented publishing company, and stocked it with veteran rock journalists and seasoned professionals with record industry experience. The first book the company published was his own—Eagles: Before the Band, in 2019. When he’s not writing, designing, or editing, he and his wife, Maureen, and their dog, Zeus, relax and watch ducks and sailboats from their home near Annapolis, Maryland.

Rik Forgo

Steve Cafarelli

Steve Cafarelli has always gravitated toward creative fields. He has a diverse background, working as a web developer and graphic designer with additional experience as both a creative writer and journalist. A life-long passion for music has provided an endless source of inspiration for everything he does, most notably his work as a musician and songwriter who performs and records in the greater New York area. First and foremost, though, Steve views himself as a family man, and he lives on Long Island with his wife, Susanna, and their two boys and four cats. His life is an ongoing quest to balance what he refers to as a personal trinity of family, work, and music. It keeps him busy, but happy…and rarely bored.

Other Books By Time Passages

Eagles: Up Ahead in the Distance

Authors Rik Forgo and Steve Cafarelli pick up where book number one, Eagles: Before the Band, left off. They continue telling the stories behind the band’s evolution from promising opening-act to can’t-miss stadium headliners.

$39.99

Eagles: Before the Band

With the first iconic strum of the guitar on ‘Take It Easy,’ the Eagles set a new direction for the country-rock-infused California sound. 

$25.99 On Sale $19.99

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