tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight conversation with glenn frey. he has enjoyed success as a solo artist and has just released his first solo project in 17 years. it is called after hours. i am glad you joined us. >> every community has a martin luther king boulevard. it's the cornerstone we all know. it's not just a street or boulevard, but a place where walmart stands together with your community to make every day better. you.

and by contributions from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: pleased to welcome glenn frey. 40 years ago he joined don henley and became one of the most iconic fans in history, and -- iconic bands in history, the eagles. he has released his first solo album in years. good here is an excerpt from the song, "route 66." ♪ >> kingman, san bernadino ♪

♪ when you get hip to this timely tip ♪ ♪ going take out a california trip ♪ 66 ♪ your kicks on route ♪ tavis: i was telling some of my staff this silly story before you arrived. 28 years ago i was a kid out of college working for the mayor of the city, and there was this woman who was the queen of these underground clubs in l.a. it is all the celebrities who want to get out of the house. they go to these little

underground spots, and helena was the queen of these places, and you would know the right person to deadget in. alani needed some work done with city ordinance issues -- helena needed some work done with city ordinance issues triggere. glenn frey walks in the door. i was this annoying kid, because i was so crazy about glenn frey , and you sat with me for an hour and a half and answered all of my questions and made me feel like the most important person in the world. here we are on television. thank you for being so kind. taiex i knew we were going places.

-- >> i knew we were going places. elena was a friend of jack nicholson. she was a girl who sat in the back of the car and he did everything -- and hated everything, but she was the queen of the underground club, and she moved to the club around, and you have to know what was their common and once you got in, you were insulated. pretty girls, it was a happy place. tavis: thank you for being here. it has been a while. by this project, and why now? >> because my parents are still alive, and i wanted to do this record as a non laotian richard

-- do this record as an homage. my mother loved glenn miller. she loved alice fitzgerald and 9 a washington -- loved ella fitzgerald and dynah washington. i wanted to do this record while my parents were still around. tavis: how did you take this material? >> i wanted to sing songs i was comfortable with. i would throw out an idea for a song, and we would get lyric sheets and noodle around, but mostly, i wanted this album to have a mood and ran through the record.

tavis: how you know what is right for your boy ivoice? what does that mean? >> i think you have to have a sense of what your range is. i did a baritone. it did not fit me. i seem to be in the tony bennett, nat king cole range, so nothing too hard, nothing to lowud. tavis: what did your parents have to say about this? >> it is my favorite record i have ever -- it is their favorite record i have ever written a regular for them to hear my interpretation of dynah

washington, it really takes them back. i suspect this is the case for most of us. how important is it for you to do something your parents like? >> i do not think that ever goes away. here i am after 40 years going, mom, deal like this? when i was growing up in detroit, the tv was gone, the radio was on, but i never latch onto the music. it was playing, and it was around, but when i came to california, i became a songwriter. i met hoagy carmichael and some other people common and and i was like, these songs are good.

they are not that easy to figure out, a lot of solos and nuanced chord changes. beautiful music. these songs take you to a place inside everybody. i was just talking to your producer, and he said, i got your of them and knew i was going to produce this segment, so i went on a car trip, and he said, how did it go? i said it was great. this is what you would want if you were having a dinner party and you finally say, i think i will take little vacation. >> the question is will this get you married. >> it could not hurt. >> you groupon -- grew up in

detroit. we are always proud to claim code the carmichael from indiana. it is ironic to hear somebody who grew up in detroit were that music in that city did not influence you. that is a strange thing to say, because everybody in detroit -- >> i was really keen on motown, and we got not just a big hit. we got the secondary songs. we heard everything. there was the british invasion. i heard the beatles, and that was an epiphany for me, and i always wanted to come west. the san francisco thing was going on. we would watch the detroit lions

play and the way football game region -- play an away football game. tavis: i got to get to california. we think of detroit and michigan. it is not just motown, but there is a rock and roll sound that comes out of that area. >> bobby seeger is my mentor. your he was one of the first guys who had -- he was one of the first guys who had a local hit, and i was managed by his manager. my band was managed by his manager. >> the mushroom? >> that was one of the better

names. it is all of the psychedelic nuance, but bob seger took a liking to me when he saw my band. he took me to the recording studio. he introduced me to niki stevenson. marvin gaye, and it takes to do, and bob was the first song writer i ever met. we were in a club watching another detroit band, and bob says, they are never going to make it like this. i said what the mean, and he said, they do not write their own songs. he said if you want to be successful in the music business, you have got to write your own songs, and i looked at him and said, what if they are

bad? he said, they are going to be, but just keep writing, and eventually you will write a good one. >> when, where, and how did you figure out if you have this gift of songwriting? when did that epiphany happened to you? >> i got in a pretty good band in birmingham, michigan. it was probably the only surf band in detroit. the band has a lead singer, and the guys are playing their instruments to whatever level of proficiency, and i got in this band, and they were arraigned beach boys songs and eagles songs and buckinghams and songs with a background vocals, so i really got into the singing thing and the melodic thing, and i enjoyed it so much, and i got of lot of encouragement.

he said, you are going to get better. my girlfriend was in a little group called mama cats. they are four white girls from grosse pointe. they sang motown songs. they came out to california and got signed by lee hazelwood. i met a guy who was going out with my girlfriend sister. he was into a lot of music are was not familiar with. we listen to a lot of records, but probably my biggest break was getting hired to play guitar with linda ronstadt. don henley got hired, and that

is where i met linda. >> when you look back on the genesis of that relationship with don henley, what comes to mind? >> when i first met him, i loved his voice. i saw him playing of the troubadour, and don and i were the principal singers, so i love playing with him and singing with him and doing the songs. did what i did not know if he was just a couple of credits away from doing his degree in literature. we made the first record, and we have not written any songs. when we came back from london, we were worried about the content of the record. we were managed by david geffen, and they had joni mitchell, neil

young, jackson browne, so we said, we had better write some good songs, and we had better write them a pretty quick or they will not want us around with these other people who are so talented, so don henley and i decided we would try to write songs together, and this is when i discovered what a poet he was. the first time we wrote desperado and tequila sunrise. the first week. something clicked, and we have been able to write songs ever since. i felt comfortable with him. he is very bright. he wants to get it right. we will work on two or three lines for a month or two to try

to get more meaning, to try to get the lines right. he is very tenacious, and you have to be comfortable with somebody you are writing the songs with. i felt it was a good thing. if you are writing songs by yourself, who is going to tell you if it is good or not? i immediately started to trust him, and i think he trusted me, too. now if he said, i do not want that, i was never offended. he would say carmine -- he would say maybe we should work on this a little more. tavis: how does the collaborative process works for you? strikes in our heyday, we would basically come into our room, sit down at my house or his house, -- >> in our heyday we

would sit together and go to the piano and say, what you think about this? i like that. just get up and start singing. i started playing this progression, and he says, one of these nights, so in the best of times, it kind of flows. we have days that are great and days that are not so great, but i think the level of trust is really key. >> obviously you were playing with linda ronstadt, but what did you learn from her? one of my favorite projects she did was absolutely phenomenal, but what did you take away from

her? >> follow your musical instincts. q. would you feel is right. linda ronstadt had a whole string of hit records. she had all of these pop records, and all of a sudden i was not playing with her anymore, and i year, where is linda? she is in new york doing pirates of penzance. then she did the records with nelson riddle. in my humble opinion those are the best records. i also loved harry nilsson, ust, e nelson's stard

but those were great records. i am excited. i hope she gets this record. i may have to send her a copy and say, see what you started. i always wanted to do this since i met you. tavis: what you make about the enduring, abiding love? >> i think the songs connect to people, and somebody once said something really interesting to me. people said, when they listen to the eagles they broke up with their girlfriends, they got in the car and drove from chicago

to california, they asked someone out they did not have the nerve to. there was a big connection. we were trying to be as good as the people we admire. our goals were not as big as that, but we did a good job. we learned how to write songs. we learned how to make records, but i really think it is the songs, and that is why we are still around. tavis: you just did something fascinating. what say you to young songwriters about the advice you , which is just ton try to be as the as the people you admire? >> as a songwriter, i said if i

wanted to get a beatles song book and a motown song bove, if you do that you will have spent some time with the greatest material, and some of that is going to stick with you. i have spoken at nyu and at usc with some of fun young songwriters, and the other thing i say is, people do not care what you feel. you need to paint pictures. you need to pay stories. -- you need to tell stories, and the other thing filters across, but people want to be entertained. good >> this is like a master class with glenn frey. that is great advice. paint pictures that tell

stories. >> take a hotel california. i really think one of the greatest allies you can have in the imagination of your audience, because we were visual songwriters, there were no videos. we did not have any of that, so we tended to be visual songwriters. we wanted people to see things when they listen to our record. hotel california, it is one shot. i said, it does not really matter. got to light the cigarette, got to sees the light, he opens the door and he is in a strange hotel. it does not matter. everybody always asks what it is about, and i always say, what you think it is about?

that is a powerful thing, to be able to engage your audience and put some of themselves in itsel. in music, it can be a number of things. sometimes it is just the mood. i think is painting a picture and creating a mood with the instruments. >> kind of like the heat is on. >> the eagles broke up, and my manager calls me up and says, you have got to come to a screening. i am going to show this movie. it is going to be huge. in,ve got to get your song so i go to the screening, and i look over my shoulder, quincy

jones. i look over my shoulder, stevie wonder the reagan over here, the pointer sisters. -- stevie wonder. over here, the pointer sisters. we watch the movie, and it was fabulous, and we laughed, and everybody said, this is going to be huge. a month or two goes by, and everybody says, we are going to send you a song. see if you want to sing it. the guys the growth of donna summer's record are going to work on it. it sounded like are huey lewis thing. it sounded like something i might do, so i said, i can do it.

i had a little christmas money, and i was happy. tavis: i am out of time. i am going to convince glenn frey to stay for another night, and we will take up this story about spending money for christmas. the new project is called "after hours." i think he is going to love it. his parents are going to love it. we will consider this conversation tomorrow. until then, as always, keep the faith. ♪ >> for more information on today's shown today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. tavis: hi, i'm tavis smiley. join me next time for a conversation with

glenn frey. that is next time. we will see you then. >> every community has a martin luther king boulevard. it's the cornerstone we all know. it's not just a street or boulevard, but a place where walmart stands together with your community to make every day better. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. thank you.