Glenn Frey’s family keeps legacy alive with tour, box set

NEW YORK Glenn Frey, co-founder of the Eagles and one of pop’s most successful songwriters, passed away two years ago but his family is keeping his legacy alive in a resilient way.

Deacon Frey, his 24-year-old son, is on road with the Eagles in his father’s shoes, and Taylor Frey, Glenn Frey’s sister, is working as a road manager on the tour.

Cindy Frey, his widow and executor of his estate, admits the first few shows of the tour, which starts up again Thursday in Vancouver, were tough.

“It’s hard to get beyond the sad part of, the longing of missing Glenn. But in a deep sort of weird way, it’s a way of healing and living through grief for our family Frey said in an interview with The Associated Press.

“It’s a family reunion for all of us and we’re all doing it together. I don’t know that there’d be anything else we could do that’d make us move through our grief in this way. As painful as it is at times, it’s also deeply healing and comforting. It sort of makes us feel closer.”

Glenn Frey died in 2016 at the age of 67. Cindy Frey said she wants people to remember the diversity of her husband’s sound — including his work with the Eagles, solo music and his love for multiple genres, including R&B and soul.

The box set “Above the Clouds: The Collection” is to be released Friday and showcases the many sides of the musician. Over three CDs and a DVD, the set includes his hit songs, classic songs he covered and the preEagles music he wrote with JD Souther.

Frey formed the Eagles in Los Angeles in the early 1970s with Don Henley, Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner. They mastered the mix of rock ‘n’ roll and country music, and the band’s hits — including “Hotel California” and “Take It Easy,” both co-written by Frey — became part of the soundtrack of that decade.