The Eagles will fly a little different this year.
Guitarist Steuart Smith has announced that he’s retiring from the rock band after 24 years due to his health.
“It is with profound regret that, due to performance issues associated with my recently diagnosed Parkinsonism, I find that I must bow out of my role with the Eagles while I can still do so gracefully,” Smith, 72, said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times on Monday.
“It’s been a great quarter of a century,” the musician added, “and I had hoped to be able to finish out this year with the band, but I must now do what’s best for all concerned.”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, Parkinsonism is an umbrella term that refers to several brain conditions — including Parkinson’s disease — that cause slowed movements, rigidity (stiffness) and tremors. Parkinson’s disease makes up about 80% of all Parkinsonism cases.
Smith’s bandmate, Dan Henley, reacted to his retirement in his own statement.
“The Eagles will be forever grateful for the extraordinary talents that he brought to both our recordings and live performances,” said Henley, 77.
“Steuart will be greatly missed, but he will always be a part of our musical family. We know our many fans join us in wishing him well,” he added.
Smith is being replaced by Chris Holt, who joined the band for their Las Vegas residency at the Sphere in Sept. 2024.
Holt told the Dallas Morning News last week, “I’m trying to fill the giant shoes of all three that came before me,” referring to Smith and previous lead guitarists Don Felder and Bernie Leadon.
“It’s some of the most beautiful guitar work ever recorded, in my opinion. It’s the highest honor for me to do it, and it’s my duty to get it right,” Holt went on.
Smith joined the Eagles in 2001 after Felder, 77, was fired over legal and monetary disputes.
He shared lead guitar duties with Joe Walsh on signature numbers including “Hotel California.”
The Eagles were formed in 1971 by Henley, Glenn Frey, Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner after they were recruited by Linda Ronstadt as her band members.
The group’s current lineup consists of Henley, Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit, Vince Gill and Deacon Frey. Their Vegas residency picks up again on Feb. 14 and runs until April 12. The band also began their indefinite farewell tour, The Long Goodbye Tour, in Sept. 2023.