Eagles Co-Founder's Hometown Names Glenn Frey Drive

ROYAL OAK, MI – A section of Willis Avenue that runs near the school where Eagles co-founder Glenn Frey played his first high school dances has been renamed in the late rock legend’s memory.

The Royal Oak school board voted unanimously Thursday to approve a request coordinated by a local radio station to honor Frey, who died Jan. 18 at the age of 67, by renaming the section of the street Glenn Frey Drive.

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• Glenn Frey, Eagles Guitarist, Dies at 67
• Radio Station, City, School Team for Glenn Frey Drive

“I think it’s a positive for the city,” Royal Oak Mayor Jim Ellison told The Detroit News. “It ties in to a lot of what Royal Oak is. We try to stay ahead of what’s going on. We have an opportunity to honor one of the city’s most famous citizens, and we just did it.”

Glenn Frey Drive is a short section along the south side of Royal Oak Middle school — formerly Frey’s alma mater, Dondero High School — between N. West Street and N. Washington Avenue.

Radio station morning personality Jim O’Brien said the radio campaign drew support from around the word on social media, including tweets from Joe Walsh and Bob Seger, the Detroit Free Press reports.

“What you guys are doing tonight is appreciated not only by people in the Motor City, but around the world,” O’Brien said after the board’s decision to rename the street.

School board president Gary Briggs told the Free Press that honoring Frey was a “no-brainer.”

The new street will be unveiled at a ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 18 in front of Royal Oak Middle School.

Eagles, Jackson Browne at Grammy’s

The Royal Oak-born, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer will be honored at Monday’s Grammy Awards. Remaining members of the Eagles — Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit and Bernie Leadon — will be joined by Jackson Browne during a tribute Frey, producers announced this week.

“We couldn’t think of a more appropriate way to honor him than by bringing together his bandmates and longtime friend and collaborator, Jackson Browne, to play an Eagles classic that forever changed popular music,” Ken Ehrlich, the executive producer of the Grammy Awards, said in a statement. “It’ll be an emotional moment for many of us — one of reflection, respect, and celebration.”

Neil Portnow, president and CEO of The Recording Academy, said the Eagles helped shape the musical landscape for 45 years and that Frey’s death was “a huge loss for the entire creative community.”

The Grammy Awards will be broadcast live on the CBS Television Network at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, Feb. 15.

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