The death of Eagles cofounder Glenn Frey on Monday at age 67 can be blamed in part on the medications he was taking, Eagles manager Irving Azoff told TheWrap.
Frey died from rheumatoid arthritis, colitis and pneumonia, according to the band’s website. Azoff said the latter two were caused by medications that he was taking for the inflammatory disorder.
“The colitis and pneumonia were side effects from all the meds,” he told TheWrap. “He died from complications of ulcer and colitis after being treated with drugs for his rheumatoid arthritis which he had for over 15 years.”
Azoff declined to specify the drug in question, saying that he had been counseled by an attorney not to do so.
The manager also detailed the day-to-day physical difficulties that the musician endured.
“One day his knees would hurt, his hands hurt,” Azoff said, adding that the illness “moves from joint to joint.”
“Glenn fought a courageous battle for the past several weeks but, sadly, succumbed to complications from Rheumatoid Arthritis, Acute Ulcerative Colitis and Pneumonia,” the group said in an update on the Eagles’ official website on Monday.
Azoff said that a big memorial and party are in the works to honor the musician in Los Angeles.
Azoff said he was deeply in shock from the loss of his friend. “I wouldn’t have been the success that I’ve been without Glenn Frey teaching me, leading me and supporting me for over 40 years … He was a passionate family man, a great father, a great humanitarian, and he’s gone way too soon.”
Frey’s bandmate Don Henley said of Frey, who co-wrote classic songs including “Hotel California” and “Take It Easy,” “He was like a brother to me; we were family, and like most families, there was some dysfunction. But, the bond we forged 45 years ago was never broken, even during the 14 years that the Eagles were dissolved.”