# Hell Freezes Over
**Hell Freezes Over** is the 1994 album and MTV concert film that marked the Eagles' reunion after their acrimonious 1980 breakup. The title refers to [Don Henley](https://www.edgepedia.org/don-henley)'s answer, given when the band split, to the question of when they would play together again: "when hell freezes over"[1](https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/the-eagles-hell-freezes-over-album/). Released on November 8, 1994, the album combined live performances from an MTV reunion special with four newly recorded studio tracks, topped the US Billboard 200, and was certified 9× Platinum in the United States[2](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r207141).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | November 8, 1994, Geffen label; running time 1:14:11[2](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r207141) |
| Content | Four new studio tracks plus eleven live tracks from the MTV reunion show[1](https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/the-eagles-hell-freezes-over-album/) |
| Recording | Live portion recorded at Warner Brothers Burbank Studios, Burbank, California, April 25–26, 1994[3](https://axiell.rockhall.com/rrhof-ais/Details/fullCatalogue/200022772) |
| US chart | Debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200; spent two weeks at the top[1](https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/the-eagles-hell-freezes-over-album/) |
| Singles | "Get Over It" and "Love Will Keep Us Alive" both reached the US Top 40[1](https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/the-eagles-hell-freezes-over-album/) |
| Tour | Hell Freezes Over Tour opened May 27, 1994 at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre and played more than 125 US shows[4](https://tasteofcountry.com/eagles-hell-freezes-over-reunion-tour-1994/) • [1](https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/the-eagles-hell-freezes-over-album/) |
## The breakup and the title
The Eagles split in 1980 after years of multi-million-selling success and increasingly strained relations between members, releasing the live set *Eagles Live* to fulfill contractual obligations while not on speaking terms[1](https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/the-eagles-hell-freezes-over-album/) • [4](https://tasteofcountry.com/eagles-hell-freezes-over-reunion-tour-1994/). When asked when the band would perform together again, Don Henley answered "when hell freezes over"[1](https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/the-eagles-hell-freezes-over-album/). An attempted quiet reunion in 1990 failed when [Glenn Frey](https://www.edgepedia.org/glenn-frey) decided at the last minute not to take part[5](https://www.loudersound.com/features/eagles-don-henley-joe-walsh-timothy-schmit-interview).
## How the reunion came about
The thaw began with the 1993 tribute album *Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles*, released by the band's former manager [Irving Azoff](https://www.edgepedia.org/irving-azoff) on his Giant Records label. Country singer [Travis Tritt](https://www.edgepedia.org/travis-tritt), whose cover of "Take It Easy" led the album, asked the Eagles to appear in the video for his version; all of them agreed[6](https://www.rhino.com/article/rhino-factoids-the-eagles-reunite-hell-freezes-over) • [4](https://tasteofcountry.com/eagles-hell-freezes-over-reunion-tour-1994/). It was the first time the members had been seen together in 13 years, and the video shoot led to a luncheon between Frey and Henley, then a meeting in [Aspen, Colorado](https://www.edgepedia.org/aspen-colorado), to discuss a reunion[6](https://www.rhino.com/article/rhino-factoids-the-eagles-reunite-hell-freezes-over) • [7](https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark%3A/67531/metapth500933/m1/4/). With the details settled, Henley and Frey brought in Joe Walsh, Don Felder, and Timothy B. Schmit, restoring the band's final 1970s lineup[7](https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark%3A/67531/metapth500933/m1/4/).
## The MTV concert and the album
The reunion performance was taped at Warner Brothers Burbank Studios on April 25–26, 1994, for an MTV special, directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller[3](https://axiell.rockhall.com/rrhof-ais/Details/fullCatalogue/200022772) • [8](https://www.prisma.de/streaming/Eagles-Hell-Freezes-Over-m6vBd9y03). Frey joked to the audience, "For the record, we never broke up; we just took a 14-year vacation"[6](https://www.rhino.com/article/rhino-factoids-the-eagles-reunite-hell-freezes-over).
The album takes its approach from the then-fashionable MTV unplugged format, presenting many classics in intimate, mostly acoustic arrangements, including an acoustic treatment of "Hotel California"[5](https://www.loudersound.com/features/eagles-don-henley-joe-walsh-timothy-schmit-interview) • [2](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r207141). AllMusic's reviewer William Ruhlmann described the record as essentially "an EP's worth of new material followed by a live album": the new studio songs open the disc, beginning with the rocker "Get Over It" and the tender ballad "Love Will Keep Us Alive," followed by live renditions[2](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r207141). The set favors later material, redoing five songs from *Hotel California* and two from *The Long Run*, while finding room for only three songs from the early days: "Tequila Sunrise," "Take It Easy," and "Desperado"[2](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r207141). "Love Will Keep Us Alive" was written by the British trio of Pete Vale, Jim Capaldi, and [Paul Carrack](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-carrack)[1](https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/the-eagles-hell-freezes-over-album/).
The concert film runs 99 minutes and includes two songs not heard on the album, behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews[8](https://www.prisma.de/streaming/Eagles-Hell-Freezes-Over-m6vBd9y03) • [7](https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark%3A/67531/metapth500933/m1/4/). Its DVD release carries a bonus audio-only track, "Seven Bridges Road"[3](https://axiell.rockhall.com/rrhof-ais/Details/fullCatalogue/200022772).
## Commercial performance
The album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top 100 albums chart and spent two weeks at the top[9](https://www.deseret.com/1995/1/6/19151822/the-eagles/) • [1](https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/the-eagles-hell-freezes-over-album/). It was the Eagles' fourth consecutive No. 1 US album after *One of These Nights*, *Hotel California*, and *The Long Run*[1](https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/the-eagles-hell-freezes-over-album/). Internationally it reached the Top 10 in Sweden, the Netherlands, Japan, and New Zealand, and the UK Top 20[1](https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/the-eagles-hell-freezes-over-album/). A 1999 Los Angeles Times report put US sales at more than 10 million[10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-dec-19-ca-45319-story.html).
## The tour
Before the album was even released, the reunited band hit the road. The Hell Freezes Over Tour opened on May 27, 1994 at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre in [Irvine, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/irvine-california)[4](https://tasteofcountry.com/eagles-hell-freezes-over-reunion-tour-1994/). In October 1994 the band suspended the final dates of the initial run because of Glenn Frey's illness[11](https://tasteofcountry.com/eagles-cancel-dates-hell-freezes-over-tour-glenn-frey-illness/), but the itinerary resumed and stretched into the summer of 1996, encompassing more than 125 shows in the United States and dates in 13 other countries; it was seen by more than 3.5 million people worldwide[1](https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/the-eagles-hell-freezes-over-album/) • [10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-dec-19-ca-45319-story.html).
## Aftermath
The reunion continued far beyond one album. Henley and Frey agreed to work together with less tumult, and the project led eventually to the all-new studio album *Long Road Out of Eden* in 2007[5](https://www.loudersound.com/features/eagles-don-henley-joe-walsh-timothy-schmit-interview) • [1](https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/the-eagles-hell-freezes-over-album/). Twenty-fifth anniversary editions of *Hell Freezes Over* were issued in 2019[12](https://eagles.lnk.to/HellFreezesOver).
## References
1. [Paul Sexton, "'Hell Freezes Over': The Great Eagles Thaw Of 1994," uDiscover Music](https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/the-eagles-hell-freezes-over-album/)
2. [William Ruhlmann, "Hell Freezes Over" review, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r207141)
3. [Rock & Roll Hall of Fame catalog, "Hell freezes over" video](https://axiell.rockhall.com/rrhof-ais/Details/fullCatalogue/200022772)
4. [Sterling Whitaker, "When the Eagles Launched an Unlikely Reunion Tour," Taste of Country](https://tasteofcountry.com/eagles-hell-freezes-over-reunion-tour-1994/)
5. ["During the 70s, every morning I woke up and thought: 'This could end today'," Louder](https://www.loudersound.com/features/eagles-don-henley-joe-walsh-timothy-schmit-interview)
6. ["Rhino Factoids: The Eagles Reunite, Hell Freezes Over," Rhino Entertainment](https://www.rhino.com/article/rhino-factoids-the-eagles-reunite-hell-freezes-over)
7. [University Press (Beaumont, Tex.), January 13, 1995, The Portal to Texas History](https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark%3A/67531/metapth500933/m1/4/)
8. ["Eagles: Hell Freezes Over," Prisma.de streaming info](https://www.prisma.de/streaming/Eagles-Hell-Freezes-Over-m6vBd9y03)
9. ["THE EAGLES," Deseret News, January 6, 1995](https://www.deseret.com/1995/1/6/19151822/the-eagles/)
10. [Robert Hilburn, "More Chapters Remain in This Band's Long Book," Los Angeles Times, December 19, 1999](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-dec-19-ca-45319-story.html)
11. ["Why The Eagles Canceled Remaining Dates of Reunion Tour," Taste of Country](https://tasteofcountry.com/eagles-cancel-dates-hell-freezes-over-tour-glenn-frey-illness/)
12. ["Hell Freezes Over 25th Anniversary Editions," Eagles official](https://eagles.lnk.to/HellFreezesOver)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Live albums and concert recordings*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license