Steuart Smith leaves Eagles due to Parkinsonism diagnosis
Do you recognize the man on the right in the above photo? If you’ve been to an Eagles concert in the last two-plus decades, you’ve probably seen him as part of the touring musicians backing up the band.
Steuart Smith was hired by the Eagles in 2001 as a multi-instrument touring musician after the band parted ways with guitarist Don Felder. Before that, Smith toured and recorded with country musicians Dolly Parton, Wynonna Judd, Rodney Crowell, Trisha Yearwood and Vince Gill. He also performed as part of Don Henley’s touring band.
Those are impressive musical creds but his legacy will be standing on stage with a double-necked twelve-string electric guitar and trading licks with Joe Walsh on “Hotel California.” It’s a great legacy!
We’re talking about legacies because Steuart Smith left the Eagles because of his diagnosis of Parkinsonism.
What is Parkinsonism? At my last neurologist appointment, my doctor explained it as having some of the same symptoms as Parkinson’s Disease, but not having a full-blown PD diagnosis. We don’t know what Smith’s symptoms are but they’re severe enough to stop him from playing with the Eagles.
In a statement shared with “American Songwriter and “Ultimate Classic Rock”, Smith said:
“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. It's been a great quarter of a century, 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.”
Don Henley had his own words regarding Smith leaving the band:
“We will be forever grateful for the extraordinary talents that he brought to both our recordings and live performances. 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.”
Steuart Smith joins a long list of musicians, including Linda Ronstadt, Neil Diamond, Maurice White and Ozzy Osbourne, whose careers have been derailed by a form of Parkinson’s.