Eagles “Lyin’ Eyes” released

Lyin’ Eyes Eagles

Writer(s): Glenn Frey, Don Henley (see lyrics here) Released: September 8, 1975 First Charted: September 12, 1975 Peak: 2 US, 3 CB, 2 GR, 2 HR, 2 RR, 3 AC, 8 CW, 2 CL, 23 UK, 19 CN, 34 AU, 2 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.2 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 44.4 video, 77.09 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The Eagles formed in Los Angeles in 1971 and released three platinum-selling albums from 1972 to 1974 which produced hits like “Take It Easy,” the top-10 “Witchy Woman,” and the #1 song “Best of My Love.” 1975’s One of These Nights gave them another #1 hit with the title song and top-5 hits “Lyin’ Eyes” and “Take It to the Limit.” It propelled the album to #1 and four million in sales. One of These Nights proved to sort of be a last hurrah for the Eagles’ country-rock phase as it was the last album to feature the original lineup of Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner. Leadon left out of frustration with the band’s move away from country and towards mainstream rock. The addition of guitarists Don Felder and Joe Walsh pushed the band even farther away from country and more into classic rock. However, in the midst of this transition, the Eagles achieved the biggest country hit of their career with “Lyin’ Eyes.” It wasn’t just their first entry on that chart, but their only song to reach the top 10 on the country charts. The song tells the story of a woman who tells her husband she’s going to visit a friend, but she actually goes to meet her lover. The song grew out of an observation by Frey of a beautiful young woman with an older, wealthy, overweight man while at the Los Angeles restaurant/bar Dan Tana’s. He said to Henley, “She can’t even hide those lyin’ eyes.” WK Realizing they had a song title, they started scribbling down lyrics on cocktail napkins. SF Henley said he had some input with the verses and music but that Frey was the main writer of the subsequent song. WK The song was nominated for a Grammy for Record of the Year and won a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group, or Chorus. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Eagles SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 3/15/2023.