Eagles et al: Top 100 Songs

Eagles et al Top 100 Songs

1972 lineup: l to r: Bernie Leadon, Don Henley, Randy Meisner, Glenn Frey

1994 lineup: l to r: Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit, Don Henley, Don Felder, Glenn Frey

The rock/country group the Eagles formed in Los Angeles in 1971. They only released six studio albums during their original run in the 1970s, but are one of the most successful acts in music history. They had five #1 songs with “Best of My Love,” “One of These Nights,” “New Kid in Town,” “Hotel California,” and “Heartache Tonight.” The compilation Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 is one of the best-selling albums in history. Original members Glenn Frey (vocals, guitar), Don Henley (vocals, drums), Bernie Leadon (guitar, vocals), and Randy Meisner (bass, vocals) started out as Linda Ronstadt’s backing band. Meisner had previously worked with Poco (1968-69) and Leadon was with Dillard & Clark (1968-69) and the Flying Burrito Brothers (1969-71). Don Felder (guitar, vocals) joined in 1974 and Joe Walsh (guitar, vocals), who’d previously recorded with the James Gang and as a solo artist, replaced Leadon in 1975. Meisner departed in 1977, replaced by Timothy B. Schmit (bass, vocals), who’d previously been with Poco (1969-77). The brand broke up – seemingly for good – in 1980. Frey and Henley had successful solo careers. Frey, Henley, Felder, Walsh, and Schmit reunited for the Hell Freezes Over tour in 1994 and recorded four new songs. In 2007, absent Felder, they recorded their first new album in 28 years, Long Road Out of Eden. After Frey’s death in January 2016, he was replaced on tour by his son Deacon Frey and country singer Vince Gill. Randy Meisner passed away in 2023. Note: above links go to those acts’ DMDB music maker encyclopedia entries. Other Links: DMDB profile page for Eagles DMDB music makers’ encyclopedia entry for Eagles Click here to see other acts’ best-of lists.

Awards (Eagles):

Top 100 Songs Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists, appearances on compilations and live albums by the featured act, and songs’ chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. Covers of Eagles’ songs have also been included in this list. DMDB Top 1%: 1. Eagles “Hotel California” (1976) 2. Don Henley “The Boys of Summer” (1984) 3. Eagles “Take It Easy” (1972) DMDB Top 2%: 4. Eagles “Desperado” (1973) 5. Eagles “Lyin’ Eyes” (1975) 6. Eagles “One of These Nights” (1975) 7. Eagles “New Kid in Town” (1976) DMDB Top 5%: 8. Eagles “Heartache Tonight” (1979) 9. Eagles “I Can’t Tell You Why” (1979) 10. Eagles “Best of My Love” (1974) 11. Joe Walsh “Rocky Mountain Way” (1973) 12. Don Henley “Dirty Laundry” (1982) 13. Eagles “Life in the Fast Lane” (1976) 14. Eagles “Peaceful, Easy Feeling” (1972) 15. Eagles “Take It to the Limit” (1975) 16. Eagles “Please Come Home for Christmas” (1978) 17. Don Henley “The End of the Innocence” (1989) 18. Eagles “Tequila Sunrise” (1973) 19. Don Henley with Patty Smyth “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” (1992) 20. Joe Walsh “Life’s Been Good” (1978) 21. Eagles “The Long Run” (1979) 22. Don Henley “The Heart of the Matter” (1989) 23. Don Henley with Stevie Nicks “Leather and Lace” (1981) 24. Eagles “Witchy Woman” (1972) 25. Firefall (with Timothy B. Schmit on background vocals) “Just Remember I Love You” (1977) 26. Eagles “Already Gone” (1974) DMDB Top 10%: 27. Eagles “Seven Bridges Road” (live, 1980) 28. Don Henley “All She Wants to Do Is Dance” (1984) 29. Don Henley “Sunset Grill” (1984) 30. James Gang “Funk #49” (1970) 31. James Gang “Walk Away” (1971) 32. Glenn Frey “The Heat Is On” (1984) 33. Glenn Frey “You Belong to the City” (1985) 34. Eagles “Get Over It” (1994) 35. Glenn Frey “Smuggler’s Blues” (1984) 36. Joe Walsh “All Night Long” (1980) 37. Eagles “Hole in the World” (2003) 38. Don Henley “New York Minute” (1989) 39. Joe Walsh “A Life of Illusion” (1981) 40. Don Henley “Not Enough Love in the World” (1984) DMDB Top 20%: 41. Poco “Rose of Cimarron” (1976) 42. Eagles “Learn to Be Still” (1994) 43. Eagles “Love Will Keep Us Alive” (1994) 44. Linda Ronstadt “Desperado” (1973) 45. Glenn Frey “The One You Love” (1982) 46. Don Felder “Heavy Metal (Takin’ a Ride)” (1981) 47. Eagles “How Long” (2007) 48. Eagles “The Last Resort” (1986) 49. Don Henley “The Last Worthless Evening” (1989) 50. Don Henley “I Can’t Stand Still” (1982) 51. Eagles “Victim of Love” (1976) 52. Don Henley “Through Your Hands” (1996) 53. Glenn Frey “True Love” (1988) 54. Glenn Frey “Sexy Girl” (1984) 55. Eagles “James Dean” (1974) 56. Eagles “In the City” (1979) 57. Travis Tritt “Take It Easy” (1993) 58. Clint Black “Desperado” (1993) 59. Poco “Keep on Tryin’” (1975) 60. Don Henley “Come Rain or Come Shine” (1995) 61. Joe Walsh “Space Age Whiz Kids” (1983) 62. Joe Walsh “The Confessor” (1985) 63. Don Henley “Taking You Home” (2000) 64. Poco “You Better Think Twice” (1970) 65. Randy Meisner “Never Been in Love” (1982) 66. Randy Meisner “Hearts on Fire” (1980) 67. Flying Burrito Brothers “Wild Horses’ (1970) 68. Jackson Browne “Take It Easy” (1973) 69. Don Henley “Johnny Can’t Read” (1982) 70. Eagles “Outlaw Man” (1973) 71. Don Henley “How Bad Do You Want It?” (1989) 72. John Anderson “Heartache Tonight” (1993) 73. Glenn Frey “Part of You, Part of Me” (1991) 74. Don Henley “Who Owns This Place?” (1986) 75. Eagles “Those Shoes” (1979) Beyond the DMDB Top 20%: 76. Glenn Frey “Party Town” (1982) 77. Glenn Frey “I Found Somebody” (1982) 78. Randy Meisner “Deep Inside My Heart” (1980) 79. Joe Walsh “The Radio Song” (1987) 80. Poco “Indian Summer” (1977) 81. Don Henley “A Month of Sundays” (1984) 82. The Gipsy Kings “Hotel California” (1990) 83. Don Henley “Drivin’ with Your Eyes Closed” (1984) 84. Johnny Cash with Don Henley “Desperado” (2002) 85. Joe Walsh “Turn to Stone” (1972) 86. Joe Walsh “Meadows” (1973) 87. Joe Walsh “Ordinary Average Guy” (1991) 88. Glenn Frey “All Those Lies” (1982) 89. Eagles “Wasted Time” (1976) 90. James Gang “Midnight Man” (1971) 91. Eagles “Ol’ ‘55” (1974) 92. Timothy B. Schmit “Boys Night Out” (1987) 93. Eagles “No More Cloudy Days” (2005) 94. Eagles “After the Thrill Is Gone” (1975) 95. Eagles “The Sad Café” (1979) 96. Poco “C’mon” (1971) 97. Joe Walsh “Vote for Me” (1992) 98. Don Henley “The Garden of Allah” (1995) 99. Bruce Springsteen “Take It Easy” (live, 2016) 100. Little River Band with Glenn Frey “Take It Easy/Lyin’ Eyes” (live, 1988) Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Eagles DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Don Henley DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Glenn Frey DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Joe Walsh DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Timothy B. Schmit DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Randy Meisner DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Bernie Leadon DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Don Felder Dave’s Music Database: “Acts’ Profile Pages and Best-of Lists” First posted 7/22/2017; last updated 10/30/2023.

Eagles return with Long Road Out of Eden, first studio album in 28 years

Long Road Out of Eden Eagles

Released: October 30, 2007 Peak: 11 US, 11 UK, 2 CN, 16 AU Sales (in millions): 7.0 US *, 0.6 UK, 8.2 world (includes US and UK) Genre: heritage rock * Actual sales were 3.5 million, but because it was a double album, it was certified for twice that.

Tracks, Disc 1: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. No More Walks in the Wood How Long (8/16/07, 10 AC, 23 CW, 76 CN) Busy Being Fabulous (2/9/08, 12 AC, 28 CW) What Do I Do with My Heart (2008, 13 AC) Guilty of the Crime I Don’t Want to Hear Anymore (2009, 23 AC) Waiting in the Weeds No More Cloudy Days (7/9/05, 3 AC) Fast Company Do Something You Are Not Alone Tracks, Disc 2: Long Road Out of Eden I Dreamed There Was No War Somebody Frail Grasp on the Big Picture Last Good Time in Town I Love to Watch a Woman Dance Business As Usual Center of the Universe It’s Your World Now Total Running Time: 90:53 The Players: Glenn Frey (vocals, guitar, keyboards) Don Henley (vocals, drums) Timothy B. Schmit (bass, vocals) Joe Walsh (guitar, vocals, keyboards)

Rating: 3.960 out of 5.00 (average of 15 ratings) Quotable: “An album meticulously crafted to fit within the band’s legacy without tarnishing it” – Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: After 1979’s The Long Run and a live album the next year, the Eagles disappeared for 14 years. They were widely embraced when they returned 14 years later with 1994’s mostly live album Hell Freezes Over. They cashed in on that reunion, “driving up ticket prices into the stratosphere as they played gigs on a semi-regular basis well into the new millennium.” AMG They released a box set, which contained their 1999 Millenium Concert, a 2005 DVD of yet another tour outing, and a 2003 2-disc compilation. However, it wasn’t until 2007 that they released a full-fledged studio album. “It could be that they were running out some contractual clause somewhere, it could be that they were waiting for the money to be right, or the music to be right.” AMG When they finally did come out with Long Road Out of Eden, they did so with little fanfare, “indulging in few interviews and bypassing conventional retail outlets in favor of an exclusive release” AMG in which the album was only available in North America through their website or Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores. AMG Billboard magazine controversially reversed a policy under which such exclusive releases were inelligible to chart, allowing the album to debut at #1. As for the actual material, it is “crafted to evoke the spirit and feel of the Eagles’ biggest hits…The J.D. Souther-written How Long recalls ‘Take It Easy,’ the stiff funk of Frail Grasp on the Big Picture echoes back to the clenched riffs of ‘Life in the Fast Lane,’ and while perhaps these aren’t exact replicas, there’s no denying it’s possible to hear echoes of everything from ‘Lyin’ Eyes’ and ‘Desperado’ to ‘Life in the Fast Lane,’ and Timothy B. Schmit turns Paul Carrack’s I Don’t Want to Hear Anymore into a soft rock gem to stand alongside his own ‘I Can’t Tell You Why.’” AMG “These tunes…but sonically… play as companions to Henley’s brooding end-of-the-‘80s hit The End of the Innocence, both in their heavy-handed sobriety and deliberate pace and their big-budget production.” AMG “The Eagles…sound utterly disconnected from modern times, no matter how hard Don Henley strives to say something, anything about the wretched state of the world on Long Road Out of Eden, ‘Frail Grasp on the Big Picture,’ and Business as Usual.” AMG However, “it’s all executed well and the doggedly out-of-fashion sonics only make the songs more reminiscent of the Eagles’ older records, especially if their solo work from the ‘80s is part of the equation.” AMG “It often manages to avoid sounding crass, as the songs are usually strong and the sound is right, capturing the group’s peaceful, easy harmonies and Joe Walsh’s guitar growl in equal measure.” AMG On the second disc, “Walsh spends seven minutes grooving on Last Good Time in Town as if he were a Southwestern Jimmy Buffett with a worldbeat penchant, Glenn Frey sings Jack Tempchin and John Brannen’s Somebody as if it were a sedated, cheerful ‘Smuggler’s Blues,’ and the whole thing feels polished with outdated synthesizers.” AMG If disc 2 “seem a bit like the Eagles’ lost album from the Reagan years, the first disc recalls their mellow country-rock records of the ‘70s – that is, if Joe Walsh had been around to sing Frankie Miller’s blues-rocker Guilty of the Crime to balance out Henley and Frey’s Busy Being Fabulous and What Do I Do with My Heart, a counterpoint that serves the band well.” AMG “That first disc is the stronger of the two, but the two discs do fit together well, as they wind up touching upon all of the band’s different eras…it’s an album meticulously crafted to fit within the band’s legacy without tarnishing it.” AMG

Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Eagles AMG,/sup> All Music Guide review by Stepen Thomas Erlewine WK Wikipedia.org Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/26/2008; last updated 8/20/2021.

Eagles reunite with Hell Freezes Over

11/8/1994:

First posted 3/26/2008; updated 9/16/2020.

Hell Freezes Over Eagles

Released: November 8, 1994 Recorded: 1994 Peak: 12 US, 28 UK, 11 CN, 23 AU Sales (in millions): 8.0 US, 0.1 UK, 12.1 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock

Tracks: Click for codes to singles charts. Get Over It (10/22/94, 31 US, 4 AR, 21 AC, 4 CN, 74 AU) * Love Will Keep Us Alive (12/17/94, 22a US, 1 AC, 52 UK, 10 AU) * The Girl from Yesterday (11/12/94, 58 CW) * Learn to Be Still (1/21/95, 61a US, 33 AR, 15 AC, 9 CN) * Tequila Sunrise Hotel California Wasted Time Pretty Maids All in a Row I Can’t Tell You Why New York Minute (Don Henley solo song) (11/3/90, 48 US, 24 AR, 5 AC) The Last Resort Take It Easy In the City Life in the Fast Lane Desperado * Studio cuts. Chart figures are only for those songs not previously featured on any Eagles’ albums. Total Running Time: 72:36 The Players: Glenn Frey (vocals, guitar, keyboards) Don Henley (vocals, drums) Don Felder (guitar, vocals, mandolin) Timothy B. Schmit (bass, vocals) Joe Walsh (guitar, vocals, organ)

Rating: 3.582 out of 5.00 (average of 19 ratings) Awards:

About the Album: “The Eagles’ first newly recorded album in 14 years gets off to a good start with the rocker Get Over It, a timely piece of advice about accepting responsibility, followed by the tender ballad Love Will Keep Us Alive, the country-styled The Girl from Yesterday, and Learn to Be Still, one of Don Henley's more thoughtful statements.” AMG “Unfortunately, that’s it. Hell Freezes Over contains an EP’s worth of new material followed by a live album. The Eagles, known for meticulously recreating their studio recordings in concert, nevertheless released Eagles Live in 1980. Six songs from that set reappear here, and only one is in a noticeably different arrangement, Hotel California, which gets an acoustic treatment.” AMG “As was true on Eagles Live, the group remains most interested in their later material, redoing five songs from the Hotel California LP and two from its follow-up, The Long Run, but finding space for only three songs from their early days, Tequila Sunrise, Take It Easy, and Desperado, the last two of which were also on Eagles Live.” AMG “As such, Hell Freezes Over is hard to justify as anything other than a souvenir for the Eagles’ reunion tour. That, however, did not keep it from topping the charts and selling in the millions.” AMG

Resources and Related Links: Eagles’ DMDB Encyclopedia entry AMG William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

Don Henley charted with “Dirty Laundry”

Dirty Laundry Don Henley

Writer(s): Don Henley, Danny Kortchmar (see lyrics here) First Charted: September 11, 1982 Peak: 3 US, 5 CB, 5 RR, 13 AR, 59 UK, 11 CN, 51 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 28.99 video, 41.48 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: While “Dirty Laundry” was not Don Henley’s first solo outing, it is probably the one most people associate with the beginning of his post-Eagles career. After a decade with the Eagles and fronting #1 hits like “Hotel California,” “One of the These Nights,” and “Best of My Love,” Henley had first ventured out of the Eagles’ spotlight as Stevie Nicks’ duet partner on the top-10 hit “Leather and Lace.” He then had a minor solo hit (#42 on the Billboard Hot 100) with the new-wavish “Johnny Can’t Read,” the first single from his 1982 I Can’t Stand Still solo album. The second single, however, crawled its way up to #3 on the pop charts and reached the pinnacle on the album rock chart. “Dirty Laundry” removed any doubt that Henley could survive without his Eagles’ bandmates. He also made it clear he could craft a song with something to say that was also as catchy as hell. The song lambasted mass media sensationalism from the point of view of a jaded TV news anchor. It was inspired by the tabloid coverage of celebrity deaths such as John Belushi and Natalie Wood as well as Henley’s 1980 arrest for drug possession and delinquency of a minor. WK Interestingly, many local news stations have acknowledged the “superficial and vapid product they create” SF by using the song for blooper reels “tucked away in the dark corners of newsrooms.” SF Henley hadn’t completely severed ties with the Eagles as Joe Waslh performed the first guitar solo and Timothy B. Schmit also appeared on the record playing bass and performing backing vocals. The song also featured three members of the band Toto – Steve Lukather playing the second guitar solo, Steve Porcaro on keyboards, and Jeff Porcaro on drums. Danny Kortchmar, who co-wrote the song and had previously played on albums by James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, and Jackson Browne, also contributes guitar. On a personal note, the song was an early favorite of mine when I started doing my own weekly chart, beginning on September 18, 1982. By year’s end, the song hit #1 for me, dethroning Toto’s “Africa,” which had debuted in the pole position six weeks earlier. Resources: AMG All Music Guide SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 6/30/2022; last updated 10/28/2022.

Eagles released first live album

First posted 3/26/2008; updated 9/20/2020.

Eagles Live Eagles

Released: November 7, 1980 Recorded: live October 1976 and July 1980 Peak: 6 US, 24 UK, 25 CN, 3 AU Sales (in millions): 7.0 US, -- UK, 10.6 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock

Tracks: Click for codes to singles charts. Hotel California Heartache Tonight I Can’t Tell You Why The Long Run New Kid in Town Life’s Been Good (Joe Walsh solo song) (6/10/78, 12 US) Seven Bridges Road (12/20/80, 21 US, 17 AC, 55 CW) Wasted Time Take It to the Limit Doolin’-Dalton (Reprise II) Desperado Saturday Night All Night Long (Joe Walsh solo song) (5/17/80, 19 US) Life in the Fast Lane Take It Easy Chart figures are only for songs not previously featured on any Eagles’ albums. Total Running Time: 77:10 The Players: Glenn Frey (vocals, guitar, keyboards) Don Henley (vocals, drums) Don Felder (guitar, vocals) Randy Meisner (bass, vocals: 1976) Timothy B. Schmit (bass, vocals: 1980) Joe Walsh (guitar, keyboards, vocals)

Rating: 3.368 out of 5.00 (average of 16 ratings) Quotable: “The most heavily overdubbed [live album] in history” - Rolling Stone Record Guide (1983) Awards:

About the Album: “Eagles Live is the first live album by the…Eagles, a two-LP set released in 1980. The Eagles broke up on July 31, 1980 after their concert at Long Beach. However, the band still owed Warners a live record from the tour. Eagles Live (released that November) was mixed by Glenn Frey and Don Henley on opposite coasts – the two decided they couldn’t bear to be in the same state, let alone the same studio, and as Bill Szymczyk put it, the record’s perfect three-part harmonies were fixed ‘courtesy of Federal Express.’ The 1983 Rolling Stone Record Guide said it is ‘perhaps the most heavily overdubbed [live album] in history.’ After the credits that list no fewer than five attorneys, the album's liner notes simply say, ‘Thank you and goodnight.’” WK “Eagles Live includes…tracks recorded in the fall of 1976 (thus allowing for the inclusion of departed singer Randy Meisner on Take It to the Limit).” AMG Also from 1976, are New Kid in Town, Wasted Time, Doolin-Dalton (Reprise II), and Desperado. WK However, “the bulk of the album comes from the end of the Eagles’ 1980 tour, just before they broke up, and it reflects their late concert repertoire, largely drawn from Hotel California and The Long Run.” AMG “The occasional early song such as ‘Desperado’ and Take It Easy turn up, but many of the major hits from the middle of the band's career – ‘The Best of My Love,’ ‘One of These Nights,’ ‘Lyin’ Eyes’ – are missing, replaced by such curiosities as two extended selections from Joe Walsh’s solo career, Life’s Been Good and All Night Long.” AMG “At least Walsh introduces some live variations to his material; the rest of the Eagles seem determined to recreate the studio versions of their songs in concert, which may work for them live but almost makes a live recording superfluous. The previously unrecorded rendition of Steve Young’s Seven Bridges Road is welcome, and the album would have benefited from more surprises as well as a livelier approach to a live recording.” AMG

Resources and Related Links: Eagles’ DMDB Encyclopedia entry AMG William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide WK Wikipedia.org

Eagles charted with “I Can’t Tell You Why”

 

I Can’t Tell You Why Eagles

Writer(s): Timothy B. Schmit, Glenn Frey, Don Henley (see lyrics here) First Charted: February 3, 1980 Peak: 8 US, 9 CB, 4 GR, 7 HR, 4 RR, 3 AC, 2 CL, 5 CN, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 3.0 radio, 20.4 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Timothy B. Schmit joined the Eagles as a singer and bassist in 1977 after the departure of Randy Meisner. He only appeared on the group’s final album, The Long Run, before their breakup. However, he did well for himself with just the one album appearance. He sang lead on “I Can’t Tell You Why,” the album’s third single and the group’s last top-10 hit. His “finest moment is a soulful, moody slow jam whose tension is cut by his pure high tenor.” BB Schmit had the basics of the song and the title when he brought it to Don Henley and Glenn Frey. They helped him finish it in March 1978. It was the first song completed for The Long Run. SF Henley described the song as “straight Al Green” WK and credited Frey with giving the song its R&B feel. Frey said this was one of the songs from the Eagles which he would put in a time capsule. SF Frey usually played rhythm guitar, but has the featured solo here. Billboard magazine called it “the most transportive guitar solo in Eagles’ repertoire.” BB Meanwhile, Joe Walsh played the keyboards in the studio, although the song’s original video showed Frey on electric piano. The R&B girl group Brownstone took the song to #54 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #27 on the R&B chart in 1995. In 2013, the Swon Brothers got to #99 with the song after appearing on NBC’s The Voice. Howard Hewett took his cover of the song to #24 on the R&B chart in 1990. Vince Gill recorded the song for the 1993 Eagles’ tribute album Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles and it reached #51 on the country charts. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Eagles BB Billboard (10/17/2017). “The Eagles’ 15 Best Songs: Critic’s Picks” by Gary Graff SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 7/2/2022; last updated 12/6/2022.