The Eagles, The #10 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Three

 

(Continued from Part Two)

Although the Eagles played before millions of fans on a subsequent tour, those experiences deepened the strains of the group, both personal and creatively.  When Meisner refused to sing "Take It To The Limit" one June night in Knoxville, Tennessee because he wasn't sure he could hit the high notes, those struggles elevated, leading to Meisner eventually leaving the group in September.

But the Eagles always had an uncanny ability to make themselves better and they replaced Meisner with Timothy B. Schmit, coincidentally Meisner's replacement in the group Poco.  Everyone in the group except Felder sang and played backup for Randy Newman's 1978 album Little Criminals, which featured the hit song "Short People".

 

The Eagles' cover of "Please Come Home For Christmas" was released as a single and made it all the way to #18 on the Popular chart, nearly unheard of for a Christmas song.

 

The Eagles then recorded one of the best albums of their career, The Long Run, which took them two years to finish.  The first single was born when Bob Seger visited Henley and Frey in Los Angeles.  The three songwriters often shared what they had been working on and Frey had the verses for the song.  Glenn and Bob were jamming at LaFontaine when Seger belted out the chorus.  Bob left town after that, and Souther, Henley and Frey finished it.

"Heartache Tonight" became the group's latest to dominate the singles chart in the U.S. and Canada and it jumped to #7 in New Zealand and 10 in Ireland.

 

The Long Run rocketed to #1 on the Album chart in the U.S. made the Top 5 everywhere, and has sold over seven million in the U.S. alone.  The title song, written as a touché to the group's critics, indicated that, rightly so, the Eagles would make it "in the long run".  Have they ever!

 

"I Can't Tell You Why" showcased Schmit's amazing high vocals on the third single from The Long Run.  It soared to #3 on the all-important Adult Contemporary chart and was a Top 10 hit overall in both the United States and Canada.

We're going to feature all the great tracks which make The Long Run such an incredible album, but we want you to pause and think about the slate of songs you've just heard (from 1974-1980).  There were 11 singles released during that time, and just two (2!) failed to make the Top 10.  One of those two was a Christmas song, which almost never makes the Top 10, and the other was "Life In The Fast Line".  That is a batting average of 81.8%, nothing short of sensational.

Here is that historic chart run:  #1 ("Best Of My Love"), #1 ("One Of These Nights"), #2 ("Lyin' Eyes"), #4 ("Take It To The Limit"), #1 ("New Kid In Town"), #1 ("Hotel California"), #11 ("Life In The Fast Lane"), #18 ("Please Come Home For Christmas"), #1 ("Heartache Tonight"), #8 ("The Long Run", and #8 ("I Can't Tell You Why").  And then you also have all the classic album tracks such as all of these from The Long Run.

 

The divide between Frey and the rest of the group was so wide that Glenn refused to even speak with the other members.  Album credits actually listed five attorneys and the album notes for Eagles Live said simply and succinctly "Thank you and goodnight". 

The album went Top 10 across the world and has sold over seven million copies.  Yet radio stations were not able to figure out that a single from an album with seven million in sales should have been played.  One of the great examples of harmony you will hear anywhere--here is the incredible "Seven Bridges Road", one of the very best of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.

 

The group also gave Walsh a lead vocal on "In The City", a solo song of his featured in the movie The Warriors.  The rest of the group wanted to record it together as the Eagles.  "In The City" is another Top Track* and member of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.

 Henley's great vocals highlight the fabulous track "The Sad Cafe".

We also want to feature this fun fraternity song:  "The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks".

Here is another Top Track* from the album--"Those Shoes".

Felder wrote the music for "Disco Strangler" with Henley providing lyrics.  Don intended for the song to be an antidote to Disco music, which was popular at the time.

 

This song is about the decadent lifestyle of the big bosses of Hollywood, primarily the producers.  Here is Henley's biting "King Of Hollywood".

We will see that turmoil in the group was coming to a head, but in the long run, the Eagles came through.  Join us for Part Four!