The Eagles sold 200 million albums!
Formed in 1971, the Eagles is one of the most successful bands of all time.
Their self-titled debut album came in 1972. Two big tunes can be found here in Witchy Woman and Take It Easy (co-written with Jackson Browne).
Take It Easy actually charted lower out of the two but has since gone on to become one of their most loved tunes. A fun fact about this piece of American art is that there’s a statue erected and named after it. You’ll find it on the corner of Second St. and Kingsley Ave., in Winslow, Arizona of course.
Apparently, the lyrics related to this originated after Jackson Browne’s car broke down in the area.
The follow-up album came already the next year. Desperado, as it was dubbed, was a concept album about the good old Wild West. The title track and Tequila Sunrise were singles and even though they didn’t chart well, they are classic Eagles tunes.
Their next album, On The Border (1974) was their most successful, although with no tunes that have had the same lasting legacy as the previous brought. Best Of My Love actually went to #1, however, I wouldn’t call it one of their classics.
Their next release came in 1975 and had three smash hits, Lyin’ Eyes, One Of These Nights, and Take It To The Limit.
All three reached the top 5 and are considered proper classic Eagles tunes. One Of These Nights was also the name of the album which went to #1 and sold four million copies in the U.S.
By now it was time for a Greatest Hits album which would end up functioning as a warm-up for what was to come.
Bernard Matthew Leadon III must have thought they’d peaked as he called it a day, he couldn’t have been more wrong. With Joe Walsh on board, they released one of the most legendary rock albums of all time, Hotel California (1976). The title track, New Kid In Town, and Life In The Fast Lane are all timeless classics.
The album spent eight weeks at #1 in the U.S. and sold 32 million copies worldwide.
To follow this up was obviously impossible and ended up taking three years (I’m guessing the world tour was pretty epic!). Following this unfathomable success, the bass player, Randy Meisner decided to move on.
With a new bassist (Timothy B. Smith) they released The Long Run (1979). The title track and Heartache Tonight did reasonably well and 8 million copies sold in the U.S. is not to be sniffed at.
However, it wasn’t Hotel California numbers and perhaps that’s why this would be the final album from the band of this era, they probably all felt like they needed a break.
The ’80s gave us only live albums and greatest hits. We had to wait until 1994 before another live album, Hell Freezes Over brought us the final Eagles hit in Love Will Keep Us Alive.
Eagles member’s solo career tunes
Following the end of the band in the ’80s, Don Henley pursued a solo career. His best tunes include Boys Of Summer (written by Tom Petty) and Dirty Laundry.
Glen Frey had one big hit in The Heat Is On which featured in Eddie Murphy’s movie Beverly Hills Cop (1984). Glenn didn’t write it.
Bernard Matthew Leadon III didn’t follow up his years with the Eagles with a solo career, instead, he was busy before the band got together with The Flying Burrito Brothers.
This band had the legendary Graham Parsons in it. They released a classic album called Gilded Palace Of Sin (1969). The biggest tune there was Do Right Woman.
Joe Walsh was an established session player before joining the Eagles and had been in a well-known band called James Gang. Their biggest tune was Walk Away (1971).
Once all album sales had been added up, the Eagles sold 200 million albums worldwide, making them one of the most successful bands of all time.
Eagles Tunes | Related Pages
Hotel California
You can learn how to play Hotel California by the Eagles using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, TAB, and the original recording.
| Em | B7/D# |
On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair…
Lyin’ Eyes
You can learn how to play Lyin’ Eyes by the Eagles using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, and the original recording.
| G | G | C | C |
City girls just seem to find out early…
Take It Easy
You can learn to play Take It Easy by Eagles/Jackson Browne using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, and the original recording.
| G | G |
Well, I’m a-running down the road tryin’ to loosen my load…
Eagles On The Web
Artists & Bands
Behind every single tune you learn, there’s an artist or band with an entire catalogue of music, waiting to be discovered.
Find out more about these great Artists & Bands, and let their tunes guide you to success.
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was an article about Eagles tunes, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
