Post by erik on Jul 22, 2023 18:23:26 GMT -5
The Eagles are in this week's Pop Music Hits Spotlight with their first #1 pop hit, one that, ironically, was radically different from what they became known for.
THE BEST OF MY LOVE (The Eagles; Asylum; 1974)—One of the issues that a lot of the country-rock artists that emerged from the Los Angeles music scene of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s was the tendency to be unable, at least initially, to appeal to a wide enough audience because, on one hand, their sound was still “too country” for a pop audience, and way too rock for the politically and socially conservative country music audience. This was true for The Eagles, who were initially formed as a backing band in 1971 for Linda Ronstadt, whose left-of-center approach to country, as seen through the prism of folk and rock, was still a roadblock for rock audiences. It didn’t necessarily help them that they had a producer in Glyn Johns, who had worked with bands in his native England like Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, and the Beatles, who didn’t think they were much of a “rock” band. Don Henley, Glenn Frey, and Randy Meisner all came from 1960’s rock and R&B backgrounds, but the wildcard in this mix was guitarist Bernie Leadon, who had a huge background in bluegrass and traditional country music, and provided the Eagles with much of what was recognizable in their sound. Although the band had scored off the top with their initial self-titled album in 1972, their second album, the Western concept album Desperado, was something of a flop when it came out in 1973 (though Linda made that album’s title track into a classic when she recorded it later on in 1973 for her album Don’t Cry Now). And when they began sessions for what became their third album, 1974’s On The Border, they had had enough of Johns and enough of having to record in England and not back home in Los Angeles. Only two songs from the album got recorded for the album under Johns: “You Never Cry Like A Lover”; and, ironically enough, what would become the band’s first #1 hit, the acoustic country-rock ballad “The Best Of My Love”, which Frey wrote with John David Souther. Dominated by Leadon’s pedal steel guitar, the song was so radically different from what was on the rest of On The Border (because they had not added the guitar work of Don Felder or the production of Bill Szymcyk to the mix just yet); and two singles released from that album had stalled out on the charts. When it was released as a single at the end of 1974, however, it began a slow but steady climb up the Hot 100, reaching #1 for the week ending March 1, 1975, two weeks after Linda’s “You’re No Good” had help that same position. From that point forward, the Eagles maintained mega-star status; but it would also cost them in ways they could never have imagined when they started out.
THE BEST OF MY LOVE (The Eagles; Asylum; 1974)—One of the issues that a lot of the country-rock artists that emerged from the Los Angeles music scene of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s was the tendency to be unable, at least initially, to appeal to a wide enough audience because, on one hand, their sound was still “too country” for a pop audience, and way too rock for the politically and socially conservative country music audience. This was true for The Eagles, who were initially formed as a backing band in 1971 for Linda Ronstadt, whose left-of-center approach to country, as seen through the prism of folk and rock, was still a roadblock for rock audiences. It didn’t necessarily help them that they had a producer in Glyn Johns, who had worked with bands in his native England like Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, and the Beatles, who didn’t think they were much of a “rock” band. Don Henley, Glenn Frey, and Randy Meisner all came from 1960’s rock and R&B backgrounds, but the wildcard in this mix was guitarist Bernie Leadon, who had a huge background in bluegrass and traditional country music, and provided the Eagles with much of what was recognizable in their sound. Although the band had scored off the top with their initial self-titled album in 1972, their second album, the Western concept album Desperado, was something of a flop when it came out in 1973 (though Linda made that album’s title track into a classic when she recorded it later on in 1973 for her album Don’t Cry Now). And when they began sessions for what became their third album, 1974’s On The Border, they had had enough of Johns and enough of having to record in England and not back home in Los Angeles. Only two songs from the album got recorded for the album under Johns: “You Never Cry Like A Lover”; and, ironically enough, what would become the band’s first #1 hit, the acoustic country-rock ballad “The Best Of My Love”, which Frey wrote with John David Souther. Dominated by Leadon’s pedal steel guitar, the song was so radically different from what was on the rest of On The Border (because they had not added the guitar work of Don Felder or the production of Bill Szymcyk to the mix just yet); and two singles released from that album had stalled out on the charts. When it was released as a single at the end of 1974, however, it began a slow but steady climb up the Hot 100, reaching #1 for the week ending March 1, 1975, two weeks after Linda’s “You’re No Good” had help that same position. From that point forward, the Eagles maintained mega-star status; but it would also cost them in ways they could never have imagined when they started out.