11 Best Eagles Songs

Chances are pretty good that you can name at least a few Eagles songs. 

Classic rock radio stations around the country play their hits with regularity. And, the Eagles truly are an integral part of rock music history in America. 

We’re bringing you 11 of the best Eagles songs to see what makes them one of the longest-lasting bands around. 

Let’s dive in!

About the Eagles and Their Songs

Los Angeles-based rock band, the Eagles, formed in 1971. The four founding members had been touring together in singer Linda Ronstadt’s band earlier that year. Once they finished the tour, they decided to branch out and start their own band. 

The following year, they released their self-titled debut album, Eagles. It was an immediate success, garnering them their first three Top 40 hits. The album also popularized the band’s signature country-rock sound with four-part harmonies.

Over the next eight years, the Eagles released five more albums and many chart-topping hits like Hotel California and New Kid in Town. 

The band broke up in 1980 but reunited 14 years later to release the album Hell Freezes Over. The album shot to #1 on the Billboard album chart with its mix of live and new studio recordings.

They were back, and their fans were thrilled!

Since 1994, the Eagles have toured extensively across the US and internationally. The band released a total of 21 albums, including several compilations of their greatest hits. They’ve also sold over 200 million records worldwide, making them one of the world’s best-selling bands. 

The Eagles continue to tour with co-founder Don Henley, along with a few other early members. Sadly, another founding member, Glenn Frey, who sang lead vocals on many Eagles hits, passed away in 2016. His son, Deacon Frey, and country singer Vince Gill joined the band in 2017. Together, they sing many of Glenn Frey’s famous songs like Lyin’ Eyes and Heartache Tonight. 

#11 Lyin’ Eyes

About the Song: One of many Eagles songs about love, Lyin’ Eyes is about a married woman finding comfort in another man’s arms. While it may not be the most positive subject, the vocal harmonizing shines on this song. 

The song hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #8 on Billboard’s Country chart. 

Best Lyric: 

Late at night a big old house gets lonely
I guess every form of refuge has its price
And it breaks her heart to think her love is only
Given to a man with hands as cold as ice

First Appearance: Recorded in 1975, it appeared on the Eagles’ fourth studio album, One of These Nights.

#10 Seven Bridges Road

About the Song: Songwriter, Steve Young, wrote the lyrics to this song after taking a drive down an Alabama country road one evening in 1969. A few other musicians had covered it before the Eagles gave it some wings. 

They used this song as a backstage warmup during their 1974 tour, gathering around one mic to practice their harmonies. It soon became the band’s opening song on tour before being replaced by Hotel California two years later. 

Best Lyric:

There are stars in the southern sky
Southward as you go
There is moonlight and moss in the trees
Down the seven bridges road

First Appearance: Seven Bridges Road first appeared on Steve Young’s 1969 album Rock, Salt & Nails. 

#9 Tequila Sunrise

About the Song: Don Henley and Glenn Frey wrote this song together with Frey singing vocals. It’s about a lonely guy pining for a woman and drinking the night away until the sun comes up. 

This tune is part of the more extensive Eagles catalog of Old West-themed songs. 

Best Lyric:

Take another shot of courage
Wonder why the right words never come
You just get numb

First Appearance: They recorded this song for the Eagles’ second album, Desperado, in 1973.

#8 Already Gone

About the Song: While this isn’t an Eagles original, it was written for the band. The lyrics describe the ending of a relationship where one person is “already gone” and ready to move on.

The song is a faster pace rock song with some exciting guitar riffs from Don Felder, who joined the band in 1974. It also gave the Eagles one of their first radio hits. 

Best Lyric:

So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains
And we never even know we have the key

First Appearance: Already Gone made its debut on the Eagles’ 1974 album On the Border.

#7 New Kid in Town

About the Song: On the surface, this song is about the fickle nature of love and romance. But according to Don Henley, it’s also about “the fleeting nature of fame, especially in the music business.”

Best Lyric:

You look in her eyes the music begins to play
Hopeless romantics here we go again
But after awhile you're lookin' the other way
It's those restless hearts that never mend

First Appearance: The song first appeared in 1976 on the Eagles’ fifth album Hotel California

#6 The Long Run

About the Song: This is another song that could be taken a few different ways. It’s about love and making a relationship last. But it can also be seen as a song about the endurance of the Eagles as a band. It was one of the last songs recorded before they decided to split up. 

Best Lyric:

People talkin' about us
They got nothin' else to do
When it all comes down
We will still come through

First Appearance: The band released this song in 1979 on their sixth album, The Long Run. This was the last album they recorded before their 14-year breakup.

#5 One of These Nights

About the Song: This is another Eagles song about searching for love, a common theme found in their lyrics. The song was written by Henley and Frey, with Henley singing the vocals.

The band wanted to record something different from the country-rock-style ballads they’d been known for. One of These Nights showcases the guitar playing of Don Felder, who helped give the band a slightly heavier rock sound. 

Best Lyric:

The full moon is calling
The fever is high
And the wicked wind whispers and moans

First Appearance: The Eagles recorded this song for their fourth studio album, One of These Nights, in 1975.

#4 Desperado

About the Song: The origin of this song began in 1968 when Don Henley began writing it. But it wasn’t until he joined forces with Glenn Frey that it came to life. Desperado marks the first song written by the duo.

It’s a song full of melancholic feelings set in a western theme. In the song, Desperado is a troubled and hardened guy searching for love and a better life.

Best Lyric:

Oh, you’re a hard one
I know that you’ve got your reasons
These things that are pleasin’ you
Can hurt you somehow

First Appearance: The song appears on their second album, Desperado, released in 1973. 

#3 Take It Easy

About the Song: A little-known fact about Take It Easy is that Jackson Browne wrote most of it. In 1972, he lived downstairs from Glenn Frey in the famed Echo Park section of Los Angeles. Browne was having a hard time finishing the song and decided to turn it over to Frey.

The rest, as they say, is musical history. 

Best Lyric:

Well, I'm standing on a corner
In Winslow, Arizona
And such a fine sight to see
It's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford
Slowin' down to take a look at me

First Appearance: The Eagles released the song in May 1972, making it their first hit single and one of their signature songs. 

#2 Peaceful Easy Feeling

About the Song: Unlike some other Eagles songs about love, this one isn’t about the pain of searching for or losing it. Instead, the lyrics describe the feeling of peacefulness in one’s own place in life and love. 

Out of all the songs the Eagles released, Glenn Frey cited this as his favorite. 

Best Lyric:

I get this feelin' I may know you
As a lover and a friend
This voice keeps whisperin' in my other ear
Tells me I may never see you again

First Appearance: Released in 1972, this was the third hit single from their debut album Eagles.

#1 Hotel California

About the Song: Is there anyone in America that doesn’t know this song? One of their most popular songs, it also has been interpreted many different ways. But in a 2007 interview, Don Henley explained the meaning this way, “It was really about the excesses of American culture and certain girls we knew. But it was also about the uneasy balance between art and commerce.”

Best Lyric:

Her mind is Tiffany-twisted
She got the Mercedes Benz, uh
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys
That she calls friends

First Appearance: Hotel California first appeared on the band’s fifth studio album of the same name in 1976. 

Which Eagles Song is Your Favorite?

While everyone may not love the Eagles, you can’t deny the impact they continue to make on American music. With so many songs in their repertoire, it seems there’s an Eagles song that suits every musical taste. 

What’s your favorite Eagles song?