Few bands of the 70s managed to cross over to the pop charts with as high a success rate as The Eagles. They hit the Top 40 17 times during their recording career, and ten of those songs made it into the Top 10.
But we think that they left some meat on the bone along the way. Here we present five songs that the band didn’t release as singles that we believe could have done some serious damage if given the opportunity.
“Desperado” from ‘Desperado’ (1973)
The Desperado album sold significantly less than the band’s self-titled debut. You can blame some of that on the failure of the LP’s singles to do anything on pop radio. Looking back, it’s hard to understand why the band didn’t choose to release the title track as a single. Here you have a tender ballad, written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey, that would have neatly summed up the concept of the album for radio audiences. “Desperado” has since become one of the band’s most famous and beloved songs.
“My Man” from ‘On The Border’ (1974)
The Eagles nearly made the same mistake when choosing singles for their third album, On The Border, as they did with Desperado. They went with two uptempo numbers to start, neither of which did that well. Finally, they went with a ballad, and “Best Of My Love” gave them their first No. 1. We believe they also might have scored with “My Man”. It’s a touching song, written and sung by Bernie Leadon. Leadon wrote it about Gram Parsons, the country-rock legend who passed away in 1973.
“Hollywood Waltz” from ‘One Of These Nights’ (1975)
Well, you can’t really fault their decision-making when it came to the One Of These Nights album. All three of the singles The Eagles released went to the Top 5. But we believe that they might have been able to do just as well with this unheralded track. It could be that the band didn’t want to give a single to an outside writer, as “Hollywood Waltz” was partially penned by Tom Leadon, Bernie’s brother. Nonetheless, they do a great job with it, as those lush vocal harmonies wring every last bit of pathos out of the lyrics.
“Victim Of Love” from ‘Hotel California’ (1976)
It wasn’t uncommon for smash albums in the 80s to go four, five, or even six deep with singles. That just didn’t happen in the 70s, which is why The Eagles only released three singles (two of which hit the top of the charts) from their masterpiece, Hotel California. If they were going to go a little bit deeper, you can imagine that “Victim Of Love” would have been a smart choice. The song rocks as hard as any in their catalog, while the lyrics get their point across in succinct fashion.
“Those Shoes” from ‘The Long Run’ (1979)
Once intended as a double album, The Long Run ended up being a single disc because The Eagles, running on fumes after all their success, couldn’t come up with much more. Some of the album tracks fell well below the standard set by the three hit singles from the LP. But we’re here to say that “Those Shoes” could have done quite well as a single. The song features some of Don Henley’s most biting lyrics about LA nightlife. And the prominent usage of the vocoder was certainly era-appropriate.
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