3 Iconic Songs That Eagles Didn’t Think Would Become Hits

Sometimes, a hit sneaks up on you. Even if you had no intention for a song to be successful, sometimes listeners just resonate with it. That’s more or less the case for these three songs by classic rock legends Eagles, each of which was either not released by the band as a single or didn’t have much in the way of expectations from the band. Today, they’re some of Eagles’ finest tracks.

Videos by American Songwriter

“Desperado” from ‘Desperado’ (1973)

Today, “Desperado” is one of Eagles’ most dearly loved songs. And yet, for some reason, the band didn’t believe in it enough to release it as a single at the time. That’s kind of crazy, considering how good of a soft rock jam it is. It’s certainly one of the best songs on the whole of the album of the same name. Don Henley would later say that “Desperado” wasn’t even a hit at all for Eagles initially, only gaining traction after Linda Ronstadt recorded a cover of the song later that year. Today, “Desperado” is loved by fans and contemporaries alike. And it has been praised by the likes of The Beatles’ Paul McCartney and The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson.

“Best Of My Love” from ‘On The Border’ (1974)

“Best Of My Love” is one of Eagles’ finest songs that leans closer to soft rock than country rock. And when it was released as the third single from their album On The Border, it became their very first No. 1 hit single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. And shockingly, Glenn Frey was reluctant to even release “Best Of My Love” as a single. He intentionally held off releasing the song, which is likely why it was released as the third single off of On The Border. It took a limited release to radio stations and an overwhelmingly positive response from listeners to convince the band to put it out. It’s a good thing they did.

“Take It To The Limit” from ‘One Of These Nights’ (1975)

Before writing “Take It To The Limit”, Eagles really didn’t give a hoot about writing a hit song. And yet, “Take It To The Limit” would be Eagles’ first Certified Gold song, arguably kicking off a legendary career in classic rock. Who knows where Eagles would be without this tune? Written by Randy Meisner, “Take It To The Limit” was a pretty big deal. And it’s unlikely that the band thought it would be as big as it became.

“We had tried, unsuccessfully, to get a piece of material for him — or from him — that might be a hit single or turn into one,” Glenn Frey said of Meisner and “Take It To The Limit”. “I don’t think we ever consciously tried to make a hit single. We finally succeeded with ‘Take It To The Limit’.”

Photo by Fotos International/Getty Images