51 Years Ago Today, the Eagles Hit No. 1 With the Song Glenn Frey Called a “Quantum Leap” for the Band

August 2, 2026, 9:15am

Formed in Los Angeles in 1971, the Eagles got their start with breezy, country-tinged ballads like “Take It Easy” and “Already Gone”. At that time, the band’s lineup consisted of guitarists Glenn Frey and Bernie Leadon, drummer Don Henley, and bassist Randy Meisner, with all sharing vocal responsibilities.

After two albums in the same laid-back vein, Frey and Henley were looking to remove the “country” from the quartet’s country-rock sound. For this, they enlisted lead guitarist Don Felder.

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Felder was more than capable of delivering the heavy shredding style that the band sought. Thus, the Eagles’ third album, On the Border, signaled a shift to harder material.

That direction persisted on its successor, 1975’s One of These Nights. On this day (August 2) in 1975, the album’s title track gave the group their second number-one U.S. single.

How The Eagles Shed Their “Ballad Syndrome” on “One of These Nights”

With its obvious R&B and disco influences, “One of These Nights” is about as far away from the lazy strains of “Peaceful Easy Feeling” as it’s possible to get.

That was intentional, according to the Eagles’ Don Henley, who co-wrote the song with Glenn Frey.

“We like to be a nice little country-rock band from Los Angeles … about half the time,” Henley told Rolling Stone in 1975. “We wanted to get away from the ballad syndrome with ‘One of These Nights.’”

Henley continued, “With Don Felder in the band now, we can really rock. He’s made us nastier and done a great guitar solo on the single.”

Specifically, Frey said he drew inspiration from R&B/soul acts like the Spinners and Al Green. “We wanted ‘One of These Nights’ to have a lot of teeth, a lot of bite—a nasty track with pretty vocals,” he explained.

It’s Glenn Frey’s Favorite

“One of These Nights” gave the Eagles their second chart-topping song on the Billboard Hot 100. It followed 1974’s “Best Of My Love”.

Additionally, the title track’s success helped propel the album to number one. One of These Nights marked the first of four straight chart-topping albums for the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers.

Before his death at age 67 on January 18, 2016, Glenn Frey declared “One of These Nights” his all-time favorite Eagles track.

In the liner notes for the Eagles’ 2003 Very Best Of album, Frey called the song “a quantum leap” for the band.

“It was a breakthrough song. It is my favorite Eagles record,” he said. “If I ever had to pick one, it wouldn’t be ‘Hotel California’; it wouldn’t be ‘Take It Easy.’ For me, it would be “One Of These Nights.’”

Featured image by Watal Asanuma/Shinko Music/Getty Images