1975 was one hell of a year for the country rock outfit Eagles. And June 28, 1975 was a particularly notable day. The up-and-coming band scored their very first no. 1 album with One Of These Nights on the Billboard Top 200.
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It was the beginning of a new era for the band. They earned a Grammy for it and kicked off their careers on an international level. The album landed in the Top 10 in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, as well as the Top 30 in Japan.
The Legacy of ‘One Of These Nights’
One Of These Nights was a career and commercial breakthrough for Eagles, despite it being their fourth overall album release. Sometimes, it just takes a while to get some recognition.
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The 1975 album was their major commercial breakthrough, with singles like “One Of These Nights”, “Take It To The Limit”, and “Lyin’ Eyes” topping the charts. The former song, in particular, was the band’s second overall no. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
The record was their very last to feature the OG lineup of Randy Meisner, Bernie Leadon, Glenn Frey, and Don Henley. The album also featured Don Felder when he first joined the band. After the promotional tour for the album, Leadon left and was replaced by Joe Walsh. Leadon was allegedly unhappy with the transition from country rock to more of a rock sound.
Frey is on record saying that One Of These Nights was the easiest and most “painless” album Eagles ever made. This says a lot, considering the drama between two particular band members later on in Eagles’ career. He also noted that it marked a clear improvement in the songs he wrote with Henley.
Frey sang less than previously on One Of These Nights, something that Henley said was “generous.”
“Glenn was generous in that respect,” Henley said in the book To the Limit: The Untold Story Of The Eagles. “If I began to do more than he did, it was because if someone had a strong suit he would play that card. ‘You sing this, you sing it better,’ that kind of thing.”
Sometimes, all it takes is the right environment and vibe to put out a seamlessly good album.
Photo by RB/Redferns
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