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Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) is the first greatest hits compilation by the American band Eagles, released in 1976. (see 1976 in music).
This album was the first ever to be certified platinum for shipping one million copies and was later certified diamond. It has since shipped more than 29 million copies and is the best selling album of all time in the United States. The worldwide sales of Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 are in excess of 51 million copies.
While not including any material from what is generally considered the Eagles' best album, Hotel California, it serves as a summary of the band's work in its original line-up with Bernie Leadon. Greatest Hits collects nine singles and one album track not released as a single, "Desperado," a key song in the band's repertoire presenting their early image as an echo of the outlaws from the old American west. Of the singles, all but "Tequila Sunrise" made the Billboard Top 40, with five in the Top Ten and "One of These Nights" and "Best of My Love" both going to #1. Such chart success in the span of a little over four years made the band a formidable presence on American commercial radio in the 1970s, the album becoming a number one hit on the Billboard Top Pop Albums Charts upon release. The band's subsequent ubiquity on classic rock radio over the ensuing decades has undoubtedly been a factor in the album's spectacular sales. Beyond the the quality of the performances and catchiness of the tunes, however, specific reasons for this artifact dating from the short reign in popular music of California country rock during the early 1970s attaining the historical position as the all-time number one selling album in America, and the number two selling album worldwide behind Thriller, has yet to be fully explored.
Track listing
- "Take It Easy" (Browne, Frey) – 3:29
- "Witchy Woman" (Henley, Leadon) – 4:10
- "Lyin' Eyes" (Henley, Frey) – 6:21
- "Already Gone" (Tempchin, R. Strandlund) – 4:13
- "Desperado" (Henley, Frey) – 3:33
- "One of These Nights" (Henley, Frey) – 4:51
- "Tequila Sunrise" (Henley, Frey) – 2:42
- "Take It to the Limit" (Meisner, Henley, Frey) – 4:48
- "Peaceful Easy Feeling" (Tempchin) – 4:16
- "Best of My Love" (Henley, Frey, Souther) – 4:35
Personnel
- Don Felder - guitar, vocals
- Glenn Frey - guitar, piano, vocals
- Don Henley - drums, vocals
- Bernie Leadon - banjo, guitar, pedal steel, mandolin, vocals
- Randy Meisner - bass, vocals
Production
- Producers: Glyn Johns, Bill Szymczyk
- Engineers: Allan Blazek, Michael Braunstein, Glyn Johns, Ed Mashal, Bill Szymczyk, Michael Verdick, Don Wood
- Assistant engineers: Allan Blazek, Howard Kilgour
- Remastering: Ted Jensen
- String arrangements: Jim Ed Norman
Trivia
It is interesting to note that the text font used on the album cover is very similar to the font on AC/DC's album High Voltage which was released the same year.
Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
Year | Chart | Position |
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1976 | Pop Albums | 1 |
Eagles | |
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Studio albums | |
Compilation | |
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Singles |
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Other songs |
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Tours | |
People | |
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