The Eagles' ‘One of These Nights' turns 50

Mint

28-06-2025

Linda Ronstadt had an ear for talent. Set to tour in 1971, she and her manager recruited guitarist-vocalist Glenn Frey and drummer-vocalist Don Henley for her backup group. On the road, the pair mentioned they wanted to form a band, so Ms. Ronstadt suggested they add guitarist-vocalist Bernie Leadon while her manager recommended bassist Randy Meisner. All four performed behind her at Disneyland in July before leaving to form the Eagles. Don Felder, an edgier rock guitarist and childhood friend of Mr. Leadon, was added in 1974.
'One of These Nights"—the Eagles' fourth studio album, and the last featuring the original four members before Joe Walsh replaced Mr. Leadon—came out 50 years ago this month. The LP was the band's big breakthrough, remaining at No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart for five straight weeks. The record sold a half-million copies within a month of its release, and all three of its singles charted in Billboard's top 5: the title track (No. 1), 'Take It to the Limit" (No. 4) and 'Lyin' Eyes" (No. 2), which also won a Grammy.
Essential to the band's sudden success was the elevation of Bill Szymczyk to sole producer. With full control on the LP, he helped the band realize its vision—a harder rock sound, with less country twang and fewer echo effects than on past albums.
The wide popularity of 'One of These Nights" helped pioneer a new FM radio format—album-oriented rock—and had a powerful impact on rock and country artists, including Fleetwood Mac, Keith Urban, Sheryl Crow, Bon Jovi, Lady A and Travis Tritt.
The LP also marked a turning point in California rock. The movement that began with the Byrds in 1965 had crested with singer-songwriters such as Crosby, Stills & Nash, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell in the early 1970s. While the lyrics of many of these artists' songs were poetic and personal, the Eagles' hits had broader appeal. Their words and music stirred feelings of independence, open-road optimism and wistful melancholy that touched a diverse range of fans.
The record's timing was perfect. By the mid-1970s, arena and stadium rock—driven by Led Zeppelin, the Who, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath—demanded a much bigger sound from California artists. The Eagles were the complete singer-songwriter package. Three of the five members—Frey and Messrs. Leadon and Felder—played electric guitar and were multi-instrumentalists. The fourth and fifth, Messrs. Henley and Meisner, played drums and bass, respectively. All were vocal harmony specialists.
Songs on 'One of These Nights" are relaxed and aspirational, and weren't written by one or two bandmates but by all members in different configurations. The title track, by Frey and Mr. Henley, who has the lead vocal, is an ode to procrastination, with Mr. Felder taking the bluesy guitar solo. The soulful rock feel and rhythm seem to have been inspired by the band's own 'Witchy Woman" and 'Then Came You," by the Spinners (with Dionne Warwick), a group the songwriters admired.
'Too Many Hands," by Messrs. Felder and Meisner, the lead singer here, features Frey on lead guitar. The song warns about Mother Nature's destruction: 'And there's too many hands / Being laid on her / Too many eyes will never see / That it's dragging her down."
Albhy Galuten plays the synthesizer and Mr. Leadon is on pedal steel guitar on 'Hollywood Waltz," by Frey, Mr. Leadon, his brother Tom and Mr. Henley, the lead vocalist. The song pays tribute to Southern California.
'Journey of the Sorcerer" probably should have been dropped. The 6½-minute rootsy prog-rock instrumental by Mr. Leadon, who plays banjo backed by an orchestra and fiddles, has its artful moments but it's an outcast.
Written by Frey and Mr. Henley, 'Lyin' Eyes" features Frey on his only lead vocal. The rollicking song about a woman living with a much older man who visits a guy more suitably aged again showcases Mr. Leadon on pedal steel: 'You can't hide your lyin' eyes / And your smile is a thin disguise / I thought by now you'd realize / There ain't no way to hide your lyin' eyes."
The waltz-time ballad 'Take It to the Limit," by Frey and Messrs. Henley and Meisner, who sings lead, celebrates taking your best shot to realize your dreams: 'So put me on a highway / And show me a sign / And take it to the limit one more time."
'Visions," by Messrs. Henley and Felder, is a Southern rocker with snarling guitars and tight vocals. Frey and Mr. Henley's 'After the Thrill Is Gone" is a rock saloon song with Mr. Felder on lead guitar.
The album's prettiest and most underappreciated song is Mr. Leadon's 'I Wish You Peace," co-written with Patti Davis, his then-romantic partner and daughter of Nancy and Ronald Reagan. The electric keyboard, orchestral strings and jazz chords are a warm touch.
By the end of 1975, the Eagles were at a commercial peak. Unfairly tarred as 'corporate rock" in the late '70s, they showed on 'One of These Nights" that well-crafted songs with heart were the keystone of their success.
Mr. Myers is the author of 'Rock Concert: An Oral History" and 'Anatomy of 55 More Songs" (Grove Press).