The Eagles had a storied first couple of years. The first, self-titled album was summer-incarnate. Their second album, Desperado, was a Wild West concept record. The difference between the two records made the direction of their third anybody’s guess. In the end, On The Border, saw them dip their toe into a more straight-forward rock sound.
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It was a successful venture for the band. The addition of Don Felder seemed to treat the band well. Among the celebrated track list is “The Best of My Love.” The breezy, mid-tempo song went on to become the band’s first No. 1 single–and its not hard to see why.
[RELATED: The Don Felder Insult and Onstage Confrontation That Glenn Frey Says Ended the Eagles]
That same old crowd was like a cold dark cloud
That we could never rise above
But here in my heart
I give you the best of my love
Henley has many impressive vocal bouts, but he sounds particularly soothing on “The Best of My Love.” Though the band was moving toward a rockier sound, there are still country elements present here. From gentle acoustic melodies to beachy slide guitars, we can’t imagine anyone would turn down the radio if this song came on. And, judging by the song’s success, not many people did.
I’m going back in time and it’s a sweet dream
It was a quiet night, and I would be alright
If I could go on sleeping
According to Henley, “The Best of My Love” was a real turning point for the group. Though he and his bandmates found the recording process for On The Border to be a difficult one, the success of this track made it all worth it.
“We had more or less given up hope for the success of the On the Border album, and we’d begun work on the next album,” Henley once said. “So when ‘The Best of My Love’ took off, it was like a resurrection, a miracle. Totally unexpected.”
(Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
