Eagles album takes top award for most sales

Band struck a chord that resonated with listeners

If you get a “peaceful, easy feeling” when you listen to the Eagles, you aren’t alone.

“Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975” has become history’s best-selling album of all time, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

The Eagles bumped Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” off the top of the list, the AP reports. Released in 1982, “Thriller” is certified 33x platinum.

The Eagles’ greatest hits album, which was released in 1976, has been certified 38x platinum, the Associated Press reports, meaning sales and streams of the album have reached 38 million copies.

That is an astounding number.

But when one looks at the list of songs on it, odds are, more than one or two are familiar.

Listening to the radio, the Eagles likely were a soundtrack everyone heard at least a few times. “Take It Easy,” “Witchy Woman,” “One of These Nights” … hearing just the title likely is enough to spark some memories.

The album also includes “Lyin’ Eyes,” “Already Gone,” “Desperado,” “Tequila Sunrise,” “Take It to the Limit,” and “Best of My Love.”

What’s not on the album? “Hotel California,” which was released a year later in 1977. That album is the third best-selling album of all time, with “New Kid in Town,” “Wasted Time” and “Life in the Fast Lane” among its biggest hits.

It’s amazing that the Eagles had so many big hits in just a few years — enough that these two albums are in the No. 1 and 3 spots for best selling of all time.

The AP reports that the Eagles broke up in 1980, but reunited 14 years later. Today, one can still catch the Eagles on tour, with dates in Phoenix and San Diego next month.

Clearly, the Eagles found a sound that has resonated with listeners through the years, regardless of the continuous evolution in music.

What do you think, readers? What’s your favorite Eagles song, and why? Let us know. Comment on this editorial online at www.YumaSun.com, or send us a Letter to the Editor at letters@yumasun.com.