Celebrate the Heart of Country, Americana, and Roots Music!

Drop Us A Line, Y'all

Y'all interested in advertising, partnering up, contributing stories, joining our team, or just got a question? Well, don't be shy, drop us a line!

Follow Us

‘Best of My Love:’ Slays as a Hit but a Hacksaw to The Eagles’ Bond

by
  • Arden is a Senior Country Music Journalist for Country Thang Daily, specializing in classic hits and contemporary chart-toppers.
  • Prior to joining Country Thang Daily, Arden wrote for Billboard and People magazine, covering country music legends and emerging artists.
  • Arden holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Tennessee, with a minor in Music Studies.

For any Eagles fan out there, it’s easy to say that ‘Best of My Love’ has been one of the earliest milestones of their career. Released in 1975, the song is their first-ever #1 hit with Glenn Frey and Don Henley co-writing the song. But one of the mysteries that this band has hidden this whole time is why they don’t want to release the song again to the public, and why they dislike it despite the single being one of the factors for their success in the industry.

Pride and Preferences

As Glenn Frey contemplates one of the notes of ‘The Very Best of the Eagles’, he started having mixed emotions towards the song as he plays his acoustic guitar one afternoon in Lauren Canyon. This is while figuring out what the thing his colleague Joni Mitchell showed him a few days earlier. The memory was dire, but what he does remember is that his guitar got out of tune which leads him to draft the ‘Best of My Love’.

After Henley and Frey completed their soon-to-be blockbuster song, their band set out to record it at the Olympic records. For other members like Johns, the sudden creation of the song made a crack in the band’s solidarity. Their opinions on music shift from the group’s original purpose into what we call ‘personal preferences’. Johns wanted to continue to pursue country-rock elements as those were the original feel they have implemented when they released the first two albums of The Eagles. The musicians, on the other hand, wanted a new-experience with up-tempo songs.

No Band Has it All

The Eagles eventually broke off. All the band members were perfectionists, but regardless of what the media says, the song has nothing to do with it. It probably started some cracks that caused rifts in their relationship.

Eliot’s biography writes how Frey refused to release ‘Best of My Love’ to be streamed on the radio despite it being a hitmaker. Olympic Records did their best to get the song back on track by cropping out parts other members hate, but to their dismay, Henley used his authority to immediately pull it out of the radio at its release.

‘Best of My Love’ practically turned into a double-edged sword for the former band. Despite its success, it resulted in unwanted consequences that are too late to revert. Eventually, Olympic Records received an award from The Eagles manager Irving Azoff. It’s a gold record plaque which he infamously named the ‘Golden Hacksaw Award.’

Latest Stories

Country legend George Jones plays guitar under spotlight, embodying the raw heartbreak behind these 12 most depressing country songs.

These 12 Depressing Country Songs Will Have You Sobbing and Hitting Repeat All Night

Straight from the depths of Reddit’s country corner, here’s a list built by real fans who know heartbreak better than any Nashville hit machine ever could. These songs weren’t picked ...

Jimmy Swaggart preaching passionately in an undated photo, remembered now after his death at 90 from a heart attack.

Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart Dies at 90 Just Weeks After Suffering a Massive Heart Attack

There’s a hush across Pentecostal churches this week as believers remember Jimmy Swaggart, the firebrand evangelist, gospel singer, and TV preacher who spent decades filling stadiums, living rooms, and airwaves ...

Gavin Adcock onstage raising a whiskey bottle while blasting Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ as “not real country music.”

Viral Country Star Gavin Adcock Slams Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ Says ‘That S— Ain’t Country Music’

Some headlines feel like a parody of the country music circus these days, and this is one of them. Gavin Adcock, the beer-slinging viral star who built half his brand ...

George Strait beams onstage at Patriots Stadium, guitar in hand, as he brings Texas charm with “All My Ex’s Live in Texas.”

George Strait Brings Lone Star Magic to Patriots Stadium With “All My Ex’s Live in Texas”

Some legends don’t need confetti cannons or stadium-shaking pyros. They just need a guitar, a baritone voice, and a song about every ex they ever outran in a pickup truck. ...

Beyoncé points at her Buffalo Soldiers shirt during her Cowboy Carter tour, the shirt that sparked backlash for its wording.

Beyoncé Under Fire for Wearing Shirt That Calls Native Americans “Enemies of Peace”

Some controversy doesn’t fade with the stage lights. Just ask Beyoncé. The Houston-born superstar is facing backlash after wearing a T-shirt during her Cowboy Carter tour in Paris that some ...

Miranda Lambert plays guitar in a cozy bedroom, the perfect moment that shows how she made “The House That Built Me” a classic.

Blake Shelton Was Supposed to Sing “The House That Built Me” Then Miranda Lambert Made It a Classic

Sometimes, the best country songs don’t just find a voice. They rip your chest open and remind you why Nashville can still surprise the hell out of you. Back in ...

Kellie Pickler with her late husband Kyle Jacobs, whose parents now call her “callous” in their feud over his estate and home.

Kellie Pickler’s In-Laws Brand Her “Callous” for Blocking Them From Late Son’s Home

Country music knows heartbreak, but sometimes it hits hardest when the lights are out, and the lawyers start circling. Just ask Kellie Pickler, now knee-deep in a brutal court fight ...

John Schneider’s ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ tribute honors Rick Hurst, pictured here as Deputy Cletus Hogg with the cast smiling.

‘Dukes of Hazzard’ Star John Schneider Honors Rick Hurst With Heartbreaking Tribute

Sometimes, the characters you remember best weren’t the heroes behind the wheel but the guys you’d see rolling their eyes and shaking their heads when the dust settled. Rick Hurst ...

Taylor Swift smiles while strumming a guitar onstage in Nashville, sparking rumors about a possible country music return.

Taylor Swift Crashes Kane Brown’s Nashville Set and Now Everyone’s Wondering if She’s Going Country Again

Taylor Swift showed up in Nashville like a pop comet trying to burn her way back into country music’s atmosphere. It all went down at Tight End University’s charity concert ...

Kelly Clarkson and Blake Shelton burst into laughter during a playful, no-holds-barred roast session on her talk show set.

Kelly Clarkson and Blake Shelton Bicker Like Siblings in a New Interview and It’s TV Gold

Two country megastars walk into a studio. One has 30 number ones and a new album, while the other is hosting the show but not having it. Cue the fireworks. ...