New Kid in Town
| "New Kid in Town" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Eagles | ||||
| from the album Hotel California | ||||
| B-side | "Victim of Love" | |||
| Released | December 7, 1976 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Genre | Soft rock[1] | |||
| Length | 5:04 (Album Version); 4:49 (Single Version) | |||
| Label | Asylum | |||
| Writer(s) | Don Henley, Glenn Frey, J.D. Souther | |||
| Producer(s) | Bill Szymczyk | |||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | |||
| Eagles singles chronology | ||||
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"New Kid in Town" is a song by the Eagles from their 1976 studio album Hotel California. It was written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey and J.D. Souther. Released as the first single from the album, the song became a number-one hit in the US, and number 20 in the UK. The single version has an earlier fade-out than the album version. The song features Glenn Frey singing the lead vocals, with Don Henley singing main harmony vocals. Randy Meisner plays the guitarrón mexicano, Don Felder plays electric guitars, and Joe Walsh plays the electric piano and organ parts.[2]
In 1978, the Eagles won a Grammy Award for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices with "New Kid in Town".[3]
Background
J.D. Souther initially wrote the chorus for the song. About a year later, he, Frey and Henley gathered together for the writing of Hotel California where he played the song for them, and the three then finished the song together.[4]
Souther would later say that the song came about as a result of their "fascination with gunfire as an analogy", and added that "at some point some kid would come riding into town that was much faster than you and he'd say so, and then he'd prove it." He said: "We were just writing about our replacements."[5] Similarly, Don Henley talked about the song's meaning in the liner notes of The Very Best Of,:
| “ | It's about the fleeting, fickle nature of love and romance. It's also about the fleeting nature of fame, especially in the music business. We were basically saying, 'Look, we know we're red hot right now but we also know that somebody's going to come along and replace us — both in music and in love.'[6] | ” |
Eagles' biographer Marc Eliot would also state that "New Kid in Town" captures "a precise and spectacular moment immediately familiar to any guy who's ever felt the pain, jealousy, insecurity, rage and heartbreak of the moment he discovers his girlfriend likes someone better and has moved on."[7] He also suggests that it captures a more abstract theme of "the fickle nature of both the muse and the masses."[7]
On Henley's first solo album, I Can't Stand Still, he references the song by singing the line, "there's a new kid in town" over the rideout of "Johnny Can't Read".[8]
Personnel
- Glenn Frey: Lead vocals, acoustic guitar
- Don Henley: Drums, percussion, harmony & backing vocals
- Don Felder: Lead guitars
- Joe Walsh: Fender Rhodes electric piano, Hammond organ
- Randy Meisner: Bass guitar, guitarrón mexicano, backing vocals
Chart performance
Weekly singles charts
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Year-end charts
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Covers
- United States country singer Trisha Yearwood covered the song on the 1993 album Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles.
- Swedish pop and country singer Kikki Danielsson covered the song on her 2006 album I dag & i morgon.
- Finnish group Cumulus covered the song in 1977 with the Swedish title "En främling i stan" (A stranger in town)
- French country singer Dick Rivers covered the song on his 1979 album De Luxe, with the French title "Le dernier d'la classe" (The last of the class).
References
- ↑ Masley, Ed (September 30, 2014). "10/1: 5 essential Eagles albums- 'Hotel to 'Border'". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
- ↑ "Liner Notes - Hotel California (The Eagles)". Glennfreyonline.com. Retrieved 2014-05-24.
- ↑ "Past Winners Search: Glenn Frey". grammy.com. Retrieved 2014-08-11.
- ↑ Browne, David (January 28, 2016). "Glenn Frey: An Oral History". Rolling Stone.
- ↑ "J. D. Souther". Song Facts.
- ↑ The Very Best Of (CD). Eagles. Warner Music Group. 2003. R2 73971.
- 1 2 Eliot, M. (2004). To the Limit: The Untold Story of the Eagles. Da Capo Press. p. 149. ISBN 9780306813986.
- ↑ "New Kid in Town by Eagles". Song Facts.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Eagles – New Kid in Town" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5172a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
- ↑ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 5164." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
- ↑ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 4469." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
- ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Eagles – New Kid in Town". GfK Entertainment.
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Eagles – New Kid in Town" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Eagles – New Kid in Town". Top 40 Singles.
- ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Eagles – New Kid in Town". VG-lista.
- ↑ "Eagles: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.
- ↑ "Eagles – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Eagles.
- ↑ "Eagles – Chart history" Billboard Adult Contemporary for Eagles.
- ↑ "Top 200 Singles of 1977". RPM magazine. December 31, 1977.
- ↑ "Top 100 Hits of 1977/Top 100 Songs of 1977".
External links
| Preceded by "Blinded by the Light" by Manfred Mann's Earth Band |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single February 26, 1977 (one week) |
Succeeded by "Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)" by Barbra Streisand |
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