<p id=”par-1_40″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/classic-rock/”>Classic rock</a> songs can be deceiving. The Eagles’ “New Kid in Town” might seem like a song about love, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/the-eagles-witchy-woman-appealed-masses-according-don-henley.html/”>but Don Henley</a> said the tune has a double meaning. It’s a lot darker than it might appear on first listen.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-the-connection-between-eagles-new-kid-in-town-and-hotel-california”>The connection between Eagles’ ‘New Kid in Town’ and ‘Hotel California’</h2>
<p id=”par-2_90″>During a 2003 interview with <a href=”http://www.theuncool.com/journalism/the-very-best-of-the-eagles/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>The Uncool</a>, Glenn Frey discussed what the Eagles were thinking when they penned <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/don-henley-said-1-word-made-the-eagles-hotel-california-hit.html/?swcfpc=1″>the album <em>Hotel California</em></a>. “When we wrote <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/drug-dealer-inspired-the-eagles-life-in-the-fast-lane.html/?swcfpc=1″>‘Life in the Fast Lane’</a> and started working on ‘Hotel California’ and ‘New Kid in Town’ with J.D. [Souther], we knew we were heading down a long and twisted corridor and just stayed with it,” he said. “Songs from the dark side — The Eagles take a look at the seamy underbelly of L.A. — the flip side of fame and failure, love and money.”</p>
<p id=”par-3_44″>Henley gave us more insight into “New Kid in Town.” “J.D. Souther started the song,”<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/don-henleys-the-boys-of-summer-statement-woodstock-generation.html/”> the “Boys of Summer” singer</a> said. “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.”</p>
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<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-was-eagles-fame-truly-fleeting”>Was Eagles’ fame truly fleeting?</h2>
<p id=”par-4_80″>Henley said “New Kid in Town” had a grim message. “We were already chronicling our own demise [laughs],” he recalled. “We were basically saying, ‘Look, we know we’re red hot now, but we also know that somebody’s going to come along and replace us — both in music and in love.’ We were always doing that double entendre thing, between the music business and personal relationships. But that song was J.D.’s baby — he was the father of that song.”</p>
<p id=”par-5_52″>After the album <em>Hotel California</em> became a huge hit, the Eagles released <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/the-eagles-wrote-the-long-run-show-werent-beens.html/?swcfpc=1″>a record called <em>The Long Run</em></a>, which seemed to say the band would stick around for a while. Then, they broke up. Henley and Frey had successful solo careers in the 1980s, but the other members were easily ignored. </p>
<p id=”par-6_36″>With that in mind, it’s up to interpretation whether or not “New Kid in Town” was an accurate self-fulfilling prophecy. Even if the Eagles weren’t the biggest name in show business forever, they were still huge.</p>
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<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-new-kid-in-town-owned-the-charts”>‘New Kid in Town’ owned the charts</h2>
<p id=”par-7_66″>While “New Kid in Town” is a song about the fleeting nature of fame, it became a big hit. The tune topped the <a href=”https://www.billboard.com/artist/eagles/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Billboard Hot 100</a> for a week, lasting on the chart for 15 weeks. “New Kid in Town” appeared on the album <em>Hotel California</em>, which topped the Billboard 200 for eight weeks. The album lasted on the Billboard 200 for 158 weeks in total.</p>
<p id=”par-8_57″><em>Hotel California</em> gave us two other hits. The most famous is the epic “Hotel California,” which was No. 1 for a week and lasted on the chart for 19 weeks altogether. The other single from the album, “Life in the Fast Lane,” became a minor hit. That track climbed to No. 11 and charted for 14 weeks.</p>
<p id=”par-9_36″>Part of the reason why <em>Hotel California</em> remains one of the most beloved albums of the 1970s is because it picked a theme and stuck with it — which is a lot harder than it looks.</p>