Once Upon a Time in the Top Spot: Eagles, “Heartache Tonight”

36 years ago today, the Eagles soared to the top the Billboard Hot 100 for the fifth and - to date - final time in their career.

Written by band members Glenn Frey and Don Henley with the assistance of J.D. Souther and Bob Seger, “Heartache Tonight” was the first single released from The Long Run, the last album released by the Eagles prior to their lengthy period of disbanding, and given that list of composers, it should come as no surprise that it proved to be a highly radio-friendly track. The music emerged from a jam session by Frey and Souther when the latter musician was in town visiting the former, with the first verse reportedly emerging while the two gentlemen were in the midst of spinning some Sam Cooke songs. In short order, Frey called Seger and sang him the verse, resulting in Seger singing him the chorus, which apparently means that all struggling songwriters should have Bob Seger on speed dial. As for Henley, Frey has said that he joined forces with Frey and Souther to finish up the track, resulting in a “romp,” which is what Frey says it was always intended to be.

In addition to the Eagles scoring a big hit with the track, it's also worth noting that Conway Twitty had some pretty serious success with “Heartache Tonight” as well, taking it into the top 10 of Billboard's Country Singles chart in 1983. Beyond that, John Anderson covered the song for the hit compilation Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles, as did Michael Buble for his Crazy Love album, so it's fair to say that many people continue to have a lot of love for “Heartache Tonight” even now.