1979 No. 1 Rock Album, Released 47 Years Ago Today, Caused The Eagles To Go Their Separate Ways

As The Eagles celebrated their career-defining 1976 album Hotel California, they were also trying to figure out how to replicate that success. The result was The Long Run, an album that contributed to the band going their separate ways.

The Long Run was released 47 years ago today, on September 24, leading The Eagles to “a somewhat dispirited halt,” as Taste of Country wrote. The record marked the group’s sixth studio album, hallmarking the inner conflict within the group. The title track hinted at relationships gone sour and the band’s overall frustration, with the lyrics being: “It was high time I quit / I just couldn’t carry on that way.”

Glenn Frey, a founding member of The Eagles, said to The Independent in 1992 that The Long Run was the most difficult album he’d ever worked on.

“We worked hard to keep it loose, but everything had to be right and we spent three years on it, far longer than any other record,” Frey said. “It had stopped being fun. We no longer trusted each other’s instincts, so there was considerable disagreement as we were for the first time considering what we ought to be doing.”

Frey added that working in close quarters on tour was also a challenge, saying that they “found out a lot about each other.”

“We’d been living this lifestyle of limos, private jets, first-class hotels, and people doing what you told them to,” Frey said. “Plus, both Henley and I had developed drug habits, which didn’t help matters. Going to the studio was like going to school — I simply didn’t want to go.”

But after working on it for three years, The Long Run was born. It reached No. 1 in its second week, and in November 1979, “Heartache Tonight” topped Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. It became The Eagles’ final No. 1 hit, with the group disbanding only one year later.

Frey recalled that once the album was released and the band parted ways, he experienced “an overwhelming sense of relief.” He cut out alcohol and cocaine, beginning to experience life again.

“When I gave up snorting I found I didn’t need to drink any more and started to behave like a human being again,” he said.

While Frey said that The Long Run was a “very polished” album, the band decided that none of them wanted to go through that experience again.