NEED TO KNOW
- The Eagles’ Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 album became certified quadruple diamond by the RIAA on Jan. 22
- The honor made it the best-selling album of all time in America
- The album includes songs like “Take It Easy,” “Desperado” and “Lyin’ Eyes”
The Eagles continue to give fans that “Peaceful Easy Feeling.”
On Thursday, Jan. 22, the American rock band’s album, Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975, became the first to be certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
The milestone for the album, which was released in 1976 and featured the band’s lineup of Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, Randy Meisner and Don Felder, marks a first in RIAA’s history. It also became the best-selling album of all time in America, surpassing Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
In a statement to the Associated Press, Henley said the honor was “gratifying.”
“In an age, in a culture, where everything seems to become more ephemeral, by the day, it is gratifying to have been part of something that endures, even for 50 years,” he said. “We are amazed and grateful.”
Upon the album’s release in 1976, it spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The tracklist includes songs like “Take It Easy,” “Desperado,” “Tequila Sunrise” and “Lyin’ Eyes.”
In addition to Greatest Hits, the Eagles’ Hotel California was re-certified 28 times platinum, making it the RIAA’s third-biggest album ever by U.S. sales and streams.
Up next, the band, which now consists of Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit, along with Vince Gill and Glenn’s son Deacon Frey, will return to their residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas, which will come to an end in March. By the end of the run the band will have played 56 shows total at the venue.
The following month, the band headline New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in April.
In January, guitarist Steuart Smith announced he was retiring from the band following a Parkinsonism diagnosis.
“It is with profound regret that, due to performance issues associated with my recently diagnosed Parkinsonism, I find that I must bow out of my role with the Eagles while I can still do so gracefully,” Smith said in a statement shared with PEOPLE.
“It’s been a great quarter of a century, and I had hoped to be able to finish out this year with the band, but I must now do what’s best for all concerned.”
Parkinsonism is “a set of movement symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease and other disorders,” according to Parkinson’s Foundation.
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