New Kid in Town

For other uses, see New Kid in Town (disambiguation).

"New Kid in Town"
Eagles in 1976 (l-r): Randy Meisner, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, Don Felder, Don Henley.
Single by Eagles
from the album Hotel California
B-side	"Victim of Love"
Released	December 7, 1976
Format	7"
Genre	Soft rock
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
"Take It to the Limit" (1975) "New Kid in Town" (1976) "Hotel California" (1977)

"New Kid in Town", written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey and J.D. Souther, is a song by the Eagles, from their 1976 album Hotel California. Released as the first single from the album, the song became a No. 1 hit in the USA, and No. 20 in the UK. The single version has an earlier fade-out than the album version. On 26 February 1977, it reached the Billboard No. 1. The song features Glenn Frey singing the lead vocals, with Don Henley singing main harmony vocals. Randy Meisner plays the guitarrón mexicano, and Joe Walsh plays the electric piano and organ parts.

Eagles' biographer Marc Eliot states 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." He also suggests that it captures a more abstract theme of "the fickle nature of both the muse and the masses."

In the liner notes of The Very Best Of, Don Henley talked about the song's meaning:

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.'

In 1977, the Eagles won a Grammy Award for Best Arrangement for Voices with "New Kid in Town".

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".

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

Chart (1976–77)	Peak position
Canadian RPM Top Singles	1
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks	2
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	12
Netherlands Top 40	9
UK	20
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	2
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	43

Year-end charts

Chart (1977)	Position
Canada	19
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	59

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).

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

Preceded by "Blinded by the Light" by Manfred Mann's Earth Band

Billboard Hot 100 number one single February 26, 1977

Succeeded by "Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)" by Barbra Streisand