Eagles - New Kid in Town (1976)

"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".