New Kid in Town - wikipedia New Kid in Town For other uses, see New Kid in Town ( disambiguation ). `` New Kid in Town '' Artwork for Spain release Single by Eagles from the album Hotel California B - side `` Victim of Love '' Released December 2, 1976 Format 7 '' Genre Soft rock Length 5 : 04 ( Album Version ) ; 4 : 49 ( Single Version ) Label Asylum Songwriter ( s ) Don Henley, Glenn Frey, J.D. Souther Producer ( s ) Bill Szymczyk Eagles singles chronology `` Take It to the Limit '' ( 1975 ) `` New Kid in Town '' ( 1976 ) `` Hotel California '' ( 1977 ) `` Take It to the Limit '' ( 1975 ) `` New Kid in Town '' ( 1976 ) `` Hotel California '' ( 1977 ) `` New Kid in Town '' is a song by the Eagles from their 1976 studio album Hotel California. It was written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey and J.D. Souther. Released as the first single from the album, the song became a number - one hit in the US, and number 20 in the UK. The single version has an earlier fade - out than the album version. The song features Glenn Frey singing the lead vocals, with Don Henley singing main harmony vocals. Randy Meisner plays the guitarrón mexicano, Don Felder plays electric guitars, and Joe Walsh plays the electric piano and organ parts. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices. Contents 1 Background 2 Critical reception 3 Pop culture 4 Personnel 5 Chart performances 5.1 Weekly charts 5.2 Year - end charts 6 References 7 External links Background J.D. Souther initially wrote the chorus for the song. According to Souther, the band thought it sounded like a hit, but he did not know what to do with it. About a year later, he, Frey and Henley gathered together for the writing of Hotel California where he played the song for them, and the three then finished the song together. Souther would later say that the song came about as a result of their `` fascination with gunfire as an analogy '', and added that `` at some point some kid would come riding into town that was much faster than you and he 'd say so, and then he 'd prove it. '' He said : `` We were just writing about our replacements. '' Similarly, Henley discussed the song 's meaning in the liner notes of The Very Best Of : `` 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. ' '' The song was rumored to be about Bruce Springsteen, who was gaining fame when the song was written, but Souther has denied that. Eagles ' biographer Marc Eliot would also state 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. '' On Henley 's first solo album, I Ca n't Stand Still, he references the song by singing the line, `` there 's a new kid in town '' over the rideout of `` Johnny Ca n't Read ''. Critical reception In 2016, the editors of Rolling Stone rated `` New Kid in Town '' as the Eagles 5th greatest song, describing it as `` an exquisite piece of south - of - the - border melancholia '' and praising its complex, `` overlapping harmonies. '' Those harmonies helped the song win the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices. Pop culture January 27, 1997 the song was used in an episode of Top of the Pops November 6, 2005 the song was used in the episode `` Treehouse of Horror XVI '' of The Simpsons 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 performances Weekly charts Chart ( 1976 -- 77 ) Peak position Australia KMR 16 Belgium ( Ultratop 50 Flanders ) 19 Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) Canada Adult Contemporary ( RPM ) Canada Country Tracks ( RPM ) 12 Germany ( Official German Charts ) 44 Ireland ( IRMA ) 12 Netherlands ( Single Top 100 ) 11 New Zealand ( Recorded Music NZ ) 6 Norway ( VG - lista ) 9 UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) 20 US Billboard Hot 100 US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles 43 Year - end charts Chart ( 1977 ) Rank Canada RPM Top Singles 19 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 59 U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary 23 References Jump up ^ Masley, Ed ( September 30, 2014 ). `` 10 / 1 : 5 essential Eagles albums - ' Hotel to ' Border ' ''. The Arizona Republic. Retrieved May 23, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Liner Notes - Hotel California ( The Eagles ) ''. Glennfreyonline.com. Retrieved 2014 - 05 - 24. ^ Jump up to : Eagles : The Ultimate Guide. Rolling Stone. 2016. p. 86. Jump up ^ Browne, David ( January 28, 2016 ). `` Glenn Frey : An Oral History ''. Rolling Stone. Jump up ^ `` J.D. Souther ''. Song Facts. Jump up ^ The Very Best Of ( CD ). Eagles. Warner Music Group. 2003. R2 73971. ^ Jump up to : Eliot, M. ( 2004 ). To the Limit : The Untold Story of the Eagles. Da Capo Press. p. 149. ISBN 9780306813986. Jump up ^ `` New Kid in Town by Eagles ''. Song Facts. Jump up ^ `` Past Winners Search : Glenn Frey ''. grammy.com. Retrieved 2014 - 08 - 11. Jump up ^ Bishop, Phil ( 1977 - 01 - 27 ), Episode dated 27 January 1977, Tony Blackburn, The Brothers, David Parton, retrieved 2018 - 07 - 29 Jump up ^ Silverman, David ( 2005 - 11 - 06 ), Treehouse of Horror XVI, Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, retrieved 2018 - 07 - 29 Jump up ^ `` Ultratop.be -- Eagles -- New Kid in Town '' ( in Dutch ). Ultratop 50. Jump up ^ `` Top RPM Singles : Issue 5172a. '' RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Jump up ^ `` Top RPM Adult Contemporary : Issue 5164. '' RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Jump up ^ `` Top RPM Country Tracks : Issue 4469. '' RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Jump up ^ `` Offiziellecharts.de -- Eagles -- New Kid in Town ''. GfK Entertainment Charts. Jump up ^ `` The Irish Charts -- Search Results -- New Kid in Town ''. Irish Singles Chart. Jump up ^ `` Dutchcharts.nl -- Eagles -- New Kid in Town '' ( in Dutch ). Single Top 100. Jump up ^ `` Charts.nz -- Eagles -- New Kid in Town ''. Top 40 Singles. Jump up ^ `` Norwegiancharts.com -- Eagles -- New Kid in Town ''. VG - lista. Jump up ^ `` Eagles : Artist Chart History ''. Official Charts Company. Jump up ^ `` Eagles Chart History ( Hot 100 ) ''. Billboard. Jump up ^ `` Eagles Chart History ( Adult Contemporary ) ''. Billboard. Jump up ^ `` Top 200 Singles of 1977 ''. RPM magazine. December 31, 1977. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Top 100 Hits of 1977 / Top 100 Songs of 1977 ''. Jump up ^ MBAJ&printsec = frontcover Billboard, December 24, 1977. External links Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Eagles Don Henley Timothy B. Schmit Joe Walsh Glenn Frey Bernie Leadon Randy Meisner Don Felder Studio albums Eagles Desperado On the Border One of These Nights Hotel California The Long Run Long Road Out of Eden Compilation albums Their Greatest Hits ( 1971 -- 1975 ) Eagles Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 The Very Best of the Eagles Selected Works : 1972 -- 1999 The Very Best Of Eagles Live releases Eagles Live Hell Freezes Over Farewell 1 Tour : Live from Melbourne Singles `` Take It Easy '' `` Witchy Woman '' `` Peaceful Easy Feeling '' `` Tequila Sunrise '' `` Outlaw Man '' `` Already Gone '' `` James Dean '' `` Best of My Love '' `` One of These Nights '' `` Lyin ' Eyes '' `` Take It to the Limit '' `` New Kid in Town '' `` Hotel California '' `` Life in the Fast Lane '' `` Please Come Home for Christmas '' `` Heartache Tonight '' `` The Long Run '' `` I Ca n't Tell You Why '' `` Seven Bridges Road '' `` Get Over It '' `` Love Will Keep Us Alive '' `` Hole in the World '' `` How Long '' `` Busy Being Fabulous '' Other songs `` Desperado '' `` Ol ' ' 55 '' `` The Last Resort '' `` In the City '' Tours Long Road Out of Eden Tour History of the Eagles Tour Related Discography Poco Linda Ronstadt Flying Burrito Brothers Common Thread : The Songs of the Eagles History of the Eagles Heaven and Hell : My Life in the Eagles ( 1974 -- 2001 ) Book Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=New_Kid_in_Town&oldid=852843267 '' Categories : 1976 singles 1976 songs Billboard Hot 100 number - one singles Eagles ( band ) songs Trisha Yearwood songs Songs written by J.D. Souther Songs written by Glenn Frey Songs written by Don Henley RPM Top Singles number - one singles Asylum Records singles Song recordings produced by Bill Szymczyk Grammy Award for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices Hidden categories : Articles with hAudio microformats Singlechart usages for Flanders Singlechart usages for Canadatopsingles Singlechart usages for Canadaadultcontemporary Singlechart usages for Canadacountry Singlechart usages for Germany2 Singlechart usages for Ireland2 Singlechart usages for Dutch100 Singlechart usages for New Zealand Singlechart usages for Norway Singlechart usages for UKsinglesbyname Singlechart usages for Billboardhot100 Singlechart called without song Singlechart usages for Billboardadultcontemporary Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk nynorsk Português Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 31 July 2018, at 19 : 11 ( UTC ). 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Question: who sings lead on new kid in town
Answer: Glenn Frey