Don Henley’s Response To The Eagles’ ‘Sell-Out’ Accusations Greatest Hits compilations are a common choice for musicians with lengthy discographies. Some fans disagree with the idea, even though it’s common for record labels to want to release these albums in order to make a respectable profit from sales. Following the band’s decision to release “The Greatest Hits 1971–1975,” several fans expressed their displeasure and even referred to The Eagles as “sell-outs.” Don Henley was questioned about their “Greatest Hits” CD and his thoughts on the feedback from their fans during an interview with Melody Maker in 1976. The performer stated: “I’m on the same page with my fans. Let’s be clear: We don’t actually support ‘Greatest Hits’ albums. They are just a record corporation ruse to obtain free sales. They can make them without spending any money and get a lot of money back. Henley also talked about the slanderous letters they got labeling them “sell-outs.” Added him: “After the release of the ‘Greatest Hits’ record, we received a few threatening emails that claimed we were selling out…
They said that Steve Miller and ourselves were the last bands to hold off on selling out in this manner. Don acknowledged the controversy over the Greatest Hits album, but he continued by explaining that they had no input with the choice to issue the record. His words were: However, we had nothing to do with it. We were powerless to stop the record business from releasing it. The tunes were chosen, the tracks were sequenced, and the images were created by us. The band, in the end, did not anticipate the album would be this popular and sell five million copies. Don was unaffected by the album’s release because it was a hit and included the band’s earlier work from those five years. The performer said: “The fact that it unmistakably signaled the end of a phase for us was another reason I didn’t feel horrible about releasing a ‘Greatest Hits’ album. It signaled the conclusion of five years, and this new album ushers in a brand-new phase.
