Don Henley Biography
Summary
"Donald Hugh 'Don' Henley" (born July 22, 1947 in Gilmer, Texas) is an American rock musician who is the drummer and one of the lead singers and songwriters of the band Eagles. He has since become a successful solo artist and has played a founding role in several environmental and political causes.
Early life
Don Henley attended North Texas State University (renamed in 1986 the University of North Texas) in Denton, Texas during 1968 and 1969. He left to spend time with his father, who was dying from heart and arterial disease.
In 1970, he moved to Los Angeles to record an album with his early band, Shiloh. Shiloh's album was produced by fellow Texan Kenny Rogers. Shortly thereafter, Henley met Glenn Frey through Amos Records in Los Angeles. They both became members of Linda Ronstadt's backup band, touring with her was the catalyst for forming the group in the first place. As a result, two months later they became their own act, the Eagles. All four of the original Eagles are featured in the 1970s Ronstadt album "Silk Purse". Later, Linda also covered one of the Eagles' songs 'Desperado'.
Tenure with the Eagles
The Eagles were formed in 1971, and released their first album in 1972, which contained the hit song 'Take It Easy,' as well as Henley's first hit songwriting attempt, 'Witchy Woman', co-written with guitarist Bernie Leadon. As the 1970s progressed, Henley's raspy vocals replaced Glenn Frey's smooth tenor as the focal point of the Eagles' sound.
During the band's run, Henley co-wrote (usually with Frey) most of the band's best-known songs, notably 'Desperado' and ' Hotel California.' It was on the album "Hotel California" that Henley wrote what many consider his masterpiece: 'The Last Resort.' The song tells the story about the negative impact of the westward movement. Henley has always been a supporter for rights of the downtrodden and the Democratic Party.
Henley sang lead vocals on many of the band's popular songs, including 'Desperado', 'The Best of My Love', 'One of These Nights', 'Hotel California', 'The Long Run', and 'Get Over It'. The Eagles won numerous Grammy Awards during the 1970s and became one of the most successful rock bands of all time. Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) is the best-selling album ever (in America), in any category. They are also the only band to have two best-selling albums in the top 15 American best-sellers of all time, and are also amongst the top 5 overall best-selling bands of all time in America.
The band broke up in 1980 following a difficult tour and increased personal tensions resulting from the recording of "The Long Run".
The Eagles reunited in 1994. Henley continues to tour and record with the Eagles, with a new album, "Long Road Out of Eden", released in 2007.
Solo career
Following the breakup of The Eagles, Henley embarked on a productive solo career, the most commercially successful of any of the Eagles. His first solo release, 1982's "I Can't Stand Still", was a moderate seller. The song 'Dirty Laundry', a denunciation of local television news, received the most airplay. Henley and his erstwhile lover, Stevie Nicks, would duet on her Billboard Hot 100 No. 6 hit 'Leather and Lace' that same year.
This was followed in 1984 by "Building the Perfect Beast", which featured layered synthesizers and was a marked departure from the Eagles' country-rock sound. A single release, 'The Boys of Summer', reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song's haunting rhythms and lyrics of loss and aging, capped by seeing 'a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac,' immediately connected with a certain age group. The music video for the song was a striking, evocative, black-and-white, French New Wave-influenced masterpiece directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino that won several MTV Video Music Awards including Best Video of the Year. Henley also won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for the song. The album's 'All She Wants to Do Is Dance,' (No. 9 on Hot 100), 'Sunset Grill,' and 'Not Enough Love in the World' also received considerable airplay.
Henley's next album, 1989's "The End of the Innocence", was even more successful. The title track, a collaboration with Bruce Hornsby, is a melancholy, piano-driven tale of finding bits of happiness in a corrupt world, and reached No. 8 as a single. The End of the Innocence was dedicated to all the farmers who were losing their farms because of the terrible loan conditions brought about by the Savings and Loan crises of the late 1980s. The lyrics called out then-President Ronald Reagan for pouring money into such defense projects as the missile defense shield rather than helping the struggling American farmer: 'Oh Beautiful, for Spacious Skies but now those skies are threatening. Beating plowshares into swords for the this tired old man that we elected King.' The hit follow-up, 'The Heart of the Matter,' is an emotive chance remembrance of a lost love. Both songs use the effective technique of varying the words in the chorus each time it is sung, to advance the song's narrative. The album's 'The Last Worthless Evening' and 'New York Minute' were among other songs that gained radio airplay. Henley again won the Best Male Rock Vocal Performance Grammy for the album.
In 1989, Don Henley made a brief appearance on MTV's Unplugged series.
In live shows, Henley would play drums and sing simultaneously only on certain Eagles songs; on his solo songs he would either play electric guitar and sing or just sing. Occasionally Eagles songs would get drastic rearrangements, such as 'Hotel California' with four trombones.
A long period without a new recording followed, as Henley waited out a dispute with his record company while also participating in a 1994 Eagles reunion tour and live album. During the hiatus, Henley recorded a cover of Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat for the film Leap of Faith, provided background vocals for country star Trisha Yearwood's hit single 'Walkaway Joe', and duetted with Patty Smyth on 'Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough' and Roger Waters on 'Watching TV' on Waters' "Amused to Death" album, in 1992.
In 2000, Henley released another solo studio recording, "Inside Job", containing the lead single 'Taking You Home.' The album however did not find the commercial success of his two previous releases.
Henley's most recent recording is a duet with Kenny Rogers on Rogers' 2006 release "Water & Bridges" titled 'Calling Me.'
Henley will be found On Reba McEntire's upcoming duets album, released September 18th, 2007.
Causes
In 1990, Henley founded the Walden Woods Project to help protect Walden Woods from development. The Thoreau Institute at Walden Woods was started in 1998 to provide for research and education regarding Henry David Thoreau.
Henley co-founded the non-profit Caddo Lake Institute in 1993 to underwrite ecological education and research. As part of the Caddo Lake Coalition, CLI helps protect the Texas wetland where Henley spent much of his childhood.
In 2000, Henley co-founded with Sheryl Crow the Recording Artists' Coalition, a group founded to protect musicians' rights against common music industry business practices. In this role he testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary in 2001
and the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation in 2003.
Henley is not always an idealist. In a March 2001 interview on "Charlie Rose", he stated that 'rock bands work best as a benevolent dictatorship,' with the principal songwriters in a band (in the case of the Eagles, 'me and Glenn Frey') being the ones that will likely hold the power.
Personal life
In 1995, Henley married Sharon Summerall, a former model from Texas who had lived in Paris and studied art history. Performers at the wedding included Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Billy Joel, John Fogerty, Jackson Browne, Donna Lewis, Sheryl Crow, Glenn Frey and Tony Bennett. The couple have three children.
Psychobilly musician Mojo Nixon, long-time satirist of George W. Bush, wrote a song called 'Don Henley Must Die'. Some years later, Mojo was playing at Austin's Hole in the Wall when the Eagles, who were also scheduled to play in Austin, came in. Mojo announced he was going to play the song when Don Henley himself climbed up on stage and began beatboxing to the song, which left Mojo utterly speechless. The two have since become friends.
Henley wrote the song 'Everything Is Different Now' from the album "Inside Job" for Sharon. It has been announced that Sharon is suffering from multiple sclerosis
Henley also had an inadvertant hand in changing political history. Sometime in 1987 at a Democratic fund raiser Don introduced then Presidential candidate favorite Gary Hart to his friend Donna Rice. Hart and Rice would have an affair that would become public during the 1988 primaries. Hart who was leading for the nomination would drop out as a result of the scandal and Michael Dukakis would eventually become the nominee.
Don Henley has homes in Los Angeles; Dallas; and a cabin at Caddo Lake in Texas
Quotes
'I could stand out front and sing Eagles songs that I sing in my set, but I think people enjoy watching me sing and play the drums. It seems to fascinate people. I don't know why.'
'I have things that I am interested in, and that's usually what comes out on the album.'
'I would rather take a long time and make a record with eight or ten good songs on it than to rush one out with only one or two good songs on it, which is what I find to be the case most of the time.'
'I'm always jotting things down on pieces of paper. I've got pieces of paper all over my house.'
Discography
Albums
"I Can't Stand Still" (1982) #24 US, US Sales: 500,000
"Building the Perfect Beast" (1984) #13 US, #14 UK, US Sales: 3,000,000
"The End of the Innocence" (1989) #8 US, #17 UK, US Sales: 5,000,000
"Actual Miles: Henley's Greatest Hits" (1995) #48 US, US Sales: 1,000,000
"Inside Job" (2000) #7 US, #25 UK, US Sales: 1,000,000
External links
(Don Henley) official website
(Walden Woods Project) website
(Recording Artists' Coalition) website
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Don Henley.
