It's been nearly 13 years since Don Henley released a solo album, which has given him plenty of time to think -- and as it happens, his next release sounds like it'll find the longtime Eagle in a fairly reflective mood.
For the Eagles' Glenn Frey, popular singing televised contests like 'American Idol' and 'X Factor' are nothing more than an opportunity for singing hopefuls to take the stage and oversing. He has a message for its contestants: Tone it down a bit.
"The nature of these shows is such is that they make everybod
Eagles singer-songwriter and drummer Don Henley is releasing a new solo album in May, and in an interview to promote that upcoming work, he let slip that a former member of the Eagles will return to the band for an upcoming tour -- though he declined to say which one.
When Don Henley and Glenn Frey set about authorizing the new documentary 'History of the Eagles,' they took the unusual step of securing an Oscar-winning filmmaker to produce -- because, as Frey put it in a recent interview with the New York Times, "Our management sent me what they thought were some of the best music documentaries that had been done. And I wasn’t crazy about any of it."
The enduring success of the Eagles means that Don Henley doesn't need to work unless he wants to. And when that time comes, it's hard to get him to stop. In a new interview, he discussed his upcoming projects that will keep him busy for the next few years, which includes a new solo album and autobiography.
With the possible exception of Joe Walsh, the guys in the Eagles aren't exactly known for being talkative, and Don Henley tends to be the most taciturn of all -- so the fact that he recently decided to open up to Rolling Stone about the pair of new documentaries delving into the band's history must mean he really likes the movies.
It's rare that the drummer takes center stage, but with the '70s rockers the Eagles, Don Henley was frequently the man on the mic. The musician, who turns 65 on July 22, sang lead on such favorites as 'Desperado,' 'Best of My Love,' and 'Hotel California.'
Apparently undaunted at the prospect of having the legacy of the Eagles hanging over him, Don Henley had already found respectable success with his first post-Eagles solo debut, 1982's 'I Can't Stand Still.'
But it would be his sophomore effort, 1984's 'Building The Perfect Beast,' that would help Henley prove once and for all that he could in fact fly without the Eagles, and give us the No. 68 track on our Top 100 Classic Rock Songs list.
When rapper Frank Ocean released his 'Nostalgia' mixtape, it featured a song called 'American Wedding' that had an uncleared sample of The Eagles classic tune 'Hotel California' -- something that didn't make Don Henley, the song's co-author, or his label very happy.
As a solo artist and founding member of the Eagles, Don Henley has helped create some of the most enduring classics of the rock era, including songs that made pointed cultural statements ('Dirty Laundry,' 'The End of the Innocence'), chronicled the battle of the sexes ('Witchy Woman,' 'Best of My Love'), and simply sounded great on rock radio ('The Long Run,' 'Life in the Fast Lane').
One thing Henley has never been known for, however, is having a sunny disposition. From his po-faced album cover photos to his overall reputation for being a bit of a cranky guy, he's generally not the first name that comes up when people start making lists of rock stars they'd want to have a beer with ... or intentionally annoy. But that didn't stop rock writer John Soeder from pointing out one of the goofier lines in 'Hotel California' during a 2009 interview -- and quickly suffering the wrath of Henley.
