Don Henley | |
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 Henley performing with theEagles in 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Donald Hugh Henley (1947-07-22)July 22, 1947 (age 78) Gilmer, Texas, U.S.[1] |
| Origin | Linden, Texas, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Works | |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Labels | |
| Member of | Eagles |
Spouse | |
Partner | Stevie Nicks (1977–1978) |
| Website | donhenley |
Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. Henley is a founding member of theEagles, serving as a songwriter, drummer, and vocalist for the band. He sang lead vocals on Eagles songs such as "Witchy Woman", "Desperado", "Best of My Love", "One of These Nights", "Hotel California", "Life in the Fast Lane", and "The Long Run". The Eagles disbanded in 1980, but reunited in 1994.
After the Eagles' 1980 breakup, Henley pursued a solo career and released his debut studio albumI Can't Stand Still in 1982. As a solo artist, he has released five studio albums, two compilation albums, and one liveDVD. His notable solo tracks include "Dirty Laundry", "The Boys of Summer", "All She Wants to Do Is Dance", "Not Enough Love in the World", "Sunset Grill","New York Minute", "The End of the Innocence", "The Last Worthless Evening", "The Heart of the Matter", and "Taking You Home".
The Eagles have sold over 150 million albums worldwide; won sixGrammy Awards; and charted five number one singles, 17 top 40 singles, and six number one albums. The band was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 and is the highest-selling American band in history. As a solo artist, Henley has sold over 10 million albums worldwide, had eight top 40 singles, and won two Grammy Awards and fiveMTV Video Music Awards. In 2008, he was ranked as the 87th-greatest singer of all time byRolling Stone.
Henley has also played a founding role in several environmental and political causes, including theWalden Woods Project.
Donald Hugh Henley was born on July 22, 1947 inGilmer, Texas, and grew up in the small northeastTexas town ofLinden.[2][3] He is the son of Hughlene (née McWhorter; 1916–2003) and Con Junell "C. J." Henley (1907–1972),[4] and hasEnglish,Scottish andIrish ancestry. Henley attendedLinden-Kildare High School, where he initially playedfootball; due to his relatively small build, his coach suggested that he quit, and he joined the high school band instead. He first played the trombone, then moved to the percussion section.[5]
After graduating from high school in 1965, Henley attendedStephen F. Austin State University inNacogdoches, thenNorth Texas State University inDenton from 1967 to 1969. He left school to spend time with his father, who was dying ofcardiovascular andarterial disease.[6]
While still at high school, Henley was asked to join aDixieland jazz band formed by his childhood friendRichard Bowden's father Elmer, together with another school friend Jerry Surratt. They then formed a band called the Four Speeds.[5][7] In 1964 the band was renamed Felicity and went through a number of changes in band personnel.[8][9] As Felicity they were signed to a local producer and released a Henley-penned song called "Hurtin'".[10] In 1969, they met by chance fellow TexanKenny Rogers who took an interest in their band. They changed their name to Shiloh and recorded a few songs for Rogers, and "Jennifer (O' My Lady)" was released as their first single.[11]
Surratt died in adirt bike accident just before their single was released. The band members then became Henley, Richard Bowden and his cousin Michael Bowden,Al Perkins andJim Ed Norman. Rogers helped sign the band to independent labelAmos Records, and brought the band toLos Angeles,California, in June 1970. They recorded an eponymous studio album produced by Rogers atLarrabee Sound Studios while living at the home of Rogers for a few months.[12] Shiloh broke-up in 1971 over the band's leadership and creative differences between Henley and Bowden.[13]
In Los Angeles, Henley metGlenn Frey as they were both signed to the same label (Frey was signed to Amos Records, together withJD Souther, as the duoLongbranch Pennywhistle), and they were recruited byJohn Boylan to be members ofLinda Ronstadt's backup band for her tour in 1971. Touring with her was the catalyst for forming a group, as Henley and Frey decided to form their own band.[14] They were joined byRandy Meisner andBernie Leadon who also played in Ronstadt's backing band (the four had, however, played together only once previously, as the band personnel changed) and became theEagles.[15]
TheEagles were formed in 1971.[16] Henley is a founding member, drummer, and vocalist of the band.[17] The band signed arecording contract withDavid Geffen's labelAsylum Records.[18] They released theirdebut eponymous studio album in 1972, which contained the hit song "Take It Easy", co-written byJackson Browne. During the band's run, Henley co-wrote (usually with Frey) most of the band's best-known songs.[15] "Witchy Woman", which was co-written with Leadon, was his first commercially successful song,[19] while "Desperado" marks the beginning of his songwriting partnership with Frey.[20]
Henley sang lead vocals on many of the band's popular songs, including "Desperado", "Witchy Woman", "Best of My Love", "One of These Nights", "Hotel California", "The Long Run" and "Life in the Fast Lane". The Eagles won numerousGrammy Awards during the 1970s and became one of the most successful rock bands of all time.[21] They are also among the top five overall bestselling bands of all time in America, and the highest-selling American band in U.S. history.[22]
The band broke up in 1980, following a difficult tour and personal tensions that arose during the recording of their sixth studio album,The Long Run (1979). They reunited 14 years later in 1994. Their most recent studio album,Long Road Out of Eden, was released in 2007.[23] The band had a number of highly successful tours, such as the Hell Freezes Over Tour (1994–1996) andLong Road Out of Eden Tour. On April 1, 2013, during a concert at theCasino Rama inRama, Ontario, Canada, Henley announced theHistory of the Eagles – Live in Concert tour, which began in July 2013[24] and ended in July 2015, six months before Frey's death. At the58th Annual Grammy Awards, the Eagles and Jackson Browne performed "Take It Easy" as a tribute to Frey.[25]
Frey's death left Henley as the only founding member of Eagles who was still in the band.[26]
On his songwriting in the band, Henley stated in a March 2001 interview onCharlie Rose that "rock bands work best as a benevolentdictatorship", with the principal songwriters in a band (in the case of Eagles, "me and Glenn Frey") being the ones that will likely hold the power.[27]
Following the initial break-up of the Eagles, Henley embarked on a solo career. He andStevie Nicks (his girlfriend at the time) had duetted on her top 10pop andadult contemporary hit "Leather and Lace" in 1981,[28] written by Nicks forWaylon Jennings and his wifeJessi Colter, in late 1980. Henley's debut solo studio album,I Can't Stand Still (1982), was a moderate seller. The single "Dirty Laundry" reached No. 3 on theBillboard Hot 100 at the beginning of 1983 and earned a Gold-certified single for sales of over a million copies in the U.S.[29] It was Henley's all-time biggest solo hit single, and also was nominated for aGrammy Award. Henley also contributed the song "Love Rules" to thecoming-of-agecomedy filmFast Times at Ridgemont High (1982).[30]
This was followed in 1984 by the studio album,Building the Perfect Beast. A single release, "The Boys of Summer", reached No. 5 on theBillboard Hot 100.[31] Themusic video for the song was directed byJean-Baptiste Mondino and won severalMTV Video Music Awards includingBest Video of the Year. Henley also won theGrammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for the song.[32] Several other songs on the album, "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" (No. 9 on Hot 100), "Not Enough Love in the World" (No. 34) and "Sunset Grill" (No. 22) also received considerable airplay. He then had a No. 3Album Rock Tracks chart hit with "Who Owns This Place?" from thesportsdrama filmThe Color of Money (1986).[33]
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Henley's third studio album,The End of the Innocence (1989), was even more successful. Thealbum's title track, a collaboration withBruce Hornsby, reached No. 8 as a single. "The Heart of the Matter", "The Last Worthless Evening" and "New York Minute" were among other songs that gained radio airplay.[34][35] Henley again won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance in 1990 for "The End of the Innocence".[36] Also in 1990, Henley made a brief appearance onMTV'sUnplugged series.[37]
In 1995, Henley released the single "The Garden of Allah" to promote his solo greatest hits compilation albumActual Miles: Henley's Greatest Hits.[38]
MusicRadar called Henley one of the greatest singing drummers of all time.[39]
In live shows, Henley plays drums and sings simultaneously on some Eagles songs.[39] On his solo songs and other Eagles songs, he plays electric guitar and simultaneously sings or just sings solo. Occasionally Eagles songs would get drastic rearrangements, such as "Hotel California" with four trombones.[40][41]
Henley spent many years in legal entanglements withGeffen Records. In January 1993, following prolonged tensions between Henley and the label, the dispute went public and the record company filed a $30 million breach of contract suit inCalifornia Superior Court after receiving a notice from Henley saying that he was terminating his contract even though he reportedly owed the company two more studio albums and a greatest-hits collection.[42] Henley wanted to sign a publishing deal withEMI Records that would have been worth a few million dollars. Geffen Records stopped this from happening, which in turn upset Henley.[42]
Geffen Records claimed that Henley was inbreach of contract and Henley attempted to get out of his contract in 1993 based on a 50-year-old California statute. Under the statute, enacted to free actors from long-term studio deals, entertainers cannot be forced to work for any company for more than seven years. Geffen Records did not want Henley signing with any other label, and had an agreement withSony and EMI that they would not sign Henley. He counter-sued Geffen Records, claiming that he was "blackballed" byDavid Geffen, who had made agreements with other record labels to not sign him.[42]
Henley eventually became an outspoken advocate for musicians' rights, taking a stand against record labels who he believes refuse to pay bands their dueroyalties. Henley came to terms with Geffen Records when the Eagles' reunion took off and the company eventually took a large chunk of the profit from their live reunion album,Hell Freezes Over (1994). Glenn Frey was also in legal entanglements with his label,MCA Records (whose parent company had also acquired Geffen).[43] Before the Eagles reunion tour could begin, the band had to file a suit againstElektra Records, which had planned to release a new EaglesGreatest Hits album. The band won that battle.[44]
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 acover version of "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" for thecomedy drama filmLeap of Faith, and provided the backing vocals forcountry singerTrisha Yearwood's hit single "Walkaway Joe",[citation needed] and duetted withPatty Smyth on "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough",[45] andPink Floyd'sRoger Waters on "Watching TV" on Waters' third studio albumAmused to Death in 1992.[46] Henley provided the voice of Henry Faust inRandy Newman's Faust, a 1993 musical which was released oncompact disc (CD) that year.[47]
Henley andalternative rock singerCourtney Love testified at aCalifornia State Senate hearing on that state's contractual laws inSacramento on September 5, 2001. In 2002 Henley became the head of the Recording Artists' Coalition. The coalition's primary aim was to raise money to mount a legal and political battle against the major record labels.[48] Henley says the group seeks to change the fundamental rules that govern most recording contracts, including copyright ownership, long-term control ofintellectual property and unfairaccounting practices. This group filed a friend-of-the-court brief in theNapster case,[49] urging District JudgeMarilyn Hall Patel not to accept the industry's broad claims of works made for hire authorship.[50]
In 2000, after 11 years, Henley released his fourth solo studio albumInside Job which peaked at number 7 on theBillboard 200 and contained the new singles "Taking You Home", "Everything Is Different Now", "Workin' It" and "For My Wedding".[51] He performed songs from the album in aVH1 Storytellers episode during 2000. In 2002 a live DVD entitledDon Henley: Live Inside Job was released. In 2005, Henley opened 10 ofStevie Nicks' concerts on her Two Voices Tour.[52]
Henley performed a duet withKenny Rogers on Rogers' twenty-sixth studio albumWater & Bridges (2006), titled "Calling Me"[53][54] and onReba McEntire's twenty-sixth studio album,Reba: Duets (2007), performing "Break Each Other's Hearts Again".[55]
In a 2007 interview withCNN, while discussing the future of the Eagles, Henley indicated he still has plans for more records: "But we all have some solo plans still. I still have a contract with a major label [Warner] for a couple of solo albums."[56] In January 2011, Henley commenced work on a solo studio album of country covers featuring special guests.Ronnie Dunn ofBrooks & Dunn andAlison Krauss recorded a song with Henley for the album.[57]
On July 18, 2015, Henley began pre-orders of his fifth solo studio album,Cass County. The album was released on September 25.
In 1990, Henley founded theWalden 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 regardingHenry David Thoreau. In 1993, atribute album titledCommon Thread: The Songs of the Eagles was released, with a portion of the royalties from the sales going to the Walden Woods Project. In 2005, he had a fundraiser concert with English musicianElton John and others to buy Brister's Hill,[58] part of Walden Woods, and turn it into a hiking trail.[59]
Henley co-founded the non-profitCaddo Lake Institute (CLI) in 1993 with Dwight K. Shellman to underwrite ecological education and research. As part of the Caddo Lake Coalition, CLI helps protect the Texaswetland where Henley spent much of his childhood. As a result of the Caddo Lake Institute's success in restoring and protecting Caddo Lake's wetlands, Caddo Lake was included as the 13th site in the United States on theRamsar Convention's list of significant wetlands. The Ramsar Convention is an intergovernmental treaty that provides a framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.[59]
In 2000, Henley co-founded theRecording Artists' Coalition, a group founded to protect musicians' rights against common music industry business practices. In this role he testified before theUnited States Senate Committee on the Judiciary in 2001[60] and theUnited States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in 2003.[61]
Henley in a 2008 interview revealed that he contributes to many other charitable causes such as The Race to Erase MS, and the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.[62][63] He is also a member of theCuriosity Stream Advisory Board.[64]
A lifelong supporter of theDemocratic Party, Henley has also been a generous donor to political campaigns of Democrats. In 2008,The Washington Post reported Henley had donated over $680,000 to political candidates since 1978.[65] Several tracks on the 2007 Eagles' studio albumLong Road Out of Eden (including the title track, which Henley co-wrote) are sharply critical of theIraq War and other policies of theGeorge W. Bush administration.[66]
Henley's liberal political leanings led to tension with guitaristBernie Leadon when Leadon submitted the song "I Wish You Peace" for inclusion on the Eagles' fourth studio albumOne of These Nights (1975). Henley was not thrilled that the song was co-written byPatti Davis, who was the daughter ofRonald Reagan, theRepublican Partygovernor of California at that time.[67]
Henley endorsedJoe Biden in the2020 presidential election.[68]
In a fundraiser hosted by actorMatthew McConaughey to raise money for Texans affected by the snowstorms in February 2021, Henley performed "Snow", which was written byJesse Winchester. The show premiered on March 21, 2021. Henley remarked "On that bitter cold Tuesday of February 16th, we had a busted pipe at the attic at my house, and me and my family were shoveling and bailing for 8 or 9 hours there. Nothing, of course, compared to the shoveling and bailing that's been going on down in the state capitol the past three weeks."[69]
In aDiscover Concord magazine interview in the summer of 2021, Henley spoke of the Walden Woods Foundation as well as his life during theCOVID-19 pandemic. Henley noted that "I think that each and every one of us has a duty to help care for our natural environment, even if it's something as simple as not throwing your fast-food wrapper out the car window."[70]
On June 2, 2020, Henley gavetestimony to the United States Congress regarding his views on copyright law, specifically theDigital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).[71][72] Henley argued that the act is outdated, unfair to artists, and that it is not sufficiently enforced. These statements in turn sparked public backlash against him from parties believing that DMCA enforcement is already too harshly enforced and often abused. Opposition to Henley's views was particularly widespread among online content creators, many of whom had been subject toYouTube copyright strikes pertaining to the use of songs by Henley or the Eagles, regardless of the legitimacy of the claim in question.[73][74][75]
Henley is known for taking down online content involving music for which he holds copyright, doing so even when the content in question is consideredfair use. According to research conducted byYouTuber, multi-instrumentalist, music producer and educatorRick Beato, Henley has been responsible for manual takedowns of instructional videos teaching others how to play the Eagles' songs despite such educational material falling under fair use protections.[75][better source needed]
In 1974, Henley became involved with Lorelei Shellist, and the break-up of their relationship was the inspiration for the song "Wasted Time" and parts of the lyrics for "Hotel California".[76][77] Late in 1976, Henley started datingFleetwood Mac singerStevie Nicks as her relationship with bandmateLindsey Buckingham came to an end.[78] The relationship lasted on and off for around two years, and Henley claimed that Nicks wrote her song "Sara" about their unborn child. Nicks ultimately made a decision to have anabortion.[79] Henley then began a three-year-long relationship with the fashion model, actress andBond girlLois Chiles.[80]
In the early 1980s, Henley was engaged toBattlestar Galactica actress and modelMaren Jensen. His debut solo studio albumI Can't Stand Still (1982) was dedicated to Jensen, who also sangharmony vocals on the song "Johnny Can't Read". He and Jensen separated in 1986.[81]
In 1995, Henley married model andsocialite Sharon Summerall.[82] Performers at the wedding includedBruce Springsteen,the Police'sSting,Billy Joel,John Fogerty,Jackson Browne,Sheryl Crow,Glenn Frey andTony Bennett. Henley later wrote the song "Everything Is Different Now" on his fourth solo studio albumInside Job (2000) for Summerall. Summerall has been diagnosed withmultiple sclerosis (MS).[83] They have three children together: two daughters and a son.[84][82]
In 2012, Henley was estimated to be the fourth-wealthiest drummer in the world (behindthe Beatles'Ringo Starr,Genesis'sPhil Collins and theFoo Fighters'Dave Grohl), with a combined fortune of $200 million.[85]
In February 2024, it was revealed that Henley had stalled plans for an Eaglesbiography that writerEd Sanders planned to publish. Friction between the two of them was the stated reason.[86]
Henley calledparamedics to his home on November 21, 1980, and there they found a naked 16-year-old girl claiming she had overdosed onQuaaludes andcocaine. She was arrested forprostitution, while a 15-year-old girl found in the house was arrested for being under the influence of drugs. Henley was also arrested and subsequently charged with contributing to thedelinquency of a minor. He pleadedno contest, and was fined $2,500 and put on two years'probation. Lois Chiles, who was no longer in a relationship with Henley at the time of the incident, later said, "I was shocked to hear about it. He didn't have drugs around the house. It was an accident, I'm sure". The media attention from this incident was the primary inspiration for the 1982 song "Dirty Laundry".[80]
In February 2024, ahead of another criminal trial inNew York over the allegedtheft of Henley's original handwritten lyrics for many of the Eagles' hits,[87] Judge Curtis Farber sided with attorneys for the two young female defendants arrested for prostitution and drug use. The attorneys had sought to introduce a letter Henley wrote to aSanta Monica probation officer giving his account of the events leading up to Henley's arrest.[88] Contrary to Henley's 1991 claim that he was hosting a farewell party for the Eagles' road crew,[89] the letter stated that Henley actually "didn't want to see any of my friends". Instead he placed a call to amadam, who sent a girl over to his home. Henley said he and the girl had a few drinks and did some cocaine, and later she had what appeared to him to be anepileptic seizure. Henley called paramedics, but the girl had recovered by the time they arrived. Henley said it was only when the paramedics asked the girl questions that he learned she wasunderage. This was the second time Henley had been found with an underage prostitute. A while later, officers from theLos Angeles Police Department's Sexually Exploited Child Unit arrived and placed Henley and the girl under arrest.[90] During the trial testimony, Henley described the incident leading to his arrest as "a poor decision which I regret to this day", stating that he sought an "escape" due to the depression he developed after the Eagles' recent break-up.[91]
Studio albums
Henley has won twoGrammy Awards and a further award associated with the Grammys,MusiCares Person of the Year. He has also won a number of other awards, such asMTV Video Music Awards for "The Boys of Summer" in 1985,[92] and "The End of the Innocence" in 1990.[93]
In 2008, Henley was ranked as the 87th-greatest singer of all time byRolling Stone.[94]
In May 2012, Henley was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Music fromBerklee College of Music along withGlenn Frey,Joe Walsh andTimothy B. Schmit.[95]
In 2015, Henley received the Trailblazer Award from theAmericana Music Honors & Awards.[citation needed]
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