Don Henley: Going solo

During the ‘80s, the Eagles were an idea more than a band. By the time I started listening to music in 1984, they had been broken up four years, only to reunite “when hell freezes over”.

At the time, I was coming back from seeing a movie with my sister and she flipped on the radio.

This amazing song was playing, belting out “I can see you, your brown skin shining in the sun…”

It had just been released, because I did not hear much about it again for a few weeks.

That was the first time I heard this singer named Don Henley, and it was awesome. He would go on to a string of hits from his album “Building the Perfect Beast” and beyond.

It was only then that not only did I learn he had been a crucial part of the Eagles, but he had a solo career before “Building the Perfect Beast”.

These songs were top of mind when I heard it was his birthday yesterday.

In the beginning
The Eagles is one of the greatest bands of all time, and Don Henley was their drummer. Yet, at the dawn of the decade, the Eagles disbanded in 1980.

Henley, would embark on a solo career. His first effort is one of my all-time favourite ballads. He teamed up with his former girlfriend Stevie Nicks, lead singer of Fleetwood Mac, on “Leather and Lace”. It’s a song that just melts my heart.

A lot of other people must have thought so too, because “Leather and Lace” went all the way to number six on the Billboard Hot 100.

He released his first studio album, “I Can’t Stand Still” in 1982. The debut single “Johnny Can’t Read” charted, going to number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it was the next single that showed Henley was a solid solo singer.

“Dirty Laundry” peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, and went all the way to number one on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart. The song would also earn Henley a Grammy nomination for Rock Male Vocalist.

The album’s title track, “I Can’t Stand Still”, also charted, going to number 48 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Two years later, Don Henley would release his second solo studio album.

It was one for the ages.

Fabulous follow up
Don Henley released “Building the Perfect Beast” in 1984. The title refers to his concern over genetic engineering and where that could lead.

The first single would become an iconic song for the decade.

“The Boys of Summer” was the song that introduced me to Don Henley on the radio when my sister and I were driving back from a movie. The lyrics and the music are just amazing. “The Boys of Summer” would go all the way to number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and peak at number one on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart.

Henley would win a Grammy for Rock Male Vocalist for “The Boys of Summer”, and earn nominations for Record of the Year and Song of the Year for it as well. Along with Danny Kortchmar and Greg Ladanyi, they would also be nominated for Producer of the Year.

The next single was “All She Wants to do is Dance”, which was another great song. It peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, and went all the way to number one on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart, his third number one single on that chart.

Henley was not done yet, slowing things down with the ballad “Not Enough Love in the World”. Although it did not hit the top 20, it had significant air play and went to number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 17 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart. It also went to number one inI Canada on the adult contemporary chart, which may explain why I heard it a great deal.

The final single he released from the album was “Sunset Grill”, which went to number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number seven on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart.

“Building the Perfect Beast” would also peak at number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart.


The album
When I really got into music that Fall of 1984, I started listening to LA-107 FM, an album oriented radio station broadcasting from Lethbridge. It format meant it focused on albums more than singles, meaning the announcers often played more than one song at a time from an album, and sometimes singles that had not been officially released yet.

They did a lot of that on a Monday night top-20 album countdown show. That’s where I heard most of these songs.

Soon after, I also joined Columbia House, and got those 12 tapes for like $12. One of the albums I bought was “Building the Perfect Beast”.

Listening to it proves why I believe you have to buy the whole album, and listen to all the songs, because there may be something new and interesting that never gets released.

That was the case with “Building the Perfect Beast”. It had two songs that never hit the air waves. One was the title track, that was kind of cool. There is the chant of “building, building, building”, while Henley sings “Building the perfect beast.”

The other song, was only available on the tape. It was a powerful ballad telling a story of someone growing up in a small town, and the plight of Rural America. It was called “A Month of Sundays”, and I am pretty sure Henley performed it at Farm Aid, a fundraising concert to raise money to battle the plight of the farmer in America.

“A Month of Sundays” also came to mind when I heard the next single Henley released.

End of the Innocence
It remains one of my favourite songs of all time. In 1989, Henley released his third studio album, “End of the Innocence”. The first single was the title track “End of the Innocence”, and it is a beautifully written song. Adding depth and richness is Bruce Hornsby playing piano.

The song went all the way to number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, peaked at number one on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart, and hit number three in Canada. Henley would win his second Grammy for Rock Male Vocalist, and earn nominations for Record of the Year and Song of the Year for the single “End of the Innocence”. The album would also be nominated for a Grammy for Album of the Year.

The album produced a number of other hit songs over the next year as well.

“The Last Worthless Evening” peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number four on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart; “The Heart of the Matter” went to number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart; and “New York Minute” peaked at number 48 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 24 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.

The years after
Don Henley keeps on writing, recording and performing to this day.

In 1992, he teamed up with Patty Smyth, front person for Scandal, on the single “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough”. The song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart. They were also nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo.

In fact, Henley would earn a lot of Grammy nominations over the next few decades.

In 2001, he was nominated for Male Pop Vocal Performance for “Taking You Home”; Rock Male Vocalist for “Workin’ It”; and Pop Vocal Album for “Inside Job”.

In 2002, he was nominated with Trisha Yearwood for Country Collaboration with Vocals for “Inside Out”. In 2003, he was nominated with Sheryl Crow for Pop Collaboration with Vocals for “It’s So Easy”.

In 2007, he won MusiCares Person of the Year; and was nominated with Kenny Rogers for Country Collaboration with Vocals for “Calling Me”.

In 2016, he was nominated with Stan Lynch for American Roots Song for “The Cost of Living”.

Don Henley was inducted as part of the Eagles into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

Parting thoughts
There are just certain songs that resonate with every music listener. It could be the melody, beat, lyrics, the combination of these elements or anything else.

Two songs that resonate with me are “The Boys of Summer” and “End of the Innocence”. It is the combination of Henley’s voice and the stories those two songs tell.

Interestingly, they came at different times in my musical journey through the ‘80s, and are kind of like book ends. One came when I was just getting into music, while the other came out after my music knowledge and taste had aged, cured, and maybe matured.

When Don Henley embarked on his solo career it was the end of one thing, and the beginning of something else.

Kind of like my own musical journey through the ‘80s with his music.