Don Henley is a popular American singer, songwriter, drummer and producer. He is best known as a founding member of the iconic music band, The Eagles. Later on he carved his niche as a solo music artist as well.
Combined with the Eagles and as a solo musician, Don Henley has given 25 Top 40 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. He was ranked among the 100 Greatest Singers of All-Time by the renowned Rolling Stone magazine. The singer has won two prestigious Grammys. Besides he has a number of MTV Music Video Awards to his credit. In 2012, he was presented with an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music along with Glenn Frey and Timothy Schmit. The Americana Music Honors & Awards honored him with the Trailblazer Award in 2015.
Don Henley is all set to hit the road and you can be a part of his exciting live show if you purchase your Don Henley tickets in time.
Early Years
Donald Hugh Henley was born in Gilmer, Texas on the 22nd of July, 1947. His father was the owner of an auto parts store while his mother was a teacher. As a child, he often saw his father listening to country music on the radio and his grandmother singing hymns. Henley too was fond of music since childhood. He took piano lessons at a very early age and was exposed to different music genres.
But his decision to pursue a professional career in the music industry came purely through accident. During his high school days Henley tried his luck to play as part of the football team. However after a brief but poor performance on the field, he decided to join the marching band instead. Playing the drums almost came naturally to him. In 1962, at just fifteen years of age, Henley earned a place in his friend Richard Bowden’s Dixieland band where he mostly played rock ‘n’ roll instruments.
According to Don Henley, his biggest inspiration in music was the rock band The Beatles. It was with the emergence of this band that Henley actually considered music as a career choice.
The band Henley formed with his friends was initially called The Four Speeds. It was later renamed Shiloh. Henley was the band’s primary songwriter. In fact one of the tunes he composed (Hurtin’) was even recorded and produced by a local record company.
In the year 1969, the band caught the attention of Texan Kenny Rogers who helped them move to Los Angeles and sign a deal with the independent Amos Records. The band hence recorded a self-titled album produced by Rogers at the Larrabee Studios, (the home of Rogers at the time). Owing to some creative differences between Donley and Bowden, Shiloh disbanded in 1971.
Contributions
In Los Angeles Don Henley has the chance to meet guitarist Glenn Frey. The two has been invited as back up musicians along with Randy Meisner and Bernie Leadon for a popular singer of the time, Linda Ronstadt. Later in 1971, these four musicians founded their own band and named it The Eagles. Shortly after, they cracked a deal with the Asylum Records and flew to England in 1972 to record their debut self-titled album.
The album was recorded at the Olympic Studios in London in a span of two weeks. It hit the shelves in June of 1972 and received an overwhelming response. It shot to Top 20 on the Billboard Albums chart and scored two Top 10 singles, Witchy Woman and Take It Easy. With their very first album, The Eagles became one of the most popular bands of the 1970s.
The Eagles’ following three albums namely Desperado, On The Border and One of These Nights were all massive hits. In 1976, the band released a compilation record titled Their Greatest Hits: 1971-1975. It sold over 29 million copies in the US alone. Later in the year, The Eagles treated their fans with what became a landmark success in their career. This was the album Hotel California whose title song won the band a Grammy in the category of Record of the Year.
The Eagles’ fifth studio album The Long Run came out in 1979 and the following year the band disbanded. This was when Don Henley embarked on a solo music career. His first solo record titled I Can’t Stand Still hit the music stores in 1982. The album featured the immensely popular single Dirty Laundry- Henley’s biggest hit single so far. In this song Henley has expressed his disgust and disappointment in the media and its tactics of news coverage. On the other hand, the song Johnny Can’t Read is Henley’s display of frustration over the condition of the educational system in the country at the time.
His second solo record Building the Perfect Beast spawned the hit single The Boys of Summer. The song won him several awards including four MTV Video music Awards and a Grammy. The album hit the thirteenth spot on the Billboard 200 and received triple Platinum certification from the RIAA.
After a gap of five years, Don Henley returned with his most successful solo album The End of the Innocence. It includes three Top 40 singles including the Last Worthless Evening, The Heart of the Matter and the title track. The album sold more than six million copies in the US alone. It would be eleven years before Henley released his fourth solo album Inside Job in 2000. His fifth and latest solo record Cass County came out after the longest gap of fifteen years (September, 2015.
Don Henley Tour tickets
The Eagles have reunited from time to time, whether it’s for recording new material or performing live shows. An Evening with the Eagles is the band’s latest offering. Besides Henley the concert series features Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit, Vince Gill and Deacon Frey.
If you want to be a part of a rocking live music concert, wait no more to grab your Don Henley tour tickets. Check out the itinerary and secure the cheapest deals fast.
