What was Eagles drummer Don Henley’s first band?
No one comes into the music world fully formed. Often, some of the greatest artists in the world spend years honing their sound until it’s pristine, and even when they do hit on that perfect lineup, there are usually some rough patches surrounding their debut records. Even for someone who turned in masterclass performances with the Eagles, Don Henley wasn’t too shabby when working in his first band, either.
Originally titled The Four Speeds, Henley’s childhood band that he started with his friend Richard Bowden while they were still in school. Despite their first jam sessions being nothing but Dixieland jazz music, Henley knew that something had to give for him to be the first major singer to come out of his sleepy little Texas town.
Although the area was predominantly based around country music, it took a bit of luck and some generosity from his mother to set him off to the races. After buying him a drumset that she couldn’t afford, Henley was off to the races the minute that he started playing, adopting the same breathy singing that he would use later as the Eagles’ lead vocalist.
But that time spent honing his craft wasn’t taken for granted, either. For everyone who knew Henley as the afro-haired drummer for the Eagles or his original stint as Linda Ronstadt’s drummer, he will forever be linked to those first few years of opening shows in Los Angeles with the group Shiloh.
So, what was Don Henley’s first band?
Before he spread his wings in the Eagles, Henley’s first stint in the group Shiloh became one of the fixtures of his local Texas scene. While they were still clearly drawn to country and western music, their meeting with Kenny Rogers ended up changing Henley’s life forever. After checking them out at a club, the country legend invited the group to move to Los Angeles and live in his house while they cut their first record.
Although their single, ‘Simple Little Down Home Rock ‘n’ Roll Love Song for Rosie,’ was far from quick and to the point, it did get them on the road for a little while. The band was bound to sink without a trace, but Henley managed to work the scene enough to find his true calling once the queen of country rock needed a drummer.
How did Henley’s first band lead to the Eagles?
After opening shows at the Troubadour, Henley got asked to join Linda Ronstadt’s backing band, rounding out the lineup with another up-and-coming guitarist named Glenn Frey. Although there was instant chemistry when they tore through country standards and tunes like ‘Nightingale,’ Henley was the first one to plant the seed for the Eagles, telling Frey that they would be much better off if they played together in their own outfit.
While Ronstadt graciously accepted Henley and Frey’s offer to leave the group, she went the extra mile by recommending other band members of the Eagles, like Bernie Leadon, then coming off of working with The Flying Burrito Brothers. Even though the Eagles were a united front on their first record, Henley was still making it work from behind the kit, having the same construction that he had when he was in Shiloh with the microphone right by his mouth. Shiloh was the breeding ground for a while, but the Eagles were where we saw Don Henley the musician transform into Don Henley the frontman.
