Good not great: Brian Wilson’s brutal personal putdown of Don Henley
The annals of rock contain many mythologies, but few are more compelling than those of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys. Not only is the Californian one of the most accomplished songwriters of his generation, affecting everything from the sound of his native state to art pop, outsider, chillwave and even punk, but he’s also lived a life distinct from the rigid one that so many of his school peers went on to lead.
His story is so oscillating that as well as being the leader of The Beach Boys, conceiving their early surf sound as well as the undisputedly pioneering Pet Sounds; he was one of the most prominent sufferers of significant mental health issues of his generation, a drug-induced recluse, and for a time, under the thumb of his therapist, Eugene Landy.
While the tale of Wilson has many notable aspects, there was a time when his life assumed an unfortunately comical dimension for many onlookers. He became a caricature during an era when people weren’t discussing mental health issues and the negative impacts of fame in its totality. When The Beach Boys leader was nestled in being a hermit in the early 1980s, instead of the world stopping to think that he needed real help, all they could cruelly concentrate on was the fact he would eat multiple steaks a day and weighed 340 pounds (150 kg) by the close of 1982.
Of course, Wilson would eventually come back into the light and start performing again, but there was a long time when he mirrored Shakespeare’s King Lear, lost, wandering on the heath, waiting for salvation. It’s a testament to him and his family that he was able to push on through such a multifaceted mire and strove to show his actual worth. After all, he made popular music an art form, with Pet Sounds so innovative that Paul McCartney of The Beatles called it “his favourite”. Famously, the Fab Four crafted Sgt. Pepper’s in response to the record.
As Wilson is such a storied presence in the musical timeline, he has more rights than most of his peers to criticise the work of others. He’s had several brushes with celebrated names in this department, but the one involving Eagles songwriter and vocalist Don Henley stands out for the way it opens up a small porthole into the mind of The Beach Boys leader.
Notably, Henley had a significant hand in conceiving some of the rock band’s best-loved songs, including ‘Desperado’ and ‘Hotel California’, and enjoyed a widely successful solo career that produced anthems such as ‘The Boys of Summer’. However, he has always been a divisive character, with his sounds not for everybody. Even the Texan has been critical of swathes of his oeuvre with the Eagles.
Wilson recalled the humorous anecdote in his astounding 2016 memoir, I am Brian Wilson. As his brain has suffered more than most, he didn’t reveal the date or location of the encounter with Henley, just that it occurred “backstage”, offering a flavour of the world that both men inhabit.
Recounting the moment, Wilson wrote: “I took a Sharpie from the table in the dressing room. There are always Sharpies around for signing things. I wrote on his record, ‘To Don: thanks for all the great songs. Brian Wilson,’ Don was so grateful. It was almost like he couldn’t talk. He turned to leave. ‘Hey Don,’ I said. ‘Wait a second.’ I took the record back, crossed out ‘great,’ and wrote ‘good.’ Some people would have been mad, but Don just looked at it and laughed.”
Listen to ‘Hotel California’ by the Eagles below.
