The part of his career Don Henley would happily delete from history: “I didn’t want to be an actor”
It was a sad day for rock fans everywhere when the Eagles decided to call it quits. Even though the songwriting partnership between Don Henley and Glenn Frey had reached its apex, the animosity between them and the rest of their bandmates hit a fever pitch in the early 1980s, leading to the group dissolving after an argument during a concert.
As with every big band’s breakup, as soon as the battalions of the army are separated from one another, it is always an interesting struggle to see who will try and find fame first out on their own. Even though Joe Walsh would return to his solo career, Henley was bound to have one of the biggest solo acts of them all.
Before they had even broken up, everyone in the band realised there was no way to compete with Henley’s vocal power. Compared to the unique voice of Walsh and Frey’s folksy croon, Henley’s searing tenor range was what tied up every Eagles hit, whether it was singing ballads like ‘Desperado’ or reaching into the depths of his soul to deliver songs like ‘One Of These Nights’ and ‘Hotel California’.
Even Frey had to admit later that there was a method behind his taking a back seat vocally, telling History of the Eagles, “If you listen to how the Eagles’ vocals evolved, I sang less and less. It was intentional. We had Don Henley.”
Henley’s vocals are, quite possibly, the secret weapon of the band. The group’s drummer is very rarely its best singer, but Henley would channel the country charm he grew up on to deliver soft rock vocals that were the envy of the world. His voice was like golden butter. While that vocal power may have led to some bad blood when putting together tracks like ‘Victim of Love’, it would become Henley’s most significant strength when working on his first releases.
From the release of his first single, ‘Dirty Laundry’, Henley picked up right where the Eagles left off, making songs that were just as pointed about the problems facing those in the public eye and the world. Even though Henley could sing anything thrown at him, he did admit to having some problems when trying to transition to the world of music videos.
With the rise of MTV, Henley would say that he was hesitant even to try the music video format, saying, “The Eagles had once been given a criticism of loitering onstage. So it was hard for us loiterers to make the transition to videos and choreography.”
MTV was a gigantic institution in the 1980s and ’90s. The channel would pump music videos into your home and held a pretty strong monopoly on the idea for decades. It was far removed from the network’s final days as a reality TV merchant. Instead, it would consistently play legendary music videos and, in turn, increase their chances of becoming mega hits. It was off the back of MTV that Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ became iconic, that Michael Jackson dominated the pop world and that Madonna flourished.
While Henley’s solo career was highly successful, he would say that he could have done without most of the adulation that came with it, explaining, “Did I profit from MTV? Yes, I did. I had made videos that won a handful of awards. But I would have gladly forgotten the whole thing. I saw myself primarily as a writer and as a musician. I didn’t really want to be an actor too.”
Henley would release many albums off and on during the Eagles reunion, but he would say that he felt a lot more comfortable in a band rather than the centre of attention. Since the group mentality has always been about every member contributing something, Henley thought it would be better to share the credit or the blame with his bandmates rather than deal with all the drama that comes with a record going wrong.
After founding the Walden Woods Project, Henley got the wheels turning for an Eagles reunion in the 1990s, bringing the group together to film a video for a cover of the song ‘Take It Easy’. Although Henley may have classics like ‘Boys of Summer’ under his belt, he still feels his best work comes from delivering both live and in the studio rather than in videos for MTV.
