Everything you need to know about the 1980 arrest of Don Henley
A founding member of legendary soft rock outfit the Eagles, Don Henley is among the most successful and recognisable figures in all of rock music. Henley’s role within the group predominantly consisted of drumming, though he soon rose to prominence as one of the band’s leading vocalists, singing on popular tracks including ‘Witchy Woman’, ‘Desperado’, and their defining track, ‘Hotel California’.
The rock music scene of the 1970s was awash with controversy and criminality. At points, it seemed as though any successful white man could get away with virtually anything, provided they were in a band. Exploitation, chauvinism and even rape were depressingly commonplace, with many high-profile musicians becoming embroiled in deeply horrific cases of sexual exploitation, many of which would not be highlighted until decades later.
Unfortunately, Don Henley was no exception to this culture of exploitation. In 1980, the singer was arrested after a naked 16-year-old was found in his bathroom, having overdosed on quaaludes and cocaine. At the time, the Eagles musician was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Pleading no contest, he was fined $2,500 and put on two years’ probation.
The case has recently been brought back into the spotlight as a result of an ongoing court case concerning the sale of handwritten lyrics to numerous Eagles hits. The singer accused memorabilia dealers Glenn Horowitz, Craig Inciardi and Edward Kosinski of stealing the handwritten lyrics, as well as lying to various auction houses in the hopes of earning over $1 million for the sheets.
During the trial, Henley was questioned over his 1980 arrest in an attempt to gauge his memory of that period in his life. Testifying in court, the songwriter revealed more details about the incident and the reasons that led up to his arrest. As Henley explained it, the incident occurred following the break-up of the Eagles. Feeling depressed and alone, he hired a prostitute. “I wanted to forget about everything that was happening with the band,” he testified, “And I made a poor decision which I regret to this day. I’ve had to live with it for 44 years. I’m still living with it today, in this courtroom.”
Henley also claimed that he was unaware of the girl’s age and that the pair did not have any form of sexual relations. According to Henley, the two simply talked through their lives and current troubles. After taking copious amounts of cocaine, the pair went to sleep in Henley’s Los Angeles home before the singer was awoken by a commotion in the bathroom. The 16-year-old girl was having some form of seizure, and so Henley promptly called paramedics, who deduced that the young girl had suffered a drug overdose.
It was at this time that Henley, along with the young girl and the girl’s friend – who had arrived to pick her up – were arrested by authorities. The 16-year-old, while recovering from the drug overdose, was arrested and charged with prostitution, while her friend was arrested for being under the influence of drugs.
Despite his repeated claims that the pair did not have sex, the recent trial concerning the sale of handwritten lyrics has uncovered a letter Henley wrote to his probation officer following the incident. Within the letter, the Eagles musician claims that the two “attempted to make love” after Henley had supplied her with cocaine and quaaludes. The letter also affirms Henley’s previous claims that he was unaware of the girl’s age until after the overdose occurred. Nevertheless, it does provide some contradicting details to the story that the Eagles singer has purported over the years.
Following the overdose and the justifiable media backlash against Henley, the singer used the incident as inspiration for his number three single, ‘Dirty Laundry’ – allowing the musician to profit off of his own horrendous actions. Nevertheless, Henley still attests to the fact that the evening of November 20th, 1980, was “a poor decision which I regret to this day”.
