“Really childish”: why Don Henley hates The Ataris
As the man who penned some of the Eagles’ best-loved hits, Don Henley has more than earned his place amongst the greats of rock, rising to the dizzying heights of the countercultural heroes that inspired him. Not only the mind behind many classic tracks by the Californian group but also their vocalist and drummer, his achievements speak for themselves.
Alongside being a key part of the group’s songwriting triptych, alongside Don Felder and Glenn Frey, Henley demonstrated that he could do it alone with a wildly successful solo career. It says all you need to know about his character as a songwriter that even Felder, who left the Eagles under acrimonious circumstances in 2001, still thinks his old bandmate is a “genius”.
Regardless of his personal pitfalls, Felder said: “I think Don Henley is a brilliant contemporary rock writer. He would have been a fabulous poet if he weren’t a musician.”
Henley confirmed his skill as a modern rock writer with 1984’s ‘The Boys of Summer’. An atmospheric anthem marked out by its riff, nostalgic essence, and belting chorus, it also has a connection to another great American band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Their guitar hero Mike Campbell composed the music, with Henley taking on the lyrics.
The song was a global hit and remains one of Henley’s best-loved tracks. It was so resonant at the time that it left a significant cerebral imprint on a young man named Kris Roe, who would later front a pop-punk band called The Ataris. The Indiana group were an ephemeral act during the early 2000s. After their short-lived peak, their story would be marked out by oscillating fortunes and various lineup changes, as well as an embarrassing fight between Roe and their drummer during a 2012 show, which saw the vocalist throw a drum at his counterpart.
The zenith of their career came in 2003 when they released a cover of ‘The Boys of Summer’ from So Long, Astoria. Putting a punky spin on the classic that appealed to those with spiky hair, chains on the jeans and lip piercings, it is most famous for changing the lyric “Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac” to “Black Flag sticker” apropos to the times.
Unsurprisingly, Henley hated the pop-punk cover of his song and the rest of The Ataris’ work. Known for his acid tongue, his takedown of the group is one of his most brutal, particularly in light of their career taking a severe nose dive not long after the buzz around the track dimmed and the fact the Eagles man did it with a smile on his face.
When asked if he was okay with the group changing the lyric, Henley told The Montreal Gazette in 2016 that he wasn’t, but he also wasn’t bothered enough to take action, so he acquiesced. He proclaimed, “And if you noticed, we haven’t heard much from The Ataris since then.”
He then gave his account of what happened to the band: “I mean, they wrote some songs very poorly — they were not very good songwriters — and they put out an album, and the only song that people would want to hear when they did a concert was ‘Boys of Summer’.”
He recalled that, reportedly, Roe was so angry about this that he wore a T-shirt on stage that said, “Who the f—is Don Henley?” or “Who the hell is Don Henley?” Laughing, he said, “I thought that was really childish. But it was funny at the same time because it was a clear message to them that they needed to work on their craftsmanship.”
While these comments from Henley will undoubtedly sting, Campbell was much nicer about the cover. He called it brave and even liked Roe’s singing and the changed line.
