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Don Henley

Male 1947 - Yes, date unknown    Has no ancestors and no descendants in this family tree.

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  • Name Don Henley 
    Birth 22 Jul 1947  Gilmer, Texas, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Death Yes, date unknown 
    Person ID I513686  Geneagraphie
    Last Modified 11 Apr 2007 

    Family 1 Stevie Nicks,   b. 26 May 1948, Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona, USA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Yes, date unknown 
    Family ID F209580  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 11 Apr 2007 

    Family 2 Sharon Summerall   d. Yes, date unknown 
    Marriage
    • 3 children
    Family ID F209582  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 11 Apr 2007 

  • Photos Photos (Log in)Photos (Log in)

  • Notes 
    • Don Henley attended North Texas State University (renamed in 1986 the University of North Texas ) in Denton, Texas during 1968 and 1969 . He left to spend time with his father, who was dying from heart and arterial disease.
      In 1970 , he moved to Los Angeles to record an album with his early band, Shiloh . Shiloh was bankrolled by fellow Texan Kenny Rogers , then flush with cash from his band "The First Edition ." Shortly thereafter, Henley met Glenn Frey through Amos Records in Los Angeles . They both became members of Linda Ronstadt 's backup band, which two months later became its own act, the Eagles .
      The first Eagles album was released in 1972 and contained the hit song "Take It Easy ," as well as Henley's first hit songwriting attempt, "Witchy Woman ", co-written with guitarist Bernie Leadon . As the 1970s progressed, Henley's raspy vocals replaced Glenn Frey 's smooth tenor as the focal point of the Eagles' sound.
      The band broke up in 1980 following a difficult tour and increased personal tensions resulting from the recording of the band's last studio album The Long Run . On the night of November 21 , 1980 , Henley was arrested for cocaine , Quaalude , and marijuana possession after a nude 16-year-old prostitute had drug-related seizures in a hotel room Henley was subsequently charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
      During the Eagles' run, Henley co-wrote (usually with Frey) most of the band's best-known songs, notably "Desperado " and "Hotel California ".
      Henley sang lead vocals on many of the Eagles' popular songs, including "Desperado", "The Best of My Love ", "One of These Nights ", "Hotel California", "The Long Run" and "Get Over It".
      As of 2007 , Henley continues to tour and record with the Eagles, with a new album expected to be released later in the year.
      Following the breakup of the Eagles, Henley embarked on a productive solo career, the most successful of any of the Eagles. His first solo release, 1982 's I Can't Stand Still , was a moderate seller. The song "Dirty Laundry", a denunciation of local television news, received the most airplay. Henley and his erstwhile lover, Stevie Nicks , would duet on her Billboard Hot 100 #6 hit " Leather and Lace " that same year.
      This was followed in 1984 by Building the Perfect Beast , which featured layered synthesizers and was a marked departure from the Eagles' country-rock sound. A single release, " The Boys of Summer ", reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song's haunting rhythms and lyrics of loss and aging, capped by seeing "a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac ," immediately connected with a certain age group. The music video for the song was a striking, evocative, black-and-white, French New Wave -influenced masterpiece directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino that won several MTV Video Music Awards including Best Video of the Year . Henley also won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for the song. The album's " All She Wants to Do Is Dance ", (#9 on Hot 100), "Sunset Grill", and "Not Enough Love in the World" also received considerable airplay.
      Henley's next album, 1989 's The End of the Innocence , was even more successful. The title track , a collaboration with Bruce Hornsby , was a melancholy, piano -driven tale of finding bits of happiness in a corrupt world, and reached #8 as a single. The hit follow-up, " The Heart of the Matter ," was an emotive chance remembrance of a lost love. Both of these songs used the effective technique of varying the words in the chorus each time it is sung, to advance the song's narrative. The album's " The Last Worthless Evening " and " New York Minute " were among the other songs that gained radio airplay. Henley again won the Best Male Rock Vocal Performance Grammy for the album.
      In live shows, Henley would play drums and sing simultaneously only on certain Eagles songs; on his solo songs he would either play electric guitar and sing or just sing. Occasionally Eagles songs would get drastic rearrangements, such as " Hotel California " with four trombones .
      A long period without a new recording followed, as Henley waited out a dispute with his record company while also participating in a 1994 Eagles reunion tour and live album. During the hiatus, Henley did the background vocals for country star Trisha Yearwood 's hit "Walkaway Joe" and duetted with first Patty Smyth on "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" and then Roger Waters on "Watching TV" on Roger's Amused to Death album, in 1992. Henley finally released another solo studio recording, Inside Job , in 2000 to a generally indifferent response, although its lead single "Taking You Home" received some airplay.
      Henley's most recent recording is a duet with Kenny Rogers on Rogers' 2006 release Water & Bridges titled "Calling Me."
      In 1990 Henley founded the Walden Woods Project to help protect Walden Pond from development. The Thoreau Institute at Walden Woods was started in 1998 to provide for research and education regarding Henry David Thoreau .
      Henley co-founded the non-profit Caddo Lake Institute in 1993 to underwrite ecological education and research. As part of the Caddo Lake Coalition, CLI helps protect the Texas wetland where Henley spent much of his childhood.
      In 2000 , Henley co-founded with Sheryl Crow the Recording Artists' Coalition , a group founded to protect musicians' rights against common music industry business practices. In this role he testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary in 2001 and the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation in 2003.
      Henley is not always an idealist. In a March 2001 interview on Charlie Rose , he stated that "rock bands work best as a benevolent dictatorship," with the principal songwriters in a band (in the case of the Eagles, "me and Glenn Frey") being the ones that will likely hold the power.
      After years, as he puts it, of "wading through all those actresses and girl singers", Henley says he finally got lucky.
      He married .
      All his friends came to play at the 1995 wedding, including Bruce Springsteen , Sting , Billy Joel , John Fogerty , Jackson Browne , Sheryl Crow and Tony Bennett .
      Psychobilly musician Mojo Nixon , long-time satirist of popular culture, wrote a song called "Don Henley Must Die". Some years later, Mojo was playing at Austin's Hole in the Wall when the Eagles, who were also scheduled to play in Austin, came in. Mojo announced he was going to play the song when Don Henley himself climbed up on stage and began to sing along, which left Mojo utterly speechless. The two have since become friends.
      Henley wrote the song "Everything Is Different Now" from the album Inside Job for Sharon. It has been announced that Sharon is suffering from multiple sclerosis
      Don Henley has homes in Los Angeles ; Woody Creek, Colorado ; Dallas ; and a cabin at Caddo Lake in Texas



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