Happy Birthday Don Henley,
from everyone here at boom 99.7
Today (July 22nd) Don Henley is turning 73, and to celebrate his birthday, we’re looking at some of the moments that solidified him as a rock ‘n’ roll icon over the years!
Jack Of All Trades
Don Henley can sing, play the guitar, play the drums, and is an incredibly talented lyricist and producer – what can’t this man do?! Henley has released an astounding 14 albums, 7 during his time with the Eagles, and another 7 records during his solo career thereafter. You might remember him from a little song by the name of “Hotel California” – ring any bells? Of course it does, everyone knows this classic! Don Henley’s band, the Eagles, won the 1977 Grammy Award for Record of the Year for “Hotel California” at the 20th Grammy Awards. And for any of the readers who had children or teenagers during 2008, you may remember them obsessively trying to perfect Hotel California on their Guitar Hero World Tour game. For over 4 decades people have been swooning over Henley’s distinct voice and lyrics, and people will likely be swooning over Hotel California for another 40 years to come. Are you someone who dances to remember, or dances to forget?
Friends In High Places
Henley has proven that he can be incredibly successful while in a band, and he is continuously impressing his audience throughout his solo career as well. For his “Age Of Innocence” album (1989) he used some of his music industry connections to garner other talented voices to join him on his album. A then emerging singer, Sheryl Crow, sang the backup vocals for 9 of the album’s songs, and an already singing sensation Axl Rose (Guns N’ Roses) provided harmony vocals on 3 of the album’s songs. Henley’s connections definitely don’t stop there! For his latest solo album, “Cass County” (2015), he’s had singers such as Mick Jagger, Merle Haggard, Miranda Lambert, Dolly Parton, and Martina McBride directly featured on his songs! These collaborations make a lot of sense, because who wouldn’t want to team up with THE Don Henley?
The Original Boy of Summer
In 1984, Don Henley released a song that would end up being the anthem sung at the tops of everyone’s lungs every summer in their cars with their windows rolled down and their ambitions high for the adventures to come during the warmer months. Are we exaggerating? Not at all, considering his renowned song “The Boys of Summer” reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the USA, and number 1 on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart for 5 weeks! In 1986, Henley even won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for the song. Extremely impressive, considering the recipients of the award the 2 years prior were Bruce Springsteen and Michael Jackson. The Boys of Summer wasn’t only a smash hit in the 1980s though, because in 2003 the band The Ataris covered the song, with a new punk rock flare to it. Although The Ataris cover couldn’t beat Don Henley’s original, The Ataris did do an incredible job by bringing the spotlight back to The Boys of Summer for the younger generations to also fall in love with!
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