Don Henley made an unlikely but smooth transition from playing in Linda Ronstadt’s band to becoming one of the most successful rock artists of all time, both as a member of the Eagles and as a solo artist. Along the way, he’s delivered some indelibly iconic songs, both as a writer and performer. In fact, he’s delivered so many of them that cutting it down to just ten songs that define his musical legacy was no easy chore, but we took it on anyway.
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1. “Desperado” (Eagles – Desperado 1973)
Well, we’re cheating a bit right off the bat because “Desperado” wasn’t technically a hit. It wasn’t even released as a single by the Eagles, even though it was used as the centerpiece for their second album. Many before and many, since have done the whole rock-stars-as-outlaws, pose, but few did it with as much emotional relatability for the common man as the Eagles did with this song. It’s also notable because it was the first time that Henley and Glenn Frey collaborated on an Eagles co-write in such close fashion.
2. “Best of My Love” (Eagles – On the Border 1974)
Longtime Eagle collaborator JD Souther pitched in to help Henley with the lyrics on this track (you’ll hear Souther’s name again before this list is through), with Frey composing the music. It’s a sweet, sad little love song about someone who can see a relationship is spent even for all the effort given to it on both sides. It would give the Eagles their first No. 1 and prove that Henley could be trusted to sing the soulful stuff in stellar fashion.
3. “One of These Nights” (Eagles – One of These Nights 1975)
The Eagles were quickly labeled as a country rock band, understandably so considering the material on their first few albums. “One of These Nights” was crucial as a song that proved that they could do so much more than that. This is another one where Frey, inspired in this case by the Philly Soul music of the time, wrote the music, and Henley immediately started pitching the lyrics. “One of These Nights,” with its moody but vibrant pulse, demonstrated the band could handle the city streets as well as the country lanes.
4. “Hotel California” (Eagles – Hotel California 1976)
Don’t hold it against “Hotel California,” or its composers Don Felder (for the music) and Henley and Frey (for the lyrics), that the song has been played to death on several rock radio formats pretty much since the day it was released. That wouldn’t have happened if the song hadn’t been so sound and so inviting in the first place. Frey came up with the concept of a damned hotel, while Henley found the connection to the hedonistic LA lifestyle at the time. We’ve been checking in willingly ever since.
5. “The Last Resort” (Eagles – Hotel California 1976)
Even though it was only an album track on Hotel California, an argument can be made that “The Last Resort” is the crowning achievement, not just on the album, but for the band’s entire career. And although Frey got a co-writing credit, even he later admitted that the song was largely Henley’s baby. Henley has introduced it in concert as “How the West Was Lost,” referring to humanity’s destructive influence on the environment and the natural wonders of the world. Those final bars, featuring the Eagles’ high harmonies and Henley testifying about paradise lost, will take your breath away.
6. “Dirty Laundry” (Don Henley – I Can’t Stand Still 1982)
After the Eagles limped to the finish line with The Long Run, Henley quickly jumped back into the fray with his first solo record, I Can’t Stand Still. On the smash hit from that album, “Dirty Laundry,” he employed ex-bandmates Joe Walsh (on guitar) and Timothy B. Schmit (on bass and backing vocals) to help with a scathing attack on the sensationalism of the news industry. The diatribe may be one-sided, but Henley manages to make his points with angry eloquence and pitch-black humor.
7. “The Boys of Summer” (Don Henley – Building the Perfect Beast 1984)
If Henley was a bit tentative on I Can’t Stand Still, he found his solo footing brilliantly on Building the Perfect Beast by embracing synths and other MTV-era production techniques. When Mike Campbell passed him an instrumental track that Tom Petty had passed up, he knew he had the perfect vehicle for this new solo sound. And then he went out and penned a brilliant set of lyrics about fading sunshine, fading ideals, and fading youth.
8. “Sunset Grill” (Don Henley – Building the Perfect Beast 1984)
Henley cleverly juxtaposed the then-modern sounds on Building the Perfect Beast with lyrics about modernity’s damaging effects. Co-writers here included Danny Kortchmar, who often played the Glenn Frey role with Henley by composing the music, and Benmont Tench, who also constructs the massive wall of synths. It all comes in service of Henley’s lament at how the values of community get crushed by the demands of big business.
9. “The End of the Innocence” (Don Henley – The End of the Innocence 1989)
Henley went back to a more analog approach for The End of the Innocence (1989), with the title track introducing social concerns while still focusing on the need for human connection. He received an assist from Bruce Hornsby, who came up with the music and provides the plaintive piano chords that carry the recording. Henley tosses in a few political zingers while worrying that society might be crossing a line, from which no return to the good old days is possible.
10. The Heart of the Matter” (Don Henley – The End of the Innocence 1989)
Two old Henley buddies deliver key contributions here: Mike Campbell composed the music, featuring that evocative opening riff, and JD Souther helped out with the lyrics. Both he and Henley were recovering from failed relationships at the time, and they hit upon a theme of someone trying to figure out what’s important in the aftermath. Henley sums it up movingly: I think it’s about forgiveness, forgiveness/Even if you don’t love me anymore.
Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for NARAS
