11 Years Ago Today, the Eagles Frontman Honored His Country Roots on His First Solo Album in Over a Decade

September 25, 2026, 5:45pm

On this day (September 25) in 2015, Eagles founder Don Henley released Cass County, his first solo album in 15 years. Named for the East Texas county where Henley grew up, the album marked a return to the country influences that the singer explored in the early days of the Eagles.

While recording in Nashville, Tennessee, Henley enlisted a star-studded supporting cast for Cass County. The album featured appearances from Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, and Trisha Yearwood — just to name a few.

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Don Henley Enjoyed Making ‘Cass County’ More Than Any Other Record

Marking Don Henley’s first solo release since 2000’s Inside Job, Cass County peaked atop the U.S. country albums chart. It also reached number three on the all-genre Billboard 200.

“The great majority [of recording] was done right here in Nashville and I can truthfully say that I enjoyed making this record more than any record I’ve made in my career. And a lot of the reason is because of the people who participated,” Henley said ahead of the album’s release. “There’s some amazing musicians here and the best thing about it is, most of them are funny. So it was a real pleasure.”

The track list strikes a balance between Don Henley originals and time-tested country classics. Examples of the latter include a cover of the Louvin Brothers’ “When I Stop Dreaming” featuring Dolly Parton, and a deluxe edition version of Billy Sherrill’s “Too Far Gone”, performed with Jamey Johnson and Alison Krauss.

Henley chose the cover tracks deliberately, each song reflective of the flavor he was aiming for with Cass County.

“We interspersed these cover tunes on the album, just to give a nod to the past,” he told Taste of Country.

He Wrote This Song With This Country Music Legend in Mind

Merle Haggard makes a cameo on the standout track “The Cost of Living”. Which makes perfect sense, since Don Henley wrote it specifically for the “Okie from Muskogee” legend.

“I could hear his voice in my head, and I wrote accordingly. My great hope was that he would come and sing it with me, and sure enough, he did, and it’s the perfect song for him,” Henley recalled to Taste of Country. “He even said, when he heard the guitar solo he said, ‘You know, that sounds like something I’d do.’ I just looked at [co-producer] Stan [Lynch] and grinned, and went, ‘Yup. That’s ’cause we wrote it with you in mind.’”

Meanwhile, Vince Gill joined in on the Buck Owens tribute “No, Thank You”, playing the Don Rich to Henley’s Owens.

[He] sang that part perfectly, put all the little vocal inflections — you can hear the bent notes and stuff, just like Don Rich would have done it,” said the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. “I was so tickled and so pleased with that.”

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