The Artist Don Henley Thought Was Timeless: “Some People Just Get Better as They Get Older”

Most people think music is a young person’s game and, for the most part, they would be right. Everyone loves a new face. Every year a new crop of young musicians come around, wowing audiences and generating buzz. With the ever-growing list of people to listen to, many older artists get shoved to the side. Even those that remain relevant get defined as a “legacy act,” instead of an artist with something new to say. This generalization isn’t fair. Many artists only get better with age. According to the Eagles’ Don Henley, there is one artist who defines timeless. Learn more, below.

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Don Henley’s Admiration for Leonard Cohen

Come over to the window, my little darling
I’d like to try to read your palm
I used to think I was some kind of Gypsy boy
Before I let you take me home

Now so long, Marianne, it’s time that we began
To laugh and cry and cry and laugh about it all again

There are many folk legends that ran the music world in the ’60s. They spoke to an ailing society, desperate for change. While many would point to Bob Dylan first when thinking of influential voices from that period, Leonard Cohen was equally as era-defining.

Henley made sure to give Cohen his props. As a fellow multi-generational talent, Henley once spoke about how difficult it was to stay in the forefront of music as an older artist. He nodded to Cohen while speaking about artists who defied that norm.

“It’s frustrating for older artists because some people like Leonard Cohen get better as they get older; they actually have wisdom to impart, and they have things to say in their songs, and they don’t get played,” Henley once said. “You hear this mindless bubble gum crap. But that’s the way it works.”

We’d argue that Henley would also be an example of an artist who has matured beautifully. Both of these musicians’ writing styles got more and more polished as time went on. They are a testament to the power of letting music age with the artist.

Well you know that I love to live with you
But you make me forget so very much
I forget to pray for the angels
And then the angels forget to pray for us

Now so long, Marianne, it’s time that we began
To laugh and cry and cry and laugh about it all again

(Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for NARAS)