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DonFan
05-02-2008, 09:31 AM
DON HENLEY ON THE LONG ROAD TO STAGECOACH
Bruce Fessier, The Desert Sun, May 2, 2008

The Eagles, like rock n’ roll itself, is a hybrid fueled partly by country music. But it came as somewhat of a surprise in February when the banner carriers of the laid-back California sound agreed to play the Stagecoach Country Music Festival Friday in Indio. The three-day festival runs through Sunday with 60 artists, including headliners Rascal Flatts on Saturday and Tim McGraw on Sunday.

Eagles singer-drummer Don Henley said the star-filled lineup is one reason the band chose to make their country music festival debut at Stagecoach, as he explained in a recent Desert Sun interview by e-mail.

The Desert Sun: At this point in your careers, what made you decide to do a show like Stagecoach?

Henley: All the festivals we’ve done in the past have been rock music festivals. By contrast, the bill at Stagecoach is a virtual who’s who of country music stars, so this festival affords us an opportunity to stretch the boundaries in terms of our audience. We’ve recently gotten a lot of airplay at country radio and CMT and we performed at the Country Music Association Awards. Plus, we just won a Grammy in a country category, so the Stagecoach Festival seems like the right fit for us now. There is the added bonus of getting to share a stage with some of our friends who are also artists we respect: Trisha Yearwood, John Fogerty, Shelby Lynne.

Desert Sun: If memory serves correct, you didn’t like the Eagles being categorized as a country-rock band when you were starting out. Did country hold a stigma in the late ’60s and early ’70s that has perhaps dissipated?

My distaste for the term “country rock” has nothing to do with any stigma about country music. I’ve always loved country music and I’m proud that it’s part of my heritage. I just don’t like being put into a box of any kind. Certainly, our music contains the basic elements of country and rock, but it contains many other elements as well, including folk, bluegrass, soul, R&B, traditional blues, gospel and even jazz.

This habit the media has of shrinking everything down, putting everything into neat little compartments is degrading. The Eagles are a musical mutt. We incorporate all the best traditions of American music and anybody with half an ear — attached to half a brain — could hear ALL those elements, not just two of them.

Desert Sun: Texas was pretty fertile soil for country and rockabilly music as you were growing up. Do you have any memories of artists you might have heard on the Louisiana Hayride before you were in high school?

Sure. Johnny Cash, Red Foley, Lefty Frizzell, Johnny Horton, Ferlin Husky, George Jones, Webb Pierce, Ray Price, Jim Reeves, Hank Snow, Red Sovine, Hank Thompson, Kitty Wells, Slim Whitman, Hank Williams and Faron Young, just to name a few.

Desert Sun: Did the environment that fed Texans like George Jones, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Mac Davis, Mickey Newbury and Kenny Rogers (and those you mention) also fuel your band The Shilos? In other words, did you identify with any of those Texas artists and did they influence you or were you more impacted from music outside of the region?

My Texas band was called Shiloh, not “The Shilos.” Shiloh comes from the Battle of Shiloh, which was a major battle in the Civil War. It took place in 1862 in western Tennessee. Shiloh is also an important part of Biblical history as it was the religious capital of ancient Israel. There are dozens of little church communities called Shiloh scattered all over rural America, including one a few miles outside my hometown in East Texas.

I’ve been impacted in some way by all the Texas artists you mention, but I have also been impacted by music from outside the region. New Orleans music, which is a genre all its own, had an influence on me early on.

There was a 50,000-watt radio station in New Orleans called WNOE and it was just about the only station I could get at night in my little hometown of Linden, Texas, which lies about 60 miles northwest of Shreveport, La. I heard music on that station that I never heard anywhere else. When the weather was just right, I was also able to tune in the legendary DJ, John R (Richbourg) who broadcast from 1510, WLAC in Nashville. He came to WLAC in 1942 and stayed until 1973. He was a white man who sounded black and he played mostly black R&B on his show. It was revolutionary. He spread rhythm & blues music to the masses in the 1950s. He is credited with launching James Brown’s career.

All that stuff had an influence on me. My parents listened to big band music — the World War II era stuff, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Guy Lombardo — and that music had an influence on me too, as did my grandmother singing hymns in her rocking chair. I had a rich musical upbringing in that I was exposed to a wide variety of styles and genres, some local and regional and some from far away.

Desert Sun: Was there a California sound that drew you to L.A.?

That’s been well-documented. We were fans of the “B’s” — the Byrds, the Beach Boys, the Buffalo Springfield and the Flying Burrito Brothers.

Desert Sun: What was your reaction to the Byrds?

I was mesmerized by the harmonies and the sound of that electric 12-string. I still love that stuff today.

Desert Sun: How did you hook up with Linda Ronstadt and decide to record "I Fall to Pieces" with her?

Well, I had nothing to do with her decision to record that Patsy Cline classic. Linda and her producer, John Boylan, were recording an album of material they liked for Linda’s second solo album and I, along with Glenn, Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner were asked to help out. Most of us were playing in Linda’s backup band at the time. This was shortly before we formed the Eagles, I think.

Desert Sun: The Eagles have been recorded by country artists since Conway Twitty and Tanya Tucker. Are there any country renditions of your songs that you particularly like?

I really like Vince Gill’s version of “I Can’t Tell You Why.”

Desert Sun: Much of today’s country music is influenced by Southern rock. Did that have anything to do with your decision to record “How Long” and debut it on CMT?

I don’t particularly care for “Southern Rock.” Glenn (Frey) made the decision to record “How Long” because we used to do it in our set. Glenn’s kids were surfing YouTube and found an old film clip of us performing “How Long” on a Dutch TV show in 1973. This caused him to recall how the song was reminiscent of some of our earliest hits — “Take It Easy,” “Already Gone” to name a couple — so we all agreed that it would be good to return to our earlier form and “How Long” was the perfect vehicle.

Desert Sun: (The latest Eagles single) “The Long Road” peaked at No. 1 on Billboard’s Country, Internet, Independent and Billboard Top 200 charts, which means that fans are buying it. On the other hand, some critics complained that it sounded like the band took the easy road by choosing songs on earlier albums. Are the fans better judges of your work than the critics?

I’m not sure that I understand what you’re saying here. The majority of these 20 songs are brand new. While “Eden” was being recorded, we previewed three of the songs as bonus tracks on the “Farewell 1 Live” CD to give fans a taste of what was coming, but that’s hardly the same as taking songs from “earlier albums.”

I suppose if you want to get picky, you could note that our first single release from the “Eden” album was previously recorded by its author, J. D. Souther, in 1972 — 35 years ago. In any case, I haven’t seen the criticism you refer to — and, frankly, I think it’s silly. There was nothing “easy” about making this album. It was painstakingly written and recorded over a period of about four years. At this stage of the game, we don’t really care what the critics think.

Here’s the way it works: First, we have to please ourselves. We are our own harshest critics. Beyond that, our fans’ opinions are the only other opinions that matter to us. They are the reason we do what we do. Do I love everything on the album? No. But that’s what being in a band is all about — give and take. For what it’s worth, most of the reviews that I’ve seen have been very positive.

Desert Sun: In terms of touring, in an interview last year, Joe (Walsh) said touring with the band was like spending enforced time with brothers in cramped spaces. The balance between individual work and the band is what was keeping things fresh for everyone. Do you feel the same? You haven’t released a disc of your own work since 2000’s “Inside Job.” Are you working on a new solo project? What about Glenn, Joe or Tim?

Of course solo work is a welcome outlet for all of us. It provides an opportunity for each band member to express his individuality unfettered by compromise. On the other hand, I wouldn’t agree that touring with the Eagles is such a grueling thing, certainly no more than solo touring. Touring is touring. Recording is another thing altogether. But I think that Joe said what he said with his tongue in his cheek. His deadpan delivery often makes it hard to tell whether he’s putting you on or not.

I’m working on several solo projects — in my head. I hope to actually start one of them sometime later this year, but with the Eagles touring schedule, plus family duties, it’s going to be hard to sandwich in anything else. I have no idea what the other guys are planning.

Desert Sun: Between “Hell Freezes Over” and “Long Road Out of Eden,” what took the band so long to decide to record a disc of new material? How did you choose the material?

It wasn’t a matter of making a decision. We (had) contemplated making an album of new material ever since we regrouped in 1994. The problem was finding the time to do it. These days, the band doesn’t come first — family comes first — so it just naturally takes longer for us to get anything done. Also, we had some obstacles, a negative, disruptive element within the band we had to get past before we could begin to feel creative and enjoy the process of writing and recording again.

The songs basically chose themselves. It’s an intuitive thing. These are the songs that, for one reason or another, got completed. There were others and most of them will probably get finished and recorded someday, but these 20 are the ones that emerged in this round.

Desert Sun: (Ex-Eagles guitarist) Don Felder’s book, “Heaven and Hell, is due to be released in the U.S. this week. It was previously blocked by the band. How do you feel about its release?

I only have one comment on this question and it’s a correction rather than an answer. The U.S. publication of the book was NOT “blocked by the band.” It was blocked by the law.

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There's that feisty Don that we all know & love! :wink: Remember, as he told that one journalist, "I'm not scary, I'm just opinionated!"

On another note, according to what he says here, it does look like the Eagles will eventually make another album with the songs that were not included on LROOE. That would be great!

Brooke
05-02-2008, 10:20 AM
Ha! Yeah, he kind of put that person in their place a couple times! :laugh:

I don't think I would want to get in an argument with Don! He's one smart cookie!

Loved his comment about the "negative, disruptive element within the band". :lol:

Freypower
05-02-2008, 06:31 PM
Yes, I have to say I liked that too. He has also referred to that as 'personnel' problems. I can't believe some of those mistakes. 'The Shilos' and 'using earlier songs'.

glenneaglesfan
05-03-2008, 07:37 AM
Yes, you wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of him! I liked reading about all the music that has influenced him, and his retelling of the Youtube story.

Thanks for posting that, DF.

sodascouts
05-03-2008, 02:33 PM
Yeah, that guy really embarrassed himself.

I also noted that comment about how the leftover songs will probably get finished and recorded someday. I wonder if he was also talking about putting them on solo albums?

Glennsallnighter
05-03-2008, 05:11 PM
Great interview DF! But you'd certainly need to have your homework done to interview ANY of the lads I'd say.

Ive always been a dreamer
05-04-2008, 01:46 PM
Thanks for that, DF. Classic Don - you've gotta love it. :nod:

And bring on those new songs, Don!!!

sodascouts
05-04-2008, 10:11 PM
On a more positive note, here are some sweet comments from Don about his fellow performers at Stagecoach:

"Eagles in the Desert, Lots of Love Backstage" (http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2008/05/03/eagles-in-the-desert-lots-of-love-backstage/)

DonFan
05-04-2008, 11:09 PM
Thanks for posting that, Soda. That was a wonderful piece.

Brooke
05-05-2008, 02:35 PM
That was great! Thank you! :D

Mrs Frey
05-28-2008, 06:28 AM
DF and Soda, thanks so much for posting those two articles. It's taken me a while to be able to read each one properly, but I get to it eventually! :wink:

Don certainly is very intelligent and knowledgeable - I think I would feel quite intimidated in his presence! :blush:

glenneaglesfan
05-29-2008, 06:41 AM
Thanks for that, Soda. It's nice to read about the camaraderie.

Mrs Henley
05-29-2008, 09:04 AM
Thanks for posting :D