After the break up of the Eagles in 1982, Don Henley's solo career was the most successful of the group. Henley released I Can't Stand Still, with a number three hit single 'Dirty Laundry,' which went gold. He then released Henley with the top hits 'Boys of Summer,' 'All She Wants to Do Is Dance,' 'Not Enough Love in the World,' and 'Sunset Grill.' Henley's 1989 album, The End of Innocence, sold over three million copies with the hit singles 'The End of Innocence,' 'Heart of the Matter,' 'New York Minute,' 'How Bad Do You Want It,' and 'The Last Tour.' Don's latest album was released in 2000, titled Inside Job.
Henley started playing in the 60's with a Texas band called Shiloh. Here he met Glenn Frey, who invited him to join Linda Ronstadt's backup band. Don took the opportunity and by 1971 the two joined guitarist Bernie Leadon and bassist Randy Meisner to form the Eagles. Their big break came when David Geffen of Asylum and Geffen Records signed them: he sent them to London to work with Glyn Johns, an engineer/producer who had previously worked with groups such as The Beatles, The Who, and The Rolling Stones. Don started out officially as the Eagles' drummer, but he co-wrote all of the group's top ten hits and sang lead vocals on most of them.
After a few very successful albums, they decided to pursue their own endeavors, so Henley used his life experiences and the massive amounts of attention from the public to start his own solo career, with his first hit single, 'Dirty Laundry.' The song pushed his 1982 solo debut album, I Can't Stand Still, to number twenty-four on the charts. In 1984 Henley's second solo album, Building The Perfect Beast, went double platinum with 'The Boys of Summer' single, and also revealed a new level of Henley's music; the album was kept high in the charts for over a year. In 1989, 'The End of Innocence' hit number eight and went triple platinum as it held its place in the charts for 148 weeks.
In 1993, a benefit tribute album, Common Thread: The Songs Of The Eagles featured Clint Black, Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, and Trisha Yearwood, who performed the songs made by the Eagles 20 years prior. A year later the Eagles reunited for a successful world tour, and the group released a live album called Hell Freezes Over from their appearance on MTV, which sold over five million copies in 1995. Henley then continued his own solo career with Inside Job. Don Henley has shared his musical talent with the world for nearly four decades, and he apparently does not plan to stop anytime soon.
