Don Henley

Don Henley spent the '70s behind the drum kit and at the microphone for the Eagles, the founding member whose voice carried "Desperado", "One of These Nights", "Hotel California" and "Life in the Fast Lane". When that band fell apart in 1980 he didn't exactly go quietly: his first solo album, I Can't Stand Still, arrived on Asylum in 1982, and "Dirty Laundry" showed he'd kept his sharp tongue and found a harder, nervier groove.

Building the Perfect Beast in 1984 is where he really cut loose from the Eagles. "The Boys of Summer" is all shimmering guitars and synth pulse, wistful and widescreen, while "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" and "Sunset Grill" come laced with a wry, grown-up bite. The End of the Innocence in 1989 went broader and more reflective, from the rueful title track to "The Heart of the Matter", "How Bad Do You Want It" and "The Last Worthless Evening".

Solo, he picked up 2 Grammys and 5 MTV Video Music Awards, and he went back to the Eagles when they reunited in 1994. Away from the stage he helped found the Walden Woods Project, and the Kennedy Center Honors came his way in 2016.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.