Don Henley - The Eagles - 2019 - Musician

(Credits: Far Out / Derek Russell)

Thu 3 July 2025 20:00, UK

When you get into the world of classic rock as a young adult, it’s sort of forced upon you to divert your attention away from the voice. Something about the raucous guitar player and never-ending solo is what instead captures your imagination, for that is ultimately where the showmanship is. But then bands like the Eagles came along and completely changed my view on the voice. 

Before that, the voice was always something I associated with trashy reality shows and overzealous performers who, in their pursuit of vocal perfection, overlooked the nuance of great music. But that was simply a foolish take from someone desperate to find interest in music and who, in doing so, turned his back on one of the great avenues into artistic authenticity. 

Because like many around them in that heady 1970s rock scene, the Eagles were not only showcasing what the voice could do, but what three of them at once could achieve. The transcendental experience of hearing three-part harmonies in a musical is something truly unmatched in the music world and cuts through the baselessly gruff exterior of conventional rock and roll. 

Because let’s face it, behind what many in the music industry would like to have mocked as being soft, commercial or borderline poppy within the Eagles, were a band as gritty and unwieldy as the rest of them. Stories of cocaine consumption and off-stage violence ran rife in the heady days of their pomp, and they went some way to proving that delicate vocals had a place in the history books of raucous rock and roll. 

The stick that many critics chose to beat them with was perhaps the more country leanings they had over their counterparts. Fleetwood Mac and Crosby, Stills and Nash, too, showcased some of the finest three-part harmonies in contemporary music, but were distilled into something more alternative. Whereas the Eagles trod the line between Americana and downright Country. 

But why not? That was where their influences stemmed from, and without those sensibilities, we would undoubtedly never have tracks like ‘Hotel California’ or ‘Take It Easy’. The band’s lead vocalist, Don Henley, in particular, wore those influences on his sleeve, citing Glen Campbell as somewhat of a north star.

“This gentleman [Campbell] I had the pleasure of meeting only once,” said Henley. “We had a wonderful evening together talking about music and the recording industry many, many years ago. He has one of the greatest voices in music. He is also a very underappreciated musician. One of the best guitar players ever to emerge on the American music scene.”

The latter point was arguably what made Glen Campbell one of the best and most high-profile session musicians of all time. Recruited by the likes of the Beach Boys to Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley, Campbell sat in on studio sessions to inject a necessary amount of country soul into any given song. But with a voice that Henley rightly regards as one of the best of all time, his contribution in the studio was more than just laying down guitar; he could play in a way that would draw the very best of the vocal take he was supporting.

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