(Credits: Far Out / Derek Russell)
Mon 21 April 2025 13:00, UK
As much as there are many cases to disprove the notion, many people think that it’s unusual to have the drummer in any given band be one of the principal songwriters. Sure, Ringo Starr may have put his name to a handful of The Beatles’ tracks and then forged his own solo career afterwards, and Josh Tillman is a more modern example of this phenomenon, departing Fleet Foxes in 2011 to pursue a career as indie rock troubadour Father John Misty. However, there are few quite as prolific as Eagles’ Don Henley in the world of songwriting drummers, and few as naturally gifted at the art.
While it’s far from an elite group, Henley’s brilliance at crafting a tune is a wonderful counterpoint for anyone who chooses to argue that drummers are good for hitting skins and little else. Alongside Glenn Frey, the duo wrote the vast majority of Eagles songs between them, with Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner occasionally dipping their toes into duties every once in a while. The band were clearly blessed with a wealth of talent in this department, but Henley’s virtuosity is something that ought to be celebrated to a greater degree.
When the group put out their 1994 live album, Hell Freezes Over, which was their first release since initially splitting in 1980, they recruited a few additional members to assist them with the lavish new arrangements of old songs and a handful of new tunes, with one of the new people on board being percussionist Stan Lynch. Best known as the original drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Lynch himself was a gifted songwriter as well, adding further proof to the fact that drummers can be multi-talented.
While he didn’t flex any of his songwriting prowess on this record, he and Henley formed a strong bond over their shared experiences, and Hell Freezes Over wouldn’t be the last time the duo found themselves working together. Henley would recruit Lynch’s services as a drummer, songwriter and producer for his 2015 solo release, Cass County, and this is where their special connection truly blossomed.
In a 2017 interview with Uncut, Henley discussed how he and Lynch became such a formidable partnership. While he acknowledged the tendencies people have to make jokes about drummers not having much going on upstairs, he would effusively praise the talents of Lynch as a musical polymath. After recounting some of his favourite drummer gags (“what’s got three legs and an asshole on top? A drumstool!” being his favourite), he outlined just why the two of them worked together so well.
“Stan Lynch and I are just kindred spirits,” Henley explained. “We’ve both been the drummers in bands, had conflicts in bands, and we became friends way back. We’re soul brothers, we can talk about anything.” While their similar career paths may have been a major point of why they were a perfect pairing, it was the songwriting chops that he had that really allowed Henley to take a shine to his colleague.
“When you write songs with someone, you have to be real open with them,” he continued. “You have to be able to reveal the real philosophical, personal things, and Stan and I can do that. He’s also got a great sense of humour – he helps inject humour into songs that might otherwise be a little too dark.” If you’re in a band and ever feeling doubtful about the merits of your drummer, then perhaps take a listen to Cass County and see just how powerful drummers can be when they knock their heads together. If you keep on bullying them, they might just form some sort of uprising and create magic without you.
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