(Credits: Far Out / Alamy)
Tue 9 December 2025 20:05, UK
Founding member of the Eagles, Don Henley, is a true legend of the rock game.
As well as drumming for the iconic American rock band, Henley was also one of their lead singers, offering his voice to tracks such as ‘Hotel California’, ‘Life in the Fast Lane’ and ‘Desperado’. One might think that to be a part of such an impressive outfit is to have fulfilled most of one’s dreams as a musician.
The band are known to be one of the most impressive recording outfits of the 20th century. Though they spent a lot of years fighting one another, their output has been routinely regarded as some of the finest America has ever produced. Still, despite his work in the Eagles and an impressive solo career, it appears that Henley has some deep regret about it all.
Back in 2016, Henley expressed regret over the fact that he hadn’t written more songs to his name. Henley has claimed some great tracks under his name, but it would seem that there are a host more that he wishes he could have put down on paper.
He told The Montreal Gazette (via Rock Celebrities), “I regret that I didn’t produce more work in the past — solo work.” It’s quite a strange thing to hear from Henley, especially considering the last list of songs with his name on the credits.
The legendary Don Henley. (Credits: Far Out / TIDAL)
However, it appeared that Henley immediately checked himself, acknowledging his big back catalogue. “But on the other hand, when I tally it all up with the Eagles catalogue and my solo catalogue, there are a lot of songs there, you know? There are still songs I could do in my set.”
Still, there appears to be a deep regret in Henley that he hadn’t worked harder throughout his career, especially after leaving the Eagles. Of course, he had a respectable solo career, but it’s that period in particular that sticks out for the iconic musician. There looked to be some songs that Henley also felt that he couldn’t play on his tour back in 2016.
He added, “For example, I haven’t been doing ‘Taking You Home’ — because it’s fucking hard to sing. But I’m not doing that; I’m not doing ‘Last Worthless Evening.’ I haven’t done ‘Wasted Time,’ but I might start doing that.” Perhaps there’s the sense that Henley merely felt that many of his tracks from his career remained out of bounds and that, really, he wished that he had more accessible material to take on in his live shows.
Of course, that is not the first time that Henley has expressed regret about his previous career highlights. The Eagles’ song ‘Desperado’ became one of the most cherished songs from the band’s catalogue, but Henley once expressed that he would have actually loved to rerecord his vocal takes.
“Some older gentleman had brought a chessboard, and they would play between takes. I would hear these remarks like, ‘Well, you know, I don’t feel much like a desperado.’ I was so intimidated that I didn’t sing my best,” Henley once told Mojo (via Songfacts). “Our producer Glyn Johns, who is still a friend of mine, I think, wanted to get the album done quickly and economically, and he didn’t let me do many takes. I wish I could have done that song again”.
So it appears that Don Henley is quite a regretful person, although, given his excellent career as a musician, it is somewhat difficult to understand why. Perhaps in his older age, Henley is actually just longing to do it all again, to relive the old moments rather than to wish there were more new ones. We can’t blame the iconic singer for that, but he need not worry, as he’s considered a legend in several schools of music and will continue to be so for years to come.
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