(Credits: Far Out / Derek Russell)
Fri 9 January 2026 20:09, UK
Don Henley was central to many of the Eagles‘ best moments. From their 1976 masterpiece Hotel California to earlier highlights, the drummer, guitarist and vocalist were key components of their hit-making career.
Henley was the member of the band that seemed ot take them into a new sphere of excellence. A drummer with a chocolatey voice, Henley proved to be a secret weapon that would transform the band from a usual outfit into something truly spectacular. For a lot of the group’s fans, he operated as a sort of John Lennon figure.
At times gruff, but undeniable charismatic, Henley was a suave and swaggering member of the group that seemed staunchly committed to the art of writing songs. Accordingly, he has had his say on their work on numerous occasions, and, in the same vein as Lennon, Henley was particularly tough on much of the group’s work.
From revealing that Long Road Out of Eden is by no means a perfect album to discussing the band’s myriad of influences that includes a long list of soul legends, Henley has often proved to be one of the most interesting mouthpieces of the Eagles.
As well as being a masterful musician, Henley’s tales of the Eagles are often compelling and brimming with self-awareness. Instead of being an outright cynic, he’s open about the band’s limitations, and when outlining them, he does so with balance, offering great wisdom about one of the world’s most successful bands.
According to Henley, one of the group’s best-loved earlier songs, ‘On the Border’, taken from the 1974 album of the same, could have been much better than the one fans have known for 50 years. Written by Henley alongside Glenn Frey and Bernie Leadon, Henley claims that the song turned out completely different from what he originally envisioned.
In the liner notes for The Very Best of the Eagles compilation, Henley says: “There was a clash of styles and influences in that song, and I’m not sure it ever became what it could have been, musically.”
Notably, the track is one of the most multifaceted from this period of Eagles. At the end of the recording, a voice can be heard saying, “Say goodnight, Dick,” is heard, which Henley later revealed to be a “kiss-off” to the outgoing President Nixon, who had been mired in the fallout from the Watergate Scandal for years. The phrase was originally made famous on the 1960s show The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
Interestingly, in light of Henley’s critical comments, ‘On the Border’ features one of the band’s most accomplished vocal harmonies. According to Glenn Frey, this was where their collective love of soul came to the fore, with them specifically having the work of The Temptations in mind. He recalled that Eagles had to be “completely liberated on gin and tonics” to bring it to life, but, in another show of humility from a band member, he said the alcohol made them sound like “white, stoned punks, drunk out of our minds”.
Listen to ‘On the Border’ below.
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