(Credits: Far Out / Alamy)
Tue 17 June 2025 21:56, UK
No one goes into an Eagles song looking to hear something too flashy.
Although the twin guitar attack of Don Felder and Joe Walsh made a masterpiece during the solo to ‘Hotel California’, the focus was on making a classic song rather than showcasing one’s technique. Even with a good melody, though, Don Henley admitted having trouble singing a handful of the group’s masterpieces.
Henley operated in a co-frontman role alongside guitarist Glenn Frey throughout the band’s tenure. After being sidemen for Linda Ronstadt for years, Henley talked about wanting to move out on his own with Frey, making way for their first hits like ‘Take It Easy’ and ‘Peaceful Easy Feeling’. Once the money started rolling in, the dynamic started to change.
As far as his role as a frontman was concerned, Frey thought it made sense for Henley to take the lead vocals most of the time, telling History of The Eagles, “If you look back on how the Eagles progressed, I sang less and less. It was intentional. We had Don Henley.”
Though Henley had the nickname ‘Golden Throat’ for the longest time, one of their biggest singles does give him a bit of strain.
Don Henley’s vocal struggles on ‘One of These Nights’
After the lacklustre sales of Desperado, the band bounced back with Already Gone, which contained hits like ‘Already Gone’ and the ballad ‘Best of My Love’. Looking to capitalise on their success, the title track to One of These Nights marked a departure from the group’s traditional sounds, having its roots more in soul music.
While the song worked well as a ballad, Henley thought that the key to the song’s success was Felder’s guitar parts. Since the last few singles were a bit mellow by the band’s standards, Felder’s licks gave the group a shot in the arm, as Henley recalled to Rolling Stone, “With Don Felder, we can really rock. He’s made us nastier, and he’s done a great guitar solo on ‘One Of These Nights’.”
Even with the massive guitar break, Henley would later say that the song gives him trouble, especially coming out of the final chorus. Having to belt at the top of his range, Henley said that it’s anyone’s guess whether he hits the note when the band plays live, explaining, “My voice has to be just right to hit the high notes. Sometimes I make it, sometimes I don’t.”
I mean, despite the band’s polished reputation, the Eagles were rarely a smooth ride behind the scenes. For every pristine vocal harmony or carefully arranged track, there was a tug-of-war happening somewhere offstage. Henley might’ve had the range to hit the top notes on ‘One of These Nights’, but the real grind came from maintaining perfection night after night. Every high note was a tightrope walk, and every performance a chance to fall off. And when you’ve got a back catalogue full of songs written for younger vocal cords, the challenge only grows. Henley didn’t just sing the songs – he fought through them.
Whereas Henley happily accepted the challenge when performing the song live, the strain the band’s songs put on their vocal cords became too much for Randy Meisner to sing. While his signature tune during every show was ‘Take it to the Limit’, Meisner’s refusal to sing the track live led to him getting booted out of the band following a massive fight backstage between him and Frey.
Even into their farewell tour, Henley could still be heard belting the high notes to the best of his ability whenever they played the track live. Although there were years of wear and tear on his voice, Henley’s subtle inaccuracies seem to be a time capsule of what Eagles songs mean to him. Singing a song this high might be a gamble, but it’s nothing that ‘Golden Throat’ can’t handle.
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