{"id":515380,"date":"2025-10-20T21:47:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T21:47:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/515380\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T21:47:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T21:47:14","slug":"the-one-eagles-song-don-henley-never-gets-tired-of-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/515380\/","title":{"rendered":"The one Eagles song Don Henley never gets tired of hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/p>\n

(Credits: Far Out \/ Alamy)<\/p>\n

Mon 20 October 2025 20:30, UK <\/p>\n

For a band that has been going as long as the Eagles, not every song will have the same resonance over decades of concerts. If you were to ask any of the members about what their live show entails, it normally comes down to playing the hits and trying their best to put as much emotion into pieces that are old enough to qualify for senior discounts. Out of all the tracks that Don Henley<\/a> has sung far too many times to count, he admitted that he still feels the same way about \u2018Tequila Sunrise\u2019 as he did when he first heard it.<\/p>\n

Granted, when the Eagles first got together, perfection was expected rather than aspiration. After leaving Linda Ronstadt\u2019s outfit, Glenn Frey and Henley wanted to put together the kind of band that could go toe-to-toe with anyone else on the Los Angeles rock scene, willing to give everyone from Gram Parsons to Crosby, Stills, and Nash a run for their money when they released their self-titled debut.<\/p>\n

While the band\u2019s signature magic was there on tracks like \u2018Take It Easy\u2019 and \u2018Witchy Woman\u2019, they had yet to come into their own as songwriters. Despite a handful of decent tunes on the record, a good chunk of the works were written with the help of their friends, from recording the Ronstadt live staple \u2018Nightingale\u2019 to borrowing a piece from Jack Tempchin for \u2018Peaceful Easy Feeling\u2019.<\/p>\n

If the band were going to nail down their signature sound, they would need something that came from within. After working on various songs independently, Henley and Frey got together to collaborate on \u2018Tequila Sunrise\u2019, which first appeared on their conceptual sophomore album, Desperado<\/a>. <\/p>\n

In the context of the album, this is the kind of calm before the storm moment, as the outlaw characters find refuge in a nameless saloon and try to flirt with any kind of woman that comes to the edge of the bar. While the band were still working out the bugs of their songwriting, Henley knew they were on the verge of something special when writing the piece.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>The Eagles, enjoying their own sunrise. (Credits: Far Out \/ Showtime \/ The Eagles)<\/p>\n

Even though it\u2019s easy to pick up on the influences of artists like Roy Orbison, the band\u2019s signature harmonies are already there, especially towards the end of every verse, where everyone joins in on the final line. Once that kind of magic comes alive onstage, though, Henley admits that there\u2019s still that initial spark he remembered back in the day.<\/p>\n

Recalling years after its release in The Very Best of the Eagles<\/a>, Henley admitted that the track never got old for him, saying, \u201cIt turned out to be a really great song. The changes that Glenn came up with for the bridge are very smart. That\u2019s one song I don\u2019t get tired of. \u2018Take another shot of courage\u2019 refers to tequila \u2013 because we used to call it \u2018instant courage\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Henley felt that the idea of a \u2018Tequila Sunrise\u2019 was the perfect metaphor for Californian drinkers. \u201cI believe that was a Glenn title,\u201d Henley confessed. \u201cI think he was ambivalent about it because he thought that it was a bit too obvious or too much of a cliche because of the drink that was so popular then. I said \u2018No \u2013 look at it from a different point of view. You\u2019ve been drinking straight tequila all night, and the sun is coming up!\u2019 It turned out to be a really great song.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the end, Frey came round the track. \u201cI love the song,\u201d he said. \u201cI think the goal of any songwriter is to make a song appear seamless, to never show the struggle. Nothing should sound forced. \u2018Tequila Sunrise\u2019 was written fairly quickly, and I don\u2019t think there\u2019s a single chord out of place.\u201d<\/p>\n

There would be plenty more where that song came from, though, with Henley and Frey continuing to work on every subsequent Eagles project before hitting their creative apex on Hotel California. Some tracks might be more celebrated in the band\u2019s catalogue, but when it comes to the kind of work that started the Henley\/Frey partnership, it\u2019s hard to forget your first musical child.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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