Don Henley reveals which songs he is most proud of

For example, if you look at the Eagles’ biggest song, “Hotel California,” there was always a clear intention to make that song stand out as much as possible, both in terms of lyrics and instrumentation. Glenn Frey remembers writing that song with Henley, saying, “Everyone wants to know what that song is about, and we don’t.”

He goes on to say that they “wanted to write a song that sounded like an episode of the Twilight Zone… It was just one shot after another – a shot of a guy on the highway, a shot of a hotel, the guy comes in, the door opens, strange people.” The song eventually became a hit and launched the Eagles into fame, which they were able to maintain for a while thanks to more hits.

So, when you have so many great songs under your belt, which one is the best? For Henley, the success of a song didn’t play a big role in how proud he was of it. It was more about his attitude and what he wanted to achieve with his music. When asked in the ’80s which songs he was most proud of, his solo albums (along with a few Eagles songs) came to mind because they reflected a transitional period in which Henley was asserting himself as his own songwriter outside of his partnership with Frey.

Henley and Frey were considered by many to be the John Lennon and Paul McCartney of country rock, so when the Eagles split up, it was a bold move for them to go solo. However, Henley released a few albums that sold well and established him as both a musician in his own right and as a member of the Eagles.

“On my first solo album, I’m particularly proud of this song ‘Lilah’, which is about the war in Northern Ireland… and um, I’m quite proud of this new album,” he said. “On the first album, I was nervous because it was my first solo album and I wasn’t sure if I could do it, you know. This time, I had a lot more confidence, took more risks, tried to stretch myself a bit, you know. I think we managed that.”

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