See Don Henley, the Only Remaining Original Member of The Eagles, Now at 75
The band just announced that their upcoming tour will be their last.
After over 52 years, the Eagles' touring era is coming to an end. On July 6, the band announced that their upcoming tour, The Long Goodbye tour, will be their last. But, as fans of the band know, most of the original members have already performed their final shows with the Eagles. Today, drummer and singer Don Henley is the only remaining original band member, following the other musicians leaving the band for various reasons.
"The Eagles have had a miraculous 52-year odyssey, performing for people all over the globe; keeping the music alive in the face of tragic losses, upheavals and setbacks of many kinds," the band's official statement about the tour reads. "We know how fortunate we are, and we are truly grateful. Our long run has lasted far longer than any of us ever dreamed. But, everything has its time, and the time has come for us to close the circle."
So far, 13 shows have been announced, but more are on the way. According to Consequence of Sound, the tour is expected to last through 2025.
Fans who score tickets will see Henley close out his time with the band live. Read on for an update on the founding member's life today.
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Henley co-founded the Eagles in 1971.
When the Eagles were founded in 1971, the group consisted of Henley, Bernie Leadon, Glenn Frey, and Randy Meisner. A few years later, Don Felder joined, making the group a quintet. In 1975, Joe Walsh replaced Leadon on guitar. Timothy B. Schmit soon replaced Meisner on bass.
The band split up in 1980 and reunited in 1994 with the same lineup—at least for a while. Today, the band consists of Henley, Walsh, Schmit, and Vince Gill. Frey died in 2016, and his son, Deacon Frey, was a part of the band from 2017 until 2022.
The relationship between Henley and Felder has been particularly fraught. Felder was fired from the group in 2001, which led to lawsuits between himself on one side and Henley and Frey on the other. According to The Guardian, they settled outside of court in 2007. That same year, Felder wrote a memoir in which he disses his former bandmates.
"The fact is, we are largely responsible both for the longevity and the success of this band," Henley told The Guardian of himself and Frey in 2015. "Because we did it our way, and a lot of people didn't like that. Felder's just bitter because he got kicked out of the group so he decided to write a nasty little tell-all, which I think is a really low, cheap shot."
He's released five solo albums.
In addition to his massive success with the Eagles, Henley is a solo artist with hits including "The Boys of Summer" and "The Heart of the Matter." He's released five solo albums, the latest of which is 2015's Cass Country. For his solo music, Henley has won two Grammys: the award for Rock Male Vocalist in 1986 for "The Boys of Summer" and the same award in 1990 for "The End of the Innocence."
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He's married and has three kids.
Henley married Sharon Summerall in 1995. The couple have three children: Annabel, Julia, and Will Henley. The musician tends to keep his private life private, but he did share that his family heavily influenced his 2000 album Inside Job.
"I think it's a more balanced album because my life's more balanced now," he told the Tampa Bay Times in 2000. "I sacrificed a lot on behalf of my career, on the altar of success. But there was a big hole in my life that success and money couldn't fill, and frankly, I got lucky. I got really lucky. And this album reflects that."
He considered retiring years ago.
Now, it's official that this will be the band's last tour, but Henley was thinking about retiring from performing live as far back as 2017.
"I turned 70 this past July. [Bassist] Timothy Schmit turns 70 today [October 30th]. Joe's 70th is coming up at the end of November," Henley told Rolling Stone in 2017. "If we can go out and deliver quality performances that our fans have come to expect and that our fans deserve, then we'll probably do some more shows. But when the quality of the performance starts diminishing, I think we'll need to think about hanging it up."
Henley has also talked about not being a fan of hearing his music when he's not working. "After 44 years, you just really don't want to hear 'em when you're off," he told CBS News in 2016. "When I'm off duty, I'd rather listen to somebody else, or just silence. Silence is good. You don't get much of it these days anywhere. So I'm a big fan of silence."
