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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Legendary singer and songwriter Don Henley is |
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celebrating his 70th birthday on July 22, 2017, by performing a |
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concert at the American Airlines Center in Dallas; and |
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WHEREAS, The son of C. J. and Hughlene Henley, Donald Hugh |
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Henley was born in Gilmer in 1947 and raised in Linden; he first |
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became involved in music while attending Linden-Kildare High |
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School, where he played trombone and drums in the marching band; |
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during that time, he also formed a garage band, the Four Speeds, |
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with his friends Richard Bowden and Jerry Surratt; after graduating |
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from high school in 1965, he enrolled at Stephen F. Austin State |
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University and later transferred to North Texas State University; |
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over the years, he continued to maintain his band, even as it |
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underwent several name and personnel changes, and the group |
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eventually caught the attention of Kenny Rogers, who helped it |
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record its first single, "Jennifer"; the band was renamed Shiloh |
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soon thereafter, and it went on to release its self-titled debut on |
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Amos Records; Mr. Henley eventually left the ensemble to become a |
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backup musician for Linda Ronstadt; and |
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WHEREAS, In the fall of 1971, Mr. Henley joined with Glenn |
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Frey, Randy Meisner, and Bernie Leadon to found a new group, the |
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Eagles, and their ability to meld country, folk, rock, and pop |
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influences quickly gained them an impressive following; the next |
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year, the quartet released its self-titled debut, which featured |
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three hit songs, "Take It Easy," "Witchy Woman," and "Peaceful Easy |
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Feeling," and the rest is history; the band went on to record five |
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more albums that decade, Desperado, On the Border, One of These |
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Nights, Hotel California, and The Long Run, and along the way, it |
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topped the charts five times, received four Grammy Awards, and |
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became one of the hottest touring music acts in the world; the band |
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was also the first ever to sell more than 10 million copies of two |
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separate albums, Hotel California and the 1976 compilation Eagles: |
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Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975, which eventually surpassed Michael |
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Jackson's Thriller as the best-selling album of all time in the |
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United States; to date, more than 120 million of the group's records |
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have been sold worldwide; and |
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WHEREAS, After the Eagles disbanded in the early 1980s, |
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Mr. Henley launched the next act of his career by becoming a solo |
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artist; he scored a hit song with "Dirty Laundry" on his 1982 debut, |
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I Can't Stand Still, and he expanded on that success with his |
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sophomore effort, 1984's Building the Perfect Beast, which yielded |
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four popular singles, "All She Wants to Do Is Dance," "Not Enough |
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Love in the World," "Sunset Grill," and "The Boys of Summer," and |
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which garnered him a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal |
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Performance as well as nominations for Record, Song, and Producer |
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of the Year; the decade culminated for him with his 1989 album, The |
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End of the Innocence, whose title track notched him another Grammy |
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for best rock vocal; in 1994, he reunited with the Eagles for a |
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massive tour, which produced the live album Hell Freezes Over; he |
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went on to sign with the Warner Bros. label and release his fourth |
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solo album, Inside Job, in 2000, and seven years later, he reentered |
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the studio with the Eagles to record the band's final album, Long |
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Road Out of Eden; he eventually returned to solo work with his 2015 |
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album, Cass County; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Henley has long been committed to using his |
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immense talent to effect positive change; in 1990, he founded the |
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Walden Woods Project, which is dedicated to preserving the land |
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made famous in Henry David Thoreau's eponymous book; three years |
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later, he released the country tribute album Common Thread: The |
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Songs of the Eagles, which not only won the 1994 Album of the Year |
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from the Country Music Association but also generated more than $3 |
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million in proceeds to support his initiative; moreover, he |
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cofounded the nonprofit Caddo Lake Institute in 1993 and the |
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Recording Artists' Coalition in 2000, and he has helped to raise |
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funds for numerous organizations, including Farm Aid, the Race to |
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Erase MS, the Rhythm and Blues Foundation, and the Rainforest |
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Foundation; in recognition of his efforts, he was named the 2007 |
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MusiCares Person of the Year by the MusiCares Foundation; and |
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WHEREAS, Over the course of his extraordinary career, Don |
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Henley has established himself as one of the kings of classic rock; |
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his music continues to touch the lives of millions of fans across |
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generations, and this special milestone in his life presents a |
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welcome opportunity to honor this notable Texan; now, therefore, be |
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it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby congratulate Don Henley on |
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the occasion of his 70th birthday and extend to him sincere best |
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wishes for continued success and happiness; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Mr. Henley as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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House of Representatives. |