One of my favorite drummers-slash-singers is celebrating a birthday. Don Henley is sixty-one years old today (July 22.) I’ve been an Eagles fan since their very first album in 1972. Their harmonies and the varied instrumentation used in the band really captured my ears. That may be the first time I ever heard a banjo used on a rock album. Back then it was called progressive country; now it’s rock.

I saw Henley on his Building the Perfect Beast tour in ‘85 and it was an awesome show, with probably ten musicians on stage. A most cherished concert memory because it’s the only show I saw with both my brother and my sister. After the show I went backstage and got his autograph. That album cover is now in a frame with the backstage pass signed with a gold marker. That’s a good day when I can meet one of my favorite musicians (and fellow Texan,) and rock out with my siblings.

Don Henley recently appeared as a special guest during Billy Joel’s tribute concert to New York’s Shea Stadium, which is in it’s last season and will be replaced by a newer stadium. Henley led the band through a rocking performance of “Boys of Summer.” By the way, that was the Grammy Award winning single and video from the Building the Perfect Beast album, released in 1984.

www.donhenley.com

I always liked the band Heart, not only because Ann and Nancy Wilson were both great vocalists, but also because they liked Led Zeppelin, and used those influences in their own music. My favorite Heart album is Dog & Butterfly because of the song “Mistral Wind,” which conjures up shades of Zeppelin from Physical [...]

Which mutates faster? A virus, or news stories about celebrities on the internet?
A man recently posing as David Lee Roth was stopped by police for speeding near Brantford, Ontario and told the authorities he was suffering from an allergic reaction to peanuts. The man continued to pose as Roth at the local hospital [...]