General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIn Defense of the Eagles - Most are strong Democrats and we should appreciate what they have done
Here is just a little about Henley and whether you like their music or not they should be acknowledged for all they have done for the Democratic party. I personally love their music and I love Glenn Frey's solo work:
Political and other causes
A lifelong supporter of the Democratic Party, Henley has also been a generous donor to political campaigns of Democrats. In 2008, The Washington Post reported Henley had donated over $680,000 to political candidates since 1978.[46]
Several tracks on the 2007 Eagles album Long Road Out of Eden (including the title track, which Henley co-wrote) are sharply critical of the Iraq War and other policies of the Bush administration.[citation needed]
In a March 2001 interview on Charlie Rose, Henley stated that "rock bands work best as a benevolent dictatorship," with the principal songwriters in a band (in the case of the Eagles, "me and Glenn Frey" being the ones that will likely hold the power.[42]
In 1990, Henley founded the Walden woods project to help protect "Walden Woods" from development. The Thoreau Institute at Walden Woods was started in 1998 to provide for research and education regarding Henry David Thoreau. In 1993, a compilation album titled Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles was released, with a portion of the royalties from the sales going to the Walden Woods Project. In 2005, he had a fundraiser concert with Elton John and others to buy Brister's Hill,[38] part of Walden Woods, and turn it into a hiking trail.[citation needed]
Henley co-founded the non-profit Caddo Lake Institute in 1993 with Dwight K. Shellman to underwrite ecological education and research. As part of the Caddo Lake Coalition, CLI helps protect the Texas wetland where Henley spent much of his childhood. As a result of the Caddo Lake Institute's success in restoring and protecting Caddo Lake's wetlands, Caddo Lake was included as the 13th site in the United States on the Ramsar Convention's list of significant wetlands. The Ramsar Convention is an intergovernmental treaty that provides a framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.[39]
In 2000, Henley co-founded the Recording Artists' Coalition, a group founded to protect musicians' rights against common music industry business practices. In this role he testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary in 2001[40] and the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation in 2003.[41]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Henley
spanone
(135,795 posts)moondust
(19,961 posts)From The End of the Innocence, 1989
But now those skies are threatening
They're beating plowshares into swords
For this tired old man that we elected king
Ouch.
Quixote1818
(28,918 posts)I remember reading his book "Heaven is Under Our Feet" and what struck me about Henley was that he grew up in the Bible Belt but was a free-thinker who ended up rejecting all that crap. He is a really interesting, intelligent all around good guy.
Link to his book: http://www.amazon.com/Heaven-Is-Under-Our-Feet/dp/0425135462
world wide wally
(21,739 posts)Ron Green
(9,822 posts)and they provided many party hits for bands to cover.
ladyVet
(1,587 posts)I've always enjoyed their music -- and while I liked some disco -- as mentioned, they were a bright spot in that era.
Mendocino
(7,482 posts)Some people were falling over each other in a race to the bottom. Oh well, it made editing personal preferences very easy.
lonestarnot
(77,097 posts)Quixote1818
(28,918 posts)It's hard to miss with over 5,000 views but I am sure a few people have overlooked it.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=7544279
lonestarnot
(77,097 posts)whatthehey
(3,660 posts)There are few artists whose political inclinations I have the slightest clue about and none at all where I consider it remotely relevant to their ability. Wagner had some pretty objectionable ideas, although frequently exaggerated through association with Hitler's Wagnerianism, but it didn't stop him reinventing an entire artform and creating a unique musical voice which remains instantly recognizable even to non-enthusiasts more than a century later. The political leanings of a competent but vanilla soft rock band don't make them Wagner any more than it would make them Milli Vanilli if they were RWNJs.