He is a drummer and singer-songwriter born Donald Hugh
Henley in Gilmer, Texas.The first band he played in were Shiloh
who were taken an interest in and funded by Kenny Rogers and this resulted
in them moving to Los
Angeles
and recording an album.After
meeting Glenn Frey they backed Linda Ronstadt and teamed up two Randy
Meisner and Bernie Leadon to form the group the Eagles.The group was among one of the most
successful in the 1970s and he began his successful songwriting career with
them on the co-written song "Witchy Woman" and moving on to
co-write the No. 1 hits "Desperado" and "Hotel
California".They
disbanded in 1980 after stress caused by touring and the release of the
album The Long Run and they all
went on to pursue their solo careers. After having gone through an
arrest for drug possession and "contributing to the delinquency of a
minor" in 1980, he began his career again in 1982 releasing the album
I Can't Stand Still.His solo hits included "Dirty
Laundry", "The Boys of Summer", which won Best Video of
the Year at MTV Video Music Awards and the Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance,
and the duet during his relationship with Stevie Nicks, "Leather and
Lace".As a background vocalist he has
worked with many artists including Jackson Browne, Jimmy Buffett,
Johnny Cash, Dan Fogelberg, Melissa Manchester, Joni Mitchell, Randy
Newman, Earl Scruggs, Conway Twitty, Roger Waters, Trisha Yearwood
and Warren Zevon with further duets being performed with Kenny
Rogers and Patty Smyth to name just a few. Some of the many
albums he has appeared on include his own Building the
Perfect Beast, The End of the Innocence and Inside
Job as well as Get a Grip by Aerosmith, Another
Page by Christopher Cross, C'Mon. C'Mon by Sheryl
Crowe, Desperado,Hell Freezes Over, Hole
in the World,Hotel California, Long
Road Out of Eden,Long Run, On the Border and One
of These Nights with The Eagles, Bruce Hornsby &
Friends by Bruce Hornsby, 21 at 33 by Elton John,
Simple Dreams by Linda Ronstadt, Hits! by Boz
Scaggs, Against the Wind by Bob Seger & The Silver
Bullet Band, Black Rose by J.D. Souther, Trouble in
Paradise by the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band, That's Why I'm
Here by James Taylor, Fahrenheit by Toto,
Essential by John Waite, So What by Joe Walsh and
the soundtracks of About Last Night, The Color of Money, Coyote
Ugly, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Leap of Faith, Leaving Las
Vegas, Michael and Vision Quest. Charities and Committee Work now
also takes his interest and and he was the founder of the Walden Woods
Project to protect Walden Pond from development, he co-founded the Caddo
Lake Institute for ecological research and the Recording Artist's
Coalition with Sheryl Crow which protects musicians rights against
music industry business practices and he has testified to various
Committees on this subject. He
married
Sharon Summerhall, a former model, in 1995 and they have three children.
He reunited with the Eagles when they got back together again and he
continues to record and perform with them.
