The Eagles' Don Henley: Finding good music online is like looking for a needle in a haystack

No taking it easy: Don Henley
Erika Goldring/Getty Images for Americana Music
Alistair Foster2 October 2015
The Weekender

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Don Henley says the sheer amount of music available online makes finding the best tracks “like looking for a needle in a haystack”.

The musician, 68, is one of the most enduring figures in the business, having sold 150 million records with the Eagles and 10 million as a solo artist. He said he sometimes despaired at the state of modern music but “then in the midst of despair I’ll hear something that really knocks me out.

“It’s just that with the new modes of delivery, with the internet, you’ve heard the old saying — it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. The haystack’s so enormous it’s just harder to find the needle. You have to wade through a lot of bad and mediocre stuff to find the jewels.

“But there is still good music being made, so I don’t completely despair. I do worry sometimes that a lot of the good stuff is getting lost in the sheer size of the pile.”

Albums - September 2015

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Henley, who is back with his first solo record in 15 years, Cass County, encouraged today’s acts to take their craft more seriously. “First of all you have to understand how the business works,” he said. “A lot of young artists, I’m afraid, don’t understand that.

“They don’t understand the details of a recording contract, or what it means. They don’t understand the craft of songwriting — it’s something that really needs to be studied. You have to live it, and breathe it, go back and listen to the finest examples of songwriting. And you have to play.

“My high school mates and I spent seven years driving all over Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas in a van playing crappy clubs, fraternity parties, all kinds of dues-paying. It toughens you up. It prepares you for what’s coming.”

Cass County, out now, features Dolly Parton and Mick Jagger and is a nod to Henley’s Texan roots: “Dolly is the real thing. Mick was heavily influenced by country. These are real, authentic singers, not ones that need to be auto-tuned.”

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