Happy Birthday to Don Henley, who turns 66 today (July 22nd) Henley and Glenn Frey co-founded the Eagles in 1971, and are responsible for the band's best loved songs, including "Hotel California," "One Of These Nights," "Desperado," "Best Of My Love," "Life In The Fast Lane," "Tequila Sunrise," "Take It To The Limit," "New Kid In Town," "The Long Run," and many more. Henley is currently out on the road with the band, who are on tour celebrating its 40th anniversary. The Eagles perform tonight (July 22nd) at Washington, D.C.'s Verizon Center.

Henley recently wrapped production on his fifth solo album, called Cass County, which is his first new album in 13 years, and will be released in September. Cass County was co-produced by Henley's longtime collaborator, former Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers drummer, Stan Lynch. In May, Henley spoke to Jam! Music and shed some light on the album's title and back-story: "That's the name of the rural county I come from in northeast Texas. The album was recorded mostly in Nashville, with some additional recording done in Texas and California. The material on it is a reflection of a part of my musical foundation -- songs I heard on the radio and on my parents' record player in the '50s and '60s."

In April 2011, Henley was honored in Washington, D.C. at the 10th annual Grammys on The Hill for his advocacy on behalf of the music community. Henley was awarded the inaugural Recording Artists Coalition award.

Henley's last studio set, Inside Job, was released in 2000 and peaked at Number Seven.
After the Eagles' initial split in 1980, Don Henley enjoyed the most successful solo career of any of the Eagles, scoring such solo hits as "Dirty Laundry," "Leather And Lace" with Stevie Nicks, "Sunset Grill," "The Boys Of Summer," "All She Wants To Do Is Dance," "The End Of The Innocence," "The Heart Of The Matter," "The Last Worthless Evening," and "New York Minute," among others.

Although Henley has never shied away from keeping his liberal political views front and center when dealing with the press, both he and the rest of the Eagles try to keep their comments non-partisan on the stage: "We have found over the years that a concert is not necessarily the forum for one's political opinions. We do most of that work now separate and apart from our concert tours."

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