H.R. No. 122
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Legendary singer and songwriter Don Henley is
celebrating his 70th birthday on July 22, 2017, by performing a
concert at the American Airlines Center in Dallas; and
WHEREAS, The son of C. J. and Hughlene Henley, Donald Hugh
Henley was born in Gilmer in 1947 and raised in Linden; he first
became involved in music while attending Linden-Kildare High
School, where he played trombone and drums in the marching band;
during that time, he also formed a garage band, the Four Speeds,
with his friends Richard Bowden and Jerry Surratt; after graduating
from high school in 1965, he enrolled at Stephen F. Austin State
University and later transferred to North Texas State University;
over the years, he continued to maintain his band, even as it
underwent several name and personnel changes, and the group
eventually caught the attention of Kenny Rogers, who helped it
record its first single, "Jennifer"; the band was renamed Shiloh
soon thereafter, and it went on to release its self-titled debut on
Amos Records; Mr. Henley eventually left the ensemble to become a
backup musician for Linda Ronstadt; and
WHEREAS, In the fall of 1971, Mr. Henley joined with Glenn
Frey, Randy Meisner, and Bernie Leadon to found a new group, the
Eagles, and their ability to meld country, folk, rock, and pop
influences quickly gained them an impressive following; the next
year, the quartet released its self-titled debut, which featured
three hit songs, "Take It Easy," "Witchy Woman," and "Peaceful Easy
Feeling," and the rest is history; the band went on to record five
more albums that decade, Desperado, On the Border, One of These
Nights, Hotel California, and The Long Run, and along the way, it
topped the charts five times, received four Grammy Awards, and
became one of the hottest touring music acts in the world; the band
was also the first ever to sell more than 10 million copies of two
separate albums, Hotel California and the 1976 compilation Eagles:
Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975, which eventually surpassed Michael
Jackson's Thriller as the best-selling album of all time in the
United States; to date, more than 120 million of the group's records
have been sold worldwide; and
WHEREAS, After the Eagles disbanded in the early 1980s,
Mr. Henley launched the next act of his career by becoming a solo
artist; he scored a hit song with "Dirty Laundry" on his 1982 debut,
I Can't Stand Still, and he expanded on that success with his
sophomore effort, 1984's Building the Perfect Beast, which yielded
four popular singles, "All She Wants to Do Is Dance," "Not Enough
Love in the World," "Sunset Grill," and "The Boys of Summer," and
which garnered him a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal
Performance as well as nominations for Record, Song, and Producer
of the Year; the decade culminated for him with his 1989 album, The
End of the Innocence, whose title track notched him another Grammy
for best rock vocal; in 1994, he reunited with the Eagles for a
massive tour, which produced the live album Hell Freezes Over; he
went on to sign with the Warner Bros. label and release his fourth
solo album, Inside Job, in 2000, and seven years later, he reentered
the studio with the Eagles to record the band's final album, Long
Road Out of Eden; he eventually returned to solo work with his 2015
album, Cass County; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Henley has long been committed to using his
immense talent to effect positive change; in 1990, he founded the
Walden Woods Project, which is dedicated to preserving the land
made famous in Henry David Thoreau's eponymous book; three years
later, he released the country tribute album Common Thread: The
Songs of the Eagles, which not only won the 1994 Album of the Year
from the Country Music Association but also generated more than $3
million in proceeds to support his initiative; moreover, he
cofounded the nonprofit Caddo Lake Institute in 1993 and the
Recording Artists' Coalition in 2000, and he has helped to raise
funds for numerous organizations, including Farm Aid, the Race to
Erase MS, the Rhythm and Blues Foundation, and the Rainforest
Foundation; in recognition of his efforts, he was named the 2007
MusiCares Person of the Year by the MusiCares Foundation; and
WHEREAS, Over the course of his extraordinary career, Don
Henley has established himself as one of the kings of classic rock;
his music continues to touch the lives of millions of fans across
generations, and this special milestone in his life presents a
welcome opportunity to honor this notable Texan; now, therefore, be
it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas
Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby congratulate Don Henley on
the occasion of his 70th birthday and extend to him sincere best
wishes for continued success and happiness; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for Mr. Henley as an expression of high regard by the Texas
House of Representatives.
Leach
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 122 was adopted by the House on August
15, 2017, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House