Photo: Steve Jurvetson / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Public records list Don Henley as a singer, songwriter and drummer. Born on July 22, 1947, Don Henley is from Gilmer, Texas, United States. That works out to 79 years old in 2026. Schooling on record includes Linden-Kildare High School and University of North Texas. Recorded honors include MusiCares Person of the Year (2007), National Humanities Medal (1997), Kennedy Center Honors (2016) and 1 more.
My Take
Don Henley occupies a strange and wonderful category for me: the drummer who happened to own one of the great voices in American rock. Singing Hotel California from behind a drum kit is an absurd feat of multitasking, yet he made it sound effortless and weary in exactly the right way. His Texas roots give the Eagles' songs their dusty, mythic quality, and his solo career proved the band was never carrying him. The Kennedy Center Honors felt overdue when it finally arrived in 2016. Whenever I want to understand the melancholy underneath 1970s California optimism, I put on Desperado and let that voice do the explaining.
This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Don Henley
- Name (Japanese)
- ドン・ヘンリー
- Reading
- どん・へんりー
- Born
- July 22, 1947 (age 79)
- Origin
- Gilmer, Texas, United States
- Occupation
- singer / songwriter / drummer / guitarist / musician
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Cancer / Boar
2. Background
- High school
- Linden-Kildare High School
- University
- University of North Texas
Awards & achievements
- 2007 MusiCares Person of the Year
- 1997 National Humanities Medal
- 2016 Kennedy Center Honors
- 2015 Americana Trailblazer Award
3. Links
- Official sitehttps://www.donhenley.com
- Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%20Henley
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%89%E3%83%B3%E3%83%BB%E3%83%98%E3%83%B3%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC
- Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q316454
4. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was Don Henley born?
Born July 22, 1947 (age 79).
Where is Don Henley from?
Don Henley is from Gilmer, Texas, United States.
What does Don Henley do?
Don Henley works as singer, songwriter, drummer, guitarist, musician.
Singer — see all → · Songwriter — see all → · More people from the United States →