Open Letter To Don Henley On Thoughts of Ending Eagles!

"Now, when you say that pizza comes with free coke, how much are we talking about?"

In a recent article in the Washington Post by Geoff Edgers, Eagles founding member Don Henley states in no uncertain terms that the band he formed in 1973 with Glenn Frey is no more.

This time, though, it isn't about "irreconcilable differences" or money, it is about paying proper respect to the man whose band it had always been and how Glenn Frey's passing this past January confirmed that in no uncertain terms.

"I don't see how we could go out and play without the guy who started the band," says Henley. "It would just seem like greed or something,"
Dear Don,

First off, just let me say that I've admired you from afar for quite some time. Of course, it has more to do with your successful, albeit underrated solo output than anything you've done with Eagles. I mention this to show you that I have absolutely no horse in this race and that I will more than likely not be there should the Eagles ever find themselves performing in Chicago again. Granted, this has more to do with my unwillingness to pay $350 or more for one concert ticket.

The idea that you suspect that we the fans might see it as desperate or greedy is, quite frankly, absurd. That ship sailed long ago and we the fans rarely stop to consider such things. Need I remind you that bands half your band's age are now touring the country with only one original member, or LESS! For a time, both Foreigner and Molly Hatchet were touring, quite profitably, with precisely no original members.

Additionally, the last time I did catch Eagles in-concert (the publication paying me to review the show popped for the ticket), I must say that I have yet to see an audience since that was as enthralled by what they were witnessing that I often found myself glancing back at the stage to see what I was missing.

Quite frankly, it sounds like you're giving more credence to the voices of the band's detractors than to those whose smiling faces you've been staring at every time your band hits the stage.

Continuing with Eagles would bring a ton of happiness to those people and, I think, to anyone who knows how much those songs and this band meant to Glenn.

Now, if you, yourself, are done with the band because, hey, you've given the best years of your life to this crazy business and you deserve to decide whatever the hell you do or do not want to do for whatever reason works for you, then that's perfectly acceptable and I wish you much happiness.

But if you and the guys want to play, don't let the voices of the "way things were" influence you so much so that the voices of the "way things actually are" are never heard.

See, it used to be a kiss-of-death to license your song for use in a TV show or commercial, but, as you well know, we live in a time when licensing your songs is almost the only way to get your music heard by a mass audience these days.

Similarly, the desire to relive our younger days has opened up a huge cottage industry of tribute acts that are now putting on stadium-sized productions to fill the void left by a beloved bands that, for whatever reason, can't bring themselves to give the people what they want.

So, would we the fans rather have the Eagles, albeit one man short, or a bunch of hokey tribute acts mining that territory to the tune of millions of dollars?

Granted, it's not always about money, but if thousands upon thousands are willing to pay good money to see a tribute act so they can get off on those songs again, then why not give them the real deal?

You may not be quite ready to hear this yet. Mourning is such a personal thing, I know, but I think you'll get there sooner than you think and I look forward to seeing you gaze out at all those shiny happy faces and say "Dammit, that fucker from The Shit was right."

And when you do...would it kill you to play "Dirty Laundry" because that, my friend, is still my fucking jam?

Take it easy,

Darren "The Shit" Robbins