Eagle Proud
Don Henley defends musicians' right to encourage listeners to vote
Author: Matt Gleason
Publication: Tulsa World
Date: September 17, 2004
Abstract: Henley talks politics, and addresses getting booed in Orange County.
Word had it Don Henley wanted to "talk to Tulsa," so when Henley called Thursday afternoon, one expected him to have a set agenda.
But when asked what was on his mind, Henley simply said in that Texas accent of his, "Well, I'm coming there to play a concert for you at the Brady Theater this coming Saturday night, and I'm looking forward to it."
Hold on, that's it? He just wants to talk about the show and not politics, the environment or the state of the world?
Well, yeah. He figured, why stir up trouble.
"I don't particularly want to get into politics," he said. "It tends to piss people off when musicians talk about politics."
He jested the reason was "because we don't know nothin'. We're just stupid musicians."
His reluctance to address politics was eased when asked about a solo show not long ago in Costa Mesa, Calif., during which Henley got the Bronx cheer.
The Orange County Register reported Henley was booed because he tried to defend Linda Ronstadt's anti-President Bush statements. And later in the show, he sang Randy Newman's "Political Science," which he said Bush and Vice President Cheney should sing.
The song's satirical lyrics include the lines, "We give them money, but are they grateful?/No, they're spiteful and they're hateful/They don't respect us, so let's surprise them/We'll drop the big one and pulverize them."
Henley said the Register report was "a gross exaggeration of what happened."
"It's not accurate at all because that's a right-wing newspaper," he said. "They know my politics and they do what they always do, which is to skew things toward the right and try to make a big deal out of nothing."
Henley admitted he does sometimes get booed, though.
"You know, I get booed for things I say all the time," he said. "That's part of the concert experience ... Anyway, the whole thing was blown completely out of proportion. Orange County has never been that hostile. We have lots of fans in Orange County."
Another point Henley wanted to make was his fans should know him by now.
"I've been around for over 32 years now," he said. "I've been writing and singing songs with political content in them for a very long time, and I'm the same guy I've always been.
"If these people are supposed to be 'fans,' then I say they're not. I say they haven't been listening very closely to my music. My music has been wallpaper for them, I guess."
Actually, he'd like to ask the detractors in that audience something.
"I would ask them, 'Who'd did you think you were going to see? Toby Keith? Lee Greenwood, maybe? Let's get real here.' "
When Henley's on tour with the Eagles overseas, he said the legendary band doesn't get booed.
"In the Eagles, we don't do much political content," he said. "We keep it neutral and tell them we're glad to be there. We might make a smart-alek remark, or two, about our current administration or something because none of us are too happy about the way things are going."
So do musicians like himself, Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews and other prominent musicians have the power to sway votes in the upcoming presidential election?
"I don't know if musicians have the power to sway votes," he said. "As for myself and others, we don't want to tell anybody how to vote. I think we want to motivate people to get involved in the process because not nearly enough Americans vote.
"We don't take advantage of this wonderful priviledge that we have in this country, which so many people have fought and died for over the years, to express our opinions at the ballot box. It's shameful."
Henley said he admires Springsteen, Matthews and a host of other musicians for taking a relatively controversial political stance because "there are economic consequences now in this country."
For those who discount what musicians have to say about politics, Henley said some musicians actually have something worthwhile to add.
"I think musicians, especially older, wiser musicians who have traveled the world several times like I have and like Springsteen has, have just as good a bird's eye view of what's going on around the world," he said.
"I know for a fact that I've traveled the world and been exposed to more cultures than probably half the people in the United States legislature."
After all, he said, "it's not like musicians sit around in a little room and don't get exposed to things."
Henley happens to subscribe to "just about every political magazine and journal that is printed" -- even the ones he doesn't agree with.
"I read them on airplanes and on buses," he said. "I have a college education and I'm a citizen.
"When I became a famous musician, I didn't give up my citizenship and the rights that go with it. I have a right to speak, and if people don't like what I have to say, that's fine."
And it's worth any financial consequence, he said.
"We are not just wallpaper," Henley said. "I think that's the way Bruce feels about it and a lot of the others do, too. We're willing to take some chances.
"Bruce has several beautiful children and, to us, the situation has become that dire -- that we are willing to go out there and risk losing some record sales because we love this country so much that we want to do something to make things better."
On a lighter note, Henley's going to start work on another solo record in 2005, and "continue to work on the long-lost Eagles album."
He figures he's going to stay busy for quite a long while.
"There's just a lot of work to be done," he said. "I hope I live to be 110."
