Henley’s passion remains strong Eagle turned activist to perform in Maine

PORTLAND – A trip to Don Henley’s Web site offers the visitor an interesting musical sample from his song “Workin’ It.”

“Before this gig is over, we’ve got to squeeze out one more hit. We’re workin’ it.”

Lyrics in the spirit of his 1982 attack on TV news, “Dirty Laundry,” to be sure, but certainly no one can accuse Henley of being a hypocrite to those words in terms of producing album after album in an effort to milk one more hit out of the system.

The album that produced “Workin’ It,” the 2000 release “Inside Job,” is the only release of purely original material by the former member of the Eagles in more than a decade.

Sure, in 1993, Henley brought his musical and environmental concerns together when he spearheaded “Common Thread: The Songs Of The Eagles,” an all-star, country music tribute that was named 1994’s “Album of the Year” by the Country Music Association.

A year later, the Eagles reunited for an MTV special that evolved into a two-year tour and the live album, “Hell Freezes Over.”

But Henley has spent the last decade largely promoting environmental causes, raising a family, appearing on other artists’ works (Trisha Yearwood’s “Walkaway Joe” and Sheryl Crow’s “It’s So Easy” quickly come to mind), and performing in concert.

So as Henley comes to Maine for a performance at 8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 14, at Merrill Auditorium in Portland, concertgoers should feel secure that the bulk of the music will involve the songs the name Don Henley instantly brings comes to mind.

Henley has been by far the most commercially successful of the Eagles since the group broke up in 1982 after more than a decade of popularizing a musical style often referred to as “California rock.” That blend of country, folk, rock, pop and blues sensibilities added a uniquely American voice to the music landscape, one so popular the band sold more than 100 million albums worldwide and remains a staple of adult contemporary, classic rock and even country playlists today.

Henley’s first solo effort, the 1982 release “I Can’t Stand Still,” was followed two years later by “Building the Perfect Beast,” and its hit singles “Boys of Summer” and “All She Wants to Do is Dance.” But perhaps his signature solo effort was 1989’s “End of the Innocence,” whose singles included the title cut, “New York Minute,” “The Heart of the Matter,” and “The Last Worthless Evening.”

Henley’s solo works offered a songwriting style both sarcastic and reflective, with an increasing attention to social issues. So it didn’t come as a total surprise that while touring to promote “The End of the Innocence” Henley decided to change priorities and remove himself somewhat from the public eye.

“After a couple of decades of being a public figure, a person grows tired of his own face, his own voice,” Henley said. “If this malaise is allowed to continue unchecked, it can deteriorate into something that my pals and I call ‘Death By Show Business.’

“This doesn’t refer to literal death, although that is sometimes the case, but more to a loss of enthusiasm and a withering of creativity, a sort of atrophy of the spirit. One day you wake up and you’re wearing the pathetic clown suit. Although I always tried to lead a varied life that included charitable work, I had reached a point where I wanted to do something proactive, something that wasn’t completely me-oriented.”

So in 1990, Henley founded The Walden Woods Project, which has gone on to become one of the more successful land conservation endeavors in America. To date, The Walden Woods Project has raised more $30 million, most of which has gone toward the purchase of environmentally sensitive and historically significant land in the Walden Woods of Massachusetts. The Thoreau Institute at Walden Woods, a subsidiary of The Walden Woods Project, houses the world’s most comprehensive library dedicated to the writings and philosophy of Henry David Thoreau, one of the nation’s most influential naturalists and philosophers.

Henley spent the early 1990s devoting his time to benefit concerts to support The Walden Woods Project, and he compiled and co-edited a book of environmental essays titled “Heaven Is Under Our Feet.”

In January 1994, Henley’s Los Angeles home was destroyed by the Northridge earthquake. He soon moved back to his native Texas, got married in 1995 and is now raising two children and working out of Samain Sound, his personal recording facility.

“My marriage and the birth of my children have had a profound effect,” Henley said.

“Despite all the sham and selfishness, life is still good. Children constantly rekindle hope and appreciation … It’s a wonderful thing.”

Henley’s career as an activist continues to flourish. In addition to The Walden Woods Project, Henley has been active in the passage of clean water legislation in California; the preservation of wildlife habitat and open space in Los Angeles’ Santa Monica Mountains; and the establishment of a wetland science research institute and numerous environmental education programs in the public schools and colleges of East Texas. He also has participated in Farm Aid, The Race to Erase MS, The Rhythm and Blues Foundation and The Rainforest Foundation.

Clearly social causes are at the heart of the matter for Don Henley these days. But for a generation or more of fans, his music is the essence of an equally satisfying experience.