Don Henley of The Eagles to Release a New Country Album “Cass County” w/ Big List of Collaborators
Don Henley, the singer and drummer for the Eagles, will be releasing a country album called Cass County via Capitol Record—his first solo album in 15 years. This was the news coming out of an exclusive listening party held at the Ruby event space as part of this week’s CMA Fan Fest in Nashville, hosted by Beverly Keel. There is no release date for the album as of yet, but plenty of details were revealed about the album as part of the listening party, including an impressive list of collaborators and songwriters that will be included in the project.
Five years in the making, Cass County was quietly recorded in Nashville using top musicians. Cass County is a county in Texas near the Arkansas and Louisiana nexus where Don Henley grew up.
“I’m associated with California a lot because of that other band that I play in, but I really and truly was born and raised in Cass County, Texas. I’m a Southerner and a Texan,” Henley said during the listening party.
And don’t expect this to be an aging rocker looking for a second wind in country by chasing the current trends. The majority of the album was written by Henley and the original drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Stan Lynch, and is said to be drenched in steel guitar. “He and I both have an abiding appreciation for rock & roll and country music, and the history of it. I think that’s what’s missing from a lot of records today. They haven’t gone to school on the older stuff, and gone back to the early days of the genre. So we do that we talk about records and production and players. You’ve got to live and breathe this stuff. It’s not a hobby. It’s a calling. It’s something that we love doing.”
Other artists appearing or contributing songs to the project include:
Merle Haggard- Lucinda Williams
- The Louvin Brothers
- Martina McBride
- Trisha Yearwood
- Ashley Monroe
- Vince Gill
- Alison Krauss
- Dolly Parton
- Miranda Lambert
- Mick Jagger
- Tift Merritt
Jamey Johnson also says he was asked to sing on the album.
Songs written by others include Tift Merritt’s “Bramble Rose” on which Miranda Lambert and Mick Jagger both appear, and The Louvin Brothers “When I Stop Dreaming” arranged as a duet with Dolly Parton.
Other songs said to be included on the album are “Praying for Rain” with a choir featuring Vince Gill, Alison Krauss, Ashley Monroe and Trisha Yearwood; “Train in the Distance”—a rootsy song with Lucinda Williams; “The Cost of Living” with Merle Haggard; “That Old Flame” with Marina McBride; and “Words Can Break Your Heart” with Trisha Yearwood.
“I woke up the other day and I said, ‘Oh my God. I really screwed up because when I play live, these people aren’t going to show up,'” Henley said at the event. “I chose people that I respect musically. People whose work I respect, whose voices I like, who are all great, authentic singers who can really sing when called upon to sing. Some of them are friends of mine and some of them I had never met before. I was flattered and flabbergasted when all of them said, ‘Yeah.'”
Henley plans to tour behind the album as well. Though it was recorded in Nashville, Cass County is being released by Capitol Records out of Los Angeles, not on Music Row.
“This is a natural progression for me,” Henley said. “It’s not me trying to do the ‘Don Henley country album.’ It’s who I am and where I come from.”
June 12, 2015 @ 5:23 pm
I am a huge fan of his. I think he’s a great songwriter. Can’t wait to hear this.
June 12, 2015 @ 5:26 pm
He has already done walk a way joe and I loved it. Much respect for him and the eagles. This album looks to be jam up
June 12, 2015 @ 5:27 pm
A surprising number of people are willing to work with Don Henley. I can’t stand him or the Eagles.
June 13, 2015 @ 8:56 am
Glad you said it, I didn’t have the balls to, that band is one of the kings of “klassic rock” repetitive thin playlist champs.
June 14, 2015 @ 6:46 am
While I’ve always enjoyed the Eagles’ music, Henley’s and especially Frey’s egos have always been a big turnoff.
June 12, 2015 @ 5:40 pm
Jamey Johnson also posted on his Facebook that he worked on the project.
June 12, 2015 @ 6:23 pm
Interesting that didn’t come out in the listening party. Beverly Keel does a lot of the promotion for Jamey. Another interesting name though.
June 12, 2015 @ 5:42 pm
Big Don Henley fan here. Just based on what has been written here, it’ll probably be a killer record. And won’t piss a drop on country radio.
The Eagles always had deep country roots, so I agree that this won’t be the “Don Henley Goes Country” record.
Just another reason to be excited about music, because this stuff happens.
June 12, 2015 @ 5:43 pm
Well then. We shall see, I suppose.
I almost have faith in Don Henley, though. He was on the record apologizing for the Eagles’ influence on modern “country” more than a decade ago. I can only imagine what he thinks now.
“It’s a constant source of irritation to me that great country artists like Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash and George Jones don”™t get airplay on a great many country stations today…What they call ‘young country,’ unfortunately, is an offshoot of what we used to do. It’s our fault. I’m so sorry. I apologize to the entire universe.”
June 12, 2015 @ 5:52 pm
I like that he’s working with a smart, talented guy like Stan Lynch. The Heartbreakers took a dive after he left. Other than that I’m generally turned off by albums with a long, big-name guest list. Lucinda Williams? She can’t sing anymore.
June 12, 2015 @ 5:53 pm
“It”™s not me trying to do the ”˜Don Henley country album.”™…”
Looks like maybe Mr. Henley reads SCM?
June 12, 2015 @ 5:54 pm
He has no choice but to try a country album – rock radio would never stop playing Sunset Grill long enough to play anything new by him.
In all seriousness though, I think Henley COULD make a good country album, but these all-star cast albums, are rarely worth more than one spin. They just always seem to come across as novelty-ish. The focus ends up being way too much on “look who’s singing on this track”, on not enough on the songs themselves.
Would love to be shown differently though! Bring it on!
June 12, 2015 @ 6:19 pm
I don’t know if we should think of this as an “All Star Cast” album. I agree they can be nauseating, and the music takes a back seat to all the big names you’re supposed to be impressed with. I thought it bogged down Jamey Johnson’s tribute to Hank Cochran. But it could be he just decided to work with these guys instead of no-name backup singers. We really won’t know until we hear it.
June 12, 2015 @ 6:37 pm
This seems a bit different than some of the rock star bandwagon jumpers trying to shore up their career. If he has been working on this for 5 years, it’s clearly a labor of love, not a cash grab (I doubt he needs the cash anyway, old Eagles records still sell by the truckload and their concerts sell out). As far as the all star cast, sounds more like he dialed people up over time based on respect and admiratoon, not with an aim to appeal to the masses. I personally like the Eagles and bet this will be quite good. Maybe not a great country album, but at least a great country influenced Don Henley album.
June 12, 2015 @ 6:42 pm
Him and Frey used to run away from the country title,now he’s Mr.Texas country boy. Whatever.
June 12, 2015 @ 11:09 pm
I’m not so sure that’s valid criticism. Lots of us who are just listeners were schooled on country. We grew up but branched out into rock. We never really left country, we just came full circle back to country as we aged. I’m looking forward to Henley’s album.
June 12, 2015 @ 11:12 pm
I love Frey’s vocals on Smuggler’s Blues. I’ve had it on my itunes and still play it.
June 12, 2015 @ 7:05 pm
It’s not like the Eagles were any strangers to country music, either. There were definite country influences in a lot of songs, if not songs that were outright country. Songs like “Lyin’ Eyes,” “Desperado,” “Tequila Sunrise.” I can honestly see this being a great album.
June 12, 2015 @ 7:13 pm
Yep. I’ve been saying for a while that the recordings from Common Thread were more country than a lot of what gets played on country radio anymore. You could say the same of the originals.
June 12, 2015 @ 9:43 pm
I think the Vince Gill version of ‘I Can’t Tell You Why’ is better than the Timothy B. Schmidt Eagles version. A couple of others on Common Thread may have been better than the Eagles versions. That album was one of the very best ‘tribute’ records I’ve ever heard.
June 13, 2015 @ 7:53 am
Indeed. I particularly liked Alan Jackson’s “Tequila Sunrise.” Granted, AJ makes damn near anything sound country, but he just nailed the shit outta that song.
June 13, 2015 @ 7:36 am
Yes “Common Thread” was a gateway drug for me and my friends to move from classic rock to country. Still stands the test of time as a very good album today.
June 13, 2015 @ 11:43 am
For me, it actually had the opposite effect — as a fan of early ’90s New Country, I was already into several of the artists on that disc (especially Trisha Yearwood, Suzy Bogguss, Clint Black, AJ, and Vince Gill), and their covers inspired me to seek out the originals — but I agree, it has held up pretty well. 😀
June 13, 2015 @ 7:48 am
Desperado is great album. In addition to some of their better hits, there are some really good album cuts.
June 12, 2015 @ 7:35 pm
This is hardly a stretch for someone that played with the Eagles and sang on “Walkaway Joe”, one of the great country songs from the 90s. I probably need to get it as soon as it comes out. He clearly doesn’t need the money or fame, so this will definitely be a great passion project.
June 12, 2015 @ 8:40 pm
I’m not sure what you meant by “Jamey Johnson says he was asked to sing on the cd” comment. I have always loved the Eagles, but Jamey Johnson is a genius when it comes to writing and an excellent singer and musician as well. Don Henley should be honored to have Jamey Johnson in his presence!!!
June 12, 2015 @ 10:09 pm
Hey Sandy,
I didn’t really “mean” anything, I was just conveying information. This story was sourced from multiple outlets that reported on the Don Henley listening party. However none of them said anything about Jamey Johnson being involved, which would lead me to believe his name did not come up in the presentation. However today on Facebook, Jamey today said that he sang on the album. The reason I included him separately is because he was not part of any “official” information on the album. I wasn’t attempting to imply anything, or somehow cut down Jamey whatsoever.
June 12, 2015 @ 9:36 pm
This is actually a legitimate kind of crossover I can see myself really enjoying.
One of the first songs I ever learned to play on my guitar was “Peaceful Easy Feeling”, and that is peppered with distinctive country instrumentation. Lyrically, Henley ‘ s contributions haven’t been far off from the hallmarks of storytelling and emotional slices of life either.
I am a fair bit excited about this.
June 13, 2015 @ 1:04 am
Yup . I don’t even see this as a crossover. Not only were the Eagles’ tunes riddled with country influences in terms of instrumentation and rhythm but they were strong narratives of substance with lots of imagery and movement in the lyric thanks , in large part , to Henley’s contributions as a writer . They darn near define country when you consider the influences they drew from and the people THEY have influenced .
June 13, 2015 @ 7:05 am
Agree. Listening to the Eagles now, their music is more country than just about everything on the radio now.
June 13, 2015 @ 3:18 am
Well now this is how a rock star makes a country record, though admittedly The Eagles had a lot of country in them.
June 13, 2015 @ 4:48 am
The best rock crossover into country to me is John Fogerty’s Blue Ridge Rangers album back in the early ’70s. The follow-up to it a few years ago wasn’t bad either. On second thought, scratch that. Much of Jerry Lee Lewis’s career is the best crossover.
There are definitely some other rock artists who I think could easily make a credible country album if they wanted to. Henley is one and I’d also include Tom Petty (his band Mudcrutch pretty much already is country rock), Mellencamp, Neil Young, Jackson Browne, Brian Setzer, and any number of southern rockers. Hell, most of them are already at least as country as the majorty of what gets played on “country” radio these days.
June 13, 2015 @ 1:09 pm
Don’t forget Bob Seger!
June 13, 2015 @ 1:30 pm
I think Seger made a country album or at least released a single a couple years back.
June 13, 2015 @ 5:31 am
Henley has just as much claim to make a country record as anyone. And yeah, while the Eagles eventually became a bloated and self-important industry, the early Eagles — and I mean while Bernie Leadon was still in the group — was a shit-hot garage band with great harmonies that spawned a bunch of imitators.
June 13, 2015 @ 8:20 am
HEADS UP:
Radio Disney Country will launch this November.
“The 24/7 network will feature chart-bound young artists and today’s biggest Country hits including HAYES, BALLERINI, MADDIE & TAE, FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE, THE BAND PERRY, THOMAS RHETT and RAELYNN. Multi-platform offerings will include music videos, in-studio interviews and performances.”
This is strange to me because regular Radio Disney is being phased out with only the Los Angeles station remaining and being syndicated as an HD Radio subchannel.
http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/142409/radio-disney-country-to-launch-this-fall
June 13, 2015 @ 8:24 am
I try not to be overly negative in my comments, but am I the only here who thinks the Eagles suck?
Not to say that this particular album won’t be decent – I haven’t heard it.
June 13, 2015 @ 8:51 am
I agree Applejack, I also think they suck. And for all the talk about sell out people and bands on this site hard to believe so much excitement over what I consider one of the biggest sell out ever. My humble opinion.
June 13, 2015 @ 9:32 am
I’m seeing a significant amount of disgruntlement over this idea, both here on this site and other places. Don Henley and the Eagles are very polarizing, and I think we’re seeing this play out in how people feel about this record. I personally am just conveying the news. I’ll wait to judge if I hate it or not until I’ve actually heard the music. The one thing I am taking exception to is the idea that this is not different than other rockers “going country.” Rockers looking to revitalize their careers don’t do it by covering The Louvin Brothers and Tift Merritt. Don Henley is doing this because he wants to. Who knows if it will be any good.
June 13, 2015 @ 9:55 am
I”™m seeing a significant amount of disgruntlement over this idea, both here on this site and other places.
Well, with what Steven Tyler and Bret Michaels have come out with, it’s almost understandable. Almost.
June 13, 2015 @ 9:54 am
As someone who grew up on the Eagles and has remained a fan to this day, I’m really looking forward to this. Henley is one heck of a talented guy and the collaboration list looks great (aside from miranda lambert, of course).
June 13, 2015 @ 10:17 pm
I always think it’s funny when someone says a band sucks. Have you seen Henley drum and sing at the same time? The man is pretty amazing as a musician. Now while you may not care for their style or music to say that the Eagles suck isn’t a fair statement. One of my favorite bands of all time is the ramones. (Yes I know this is a country music place). The eagles can play circles around the ramones any day of the week. I personally like the ramones a lot more but they “suck” compared to the eagles. A friend if mine had seen the eagles live in many occasions as well as many eagles tribute bands. He says if the tribute bands play really well then they don’t sing well. And if they can sing well they don’t play as well. Overall his point was that the eagles do both really well. Do Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston suck? Well I can’t stand their music but they still have serious vocal chops. So yes while I agree with The Dude when he says “I hate the fucking Eagles” the eagles do not suck, there is a lot of talent there.
June 13, 2015 @ 10:51 pm
OK I suck for saying they suck.
June 13, 2015 @ 11:07 pm
I know when people say a band sucks they aren’t necessarily talking about their talent per say just the fact that they don’t like them. I’m guilty if saying it myself. In this case I only pointed it out because it was the eagles who have amazing talent but I still don’t care for the music much
June 13, 2015 @ 11:48 pm
I remember hearing an interview with either Henley or Glen Frey probably a dozen years ago, or maybe it was Don Felder. Whoever it was, basically they admitted the Eagles were decent, but average musicians. That is why they brought in Joe Walsh. At the time, Joe had left The James Gang, had already been playing in the studio as their session guitarist, and was one of the best guitarists in the business. He was the ringer musician the band was lacking, and that’s what brought the Eagles their greatest success with “Hotel California.”
Just throwing that out there. I agree they were probably still better musicians than the Ramones, but in the end, does the music resonate? That’s always more important than raw musicianship.
June 14, 2015 @ 11:32 am
You know, I really like the Eagles. “Desperado”, “Peaceful Easy Feeling”, and “Lyin Eyes” are much better songs than most of what plays on country radio today.
I’ve been less enamored of Henley’s solo work in the past. There was a song that played frequently on the radio around the time when I was in college, I think it was “The End of the Innocence”, where he gets political by denigrating Ronald Reagan as “the tired old man we elected king”. He has a right to say it of course, but to me it seemed like a shallow, knee jerk reaction. But then again, artists are not known to be the most practical thinkers.
June 13, 2015 @ 10:51 pm
As much as I love pre-breakup Eagles, and Henley and Frey’s solo stuff, I thought Long Road out of Eden was a serious let down. Ya, I know, the title track was good, if a little long winded, but the album was not. That being the case, can’t say I am overly jazzed about this project. Might spawn a good song or two, but I don’t foresee an album in heavy rotation on my phone out of it.
June 14, 2015 @ 4:29 am
Don Henley has to be the most talented musician around.
This album has new Henley compositions too so should be a great mix of old and new Country/Americana.