Billy Joel "Piano Man"

After slipping into a taxi outside of an all-inclusive resort in Cancun, the cab driver peered into his rear view mirror and noticed me and the handful of fellow Americans. He quickly grabbed a compact disc and slid it into his player. Moments later, the Eagles "Hotel California" came blaring out of his crackly speakers. With Don Henley and company introducing us to the place you can check out but never leave, the driver continued his drive into the bustling downtown area. Similar to cabs in America, he didn't run the air conditioning during this hot and humid March night -- is this some sort of universal rule among cab drivers? Other songs we heard on his CD included "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Piano Man". My guess is the driver had a special "gringo mix" of popular sing-along tunes for whenever he chauffeurs American tourists. I could also be wrong, but I don't think I am...

The Eagles "Get Over It"

Taking personal responsibility is not something most folks do. This theme resonated with Don Henley who (along with Glenn Frey) turned their rage into "Get Over It" -- a song that became The Eagles' first hit in nearly 15 years. "Get Over It" put the rock band back on the radio (and well as the road) again in support of their Hell Freezes Over tour.

Don Henley "The Boys of Summer"

Imagine a super-group that consisted of Don Henley, Sting and Billy Joel. Actually, it's not so far-fetched. The trio floated the idea of creating a band together. Imagine that text conversation:

Don Henley "Taking You Home"

Being a part-time radio DJ meant that you held down another full-time job (usually outside of radio) and you generally only worked weekends and holidays. However, the reality is that your boss could phone you and ask you to cover a shift with little to no notice.

One night, late in the evening, my roommate knocked on my door to tell me that my boss was on the phone. I immediately knew he would be asking me to cover the overnight shift. That next day, my corporate boss from the New York publishing company where I worked was holding an important morning meeting that I needed to attend. He rarely traveled to our office and also had a name much like an adult movie star, so I was eager to meet him. I explained this to my boss who assured me that I would only have to cover from midnight until 1:30 A.M. because Kelli, another part-time DJ, would take over from there. Kelli worked as a bartender at a restaurant that closed at 1:00 A.M. and she would drive to the station immediately afterward. I was a sprite young 24 year-old who could easily bounce back from a night with five or six hours, so I agreed to work with the understanding that I would be home by 2:00 A.M.. My boss thanked me, and I hopped in a cab and headed to work.

Around 1:45 A.M., the radio station's hotline rang. The hotline is a special phone number that only employees of the station knew and used. It's rarely a good thing when the hotline rings (in fact, most stations have a strobe light that flashes to alert you when someone is phoning the hotline). Usually, that line is reserved for an angry Program Director calling to tell you what you did wrong or for fellow DJs to tell you they're running late. Kelli, who was already 15 minutes late, called to tell me she was in a car accident and would be late. Kelli's voice sounded shaken and frail. She said she wasn't injured and had to wait for the police to file an accident report and possibly might need a tow truck for her SUV. Remembering my early morning meeting at my other job, I asked her not to worry, just do what she needed to do and keep me posted. Nearly an hour later, she phoned again to say that she was almost done with the police and would soon be on her way...provided her car would cooperate. At this point, it was nearly 2:00 A.M. I told her not to worry about coming into work--I would cover the entire shift. Relieved, Kelli thanked me and told me she would pay me back somehow. I hurriedly phoned my boss's office at the magazine and left a voicemail explaining what happened and to say that I would be a little late coming into work in the morning.

With a solid two to three hours of sleep, I dragged myself into work later that morning but could not find anyone at their desks, in their cubicles or even in the company's break room. My boss' office door was closed, so I knew at least someone was there. Plus, there were purses and briefcases strewn about other people's cubicles, but no other people. I dropped my coat and backpack down and sat at my desk to check email and voicemail. Aside from the usual client email, I noticed an email from our corporate market manager with the porn star name. Before I could read the contents of the email, my boss was standing behind me and asked me to join him in his office. I walked with him to his office where he introduced me to a man sitting at his desk--at last, I finally met the corporate boss with the porn star name! This portly man (who was definitely not a porn star) informed me that our parent company discontinued one of the magazines in our office and also dismissed all but five people from my office. The Chicago office housed production, sales and editorial whereas our New York office contained billing, circulation and the corporate big wigs. Gone were our editorial and production folks including people I hired as well as others with 30-some years of service. Somehow, I was one of the five whose jobs were spared. When my boss at the radio station called me that afternoon to thank me for covering the entire overnight shift, I filled him in on the mass firings. He apologized again and promised to repay me in some way. Before too long, he would help rescue me from my job at the failing magazine with a newly created job at the radio station....

Savage Garden "I Want You"

Don Henley infamously said The Eagles would only reunite when "hell freezes over." One could argue Darren Hayes of Savage Garden made as strong of a statement when asked if the Australian Pop group would ever reunite. Hayes said, "I'd only do it if it cured cancer." Despite hell not freezing over, The Eagles reunited in 1994. As of  today, Savage Garden has not reunited and cancer has not been cured.

Don Henley "The Heart of the Matter"

It's not often that you can't find a song on YouTube, but that's the case with Don Henley's 1990 ballad "The Heart of the Matter". The only version I can find is a live version that comes from The Eagles 1994 reunion tour Hell Freezes Over. Although The Eagles didn't include the tune on their album Hell Freezes Over, it was included on the DVD.

The Eagles "Best of My Love"

Q: What meandering ballad from Country Rock band The Eagles was the group's first #1 hit?

A: "Best of My Love"

The Eagles' tune topped the Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary Chart in 1974 (then called the Easy Listening Chart)

Don Henley "All She Wants to Do Is Dance"

You might recognize the background vocals on Don Henley's "All She Wants to Do Is Dance".  Patty Smyth (of Scandal) and Martha Davis (of The Motels) help out the former Eagle front man.  Smyth would later return the favor when Henley accompanied her on her 1992 hit "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough".

Don Henley - "New York Minute"

A haunting tune from Don Henley's 1990 The End of the Innocence, "New York Minute", proved to be a mild hit for Henley in 1991.  Fast forward a decade and the song found new life after the tragic 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center.  Listen to the lyrics today and you'll likely get the chills.

Stevie Nicks & Don Henley - "Leather and Lace"

Don Henley's name is attached to a number of Adult Contemporary duets including the 1992 ballad "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" with Patty Smyth, but a decade earlier he scored a Top 10 hit accompanying Stevie Nicks in "Leather and Lace".  It was Nicks first solo album while still a member of Fleetwood Mac.  Henley, on the other hand, had just exited The Eagles after a nine-year run.

Boz Scaggs - "Look What You've Done to Me"

Talk about a song with a superstar cast: Boz Scaggs' "Look What You've Done to Me" features Glenn Frey, Don Henley, and Timothy B. Schmit of The Eagles on backup vocals, Eagles' guitarist Don Felder plays guitar, while super-producer David Foster and members of Toto are credited on the keyboards.  This song found its way onto the Urban Cowboy Soundtrack, yet all by itself is a Time-Life Music Collection.

Don Henley - "The Last Worthless Evening"

"Some day I'll get the nerve to walk up to you and say 'this is the last worthless evening that you'll have to spend'."

Don Henley - "Sit Down, You're Rockin' The Boat"

I had no idea until today that Don Henley's "Sit Down, You're Rockin' The Boat" was a cover of the song from the musical Guys and Dolls.  (Note: this doesn't absolve Don Henley from releasing such a dud.)  "Sit Down" scratched at the eardrums of Adult Contemporary fans in 1993 and somehow managed to hit #13 on the Adult Contemporary Chart.  It was further used to torture people when the NFL put the song in a TV commercial about exerting proper behavior at football games.

The Eagles - "Learn to Be Still"

My favorite track from The Eagles' Hell Freezes Over was the sleeper hit "Learn to Be Still".  It had Adult Contemporary hit written all over it, but it never quite saw the light of day.

Don Henley - "Taking You Home"

A friend of mine who once worked in radio told me about how Don Henley once did an appearance at a radio station he worked.  At the conclusion of the event, Don stood up from the table where he had been sitting and one of his handlers walked over and put Don's jacket on for him.

Don Henley - "The End of the Innocence"

After receiving a Sony Walkman for Christmas in 1989, I used to spend my late nights listening to the radio while my parents thought I was fast sleep.  There was no shortage of Don Henley in 1990 seeing as he had just released his album The End of the Innocence.  I must have been too tired because I thought Don was singing: "this is the end of the embassy" in the song "The End of the Innocence".

Don Henley - "Sunset Grill"

No Chicagoan will refuse an offer to go sailing on Lake Michigan in the summer.  In this instance, my girlfriend's aunt invited us to join her and her boyfriend George on his sailboat.  Within an hour, we were standing at the Columbia Yacht Club waiting to board the boat...aptly titled The Sunset Grill.  We both took a seat as The Sunset Grill made its voyage into the choppy waters of Lake Michigan.  Within thirty minutes of sailing, the winds on the lake shifted and The Sunset Grill was running nearly parallel to the water.  George sprung to action and lowered one sail and then raised another in an effort to keep The Sunset Grill afloat.  The jib line then came loose and got lodged on the engine's propeller.  George decided to reverse the engine to unfasten the line, but the key broke off in the ignition switch.  For the first time, George's resolve dimmed as The Sunset Grill continued to drift farther away from shore.  A call was made to the Coast Guard who promptly showed up but did nothing other than to verify that we were wearing life preservers and weren't intoxicated.  The Coast Guard then radioed for a tow boat to bring us back to shore.  When the tow boat arrived, there was one guy on board and he struggled to pull his boat close enough to us and sling a rope toward our boat.  It took nearly 45 minutes for the tow boat to connect to The Sunset Grill.  Finally, we were headed toward shore.  That proud "I'm on a boat!" feeling I had when The Sunset Grill first embarked on Lake Michigan completely evaporated into shame as the tow boat dragged us to the marina.  When we finally reached firm ground, George promised to treat us to dinner at the Yacht Club where he admitted that this had only been his second time sailing.

Patty Smyth & Don Henley - "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough"

How many relationships have you remained in when despite the fact that the relationship is going nowhere?  Sometimes a failing relationship isn't about someone cheating or not giving it their all; it's about two people who love one another with all their hearts, but still can't make their relationship work.  It's not you, it's us.  The 1992 ballad from Patty Smyth and Don Henley perfectly sums up this dilema.  It's one of life's biggest lessons that baby, "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough"...