Don Henley to Release Solo Country Album

With their 'Hotel California' era sound of blended country and rock, The Eagles established themselves as one of the most successful recording artists of the '70s ... and have had a major influence on modern country music ever since. Over the years, the band has disbanded and reunited to record and tour intermittently ... and along the way, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2007, the band released 'Long Road Out of Eden,' their first album in 28 years. They toured North America and Europe in 2009 in support of that album and will continue in 2010, including Australian dates.

"The most satisfying thing about the ongoing success of the band is the ongoing success of the band," the band's drummer, Don Henley tells Diablo, a San Francisco-based publication. Henley -- who sang harmony with Trisha Yearwood on her Top 5 hit, 'Walkaway Joe' in 1992 -- also reveals that he has been working on an upcoming, solo country album -- some originals and some covers. Stan Lynch, former drummer for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, is co-producing the project with him.

"Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers is one of my favorite bands of all time," says Henley. "I've known those guys for many years. Stan is one of my best friends, my son's godfather. We work together often and are currently co-producing my next album, which will be a collection of country songs – originals and covers. He's another quasi-redneck who is amazingly gifted and has a killer sense of humor. His dad was a professor at the University of Florida in Gainesville, and Stan lives on a sheep and timber farm, east of there.

"There are many different brotherhoods or cliques that exist among successful musicians, depending on age, background, experience and musical tastes," he continues. "And it's interesting to note that all the disparate brotherhoods get along, for the most part. I'd like to collaborate with Keb Mo, Randy Newman, Alison Krauss, Rebecca Crenshaw, Merle Haggard."

It is also interesting to note -- make that mind blowing -- how many far-flung corners of the globe The Eagles' classic, 'Hotel California' has touched ... including a remote village in Honduras.

"(That) song has somehow made its way into all corners of the globe, including some very remote places," Henley notes.

"The village you are referring to is on an isolated mountaintop in Honduras. The people there live without electricity or modern plumbing. It was the last place I expected to be recognized, but after we had been there for about 15 minutes, a young man went into a hut and reappeared with a beat-up, old cassette player that contained a cassette of 'Hotel California.' He pointed to the cassette player and then to me ... and said, 'You!'

"I also know that 'Hotel California' has traveled into space with astronauts and cosmonauts on numerous space shuttle missions," he continues. 'Music still transcends all barriers and boundaries, and we're grateful to be a part of that."

The Eagles will be hitting the road again in October. No release date has been announced yet for Henley's forthcoming country album.