Bob Seger Told Don Henley To Do What?
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - SEPTEMBER 27: Don Henley of the Eagles performs at MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 27, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
What did Bob Seger say to Don Henley that changed one of Don’s biggest solo hits? It’s an amazing story from producer Niko Bolas. You’ll also discover that the song (at least the music) was created by Tom Petty’s guitar player for Tom…like we said, it’s an amazing story.
@insideblackbird The story of taking Don Henley’s Boys Of Summer higher and higher #NikoBolas #BoysOfSummer #tracklist #recordingsession
♬ original sound - Inside Blackbird
Here’s part of what Niko talked about:
What happened with boys of summer? Well, boys of summer was written by Mike Campbell for Tom Petty. And Tom didn’t want to do the song or didn’t hear it. Don did. He wrote amazing lyrics. Mike had the whole thing programmed in what was then new, this Lynn 9000, and played all the guitars. And we cut it, we mixed it, cut a single, 7in, came back to the studio, it was a Friday night, and we were playing it back and everything’s cool.And Bob Seger stopped by to visit Don. And he comes in the control room And everybody’s having drinks and celebrating. The record’s almost over.And Bob looked at Do and he said “that’s a great record…why don’t you…” (watch the video above for the rest – very cool story). If you’re looking for more Seger – you can always check out this interview with Bob for “Seger De Mayo”
Since we’re discussing Don Henley – did you know there’s a mistake in “Hotel California”? Really. He recently mentioned in an interview “I consciously chose to use the word ‘spirit’ to describe wine because of the possible pun, even though I knew that ‘wine’ is not distilled. I needed a word that would rhyme with the prior line… But ‘We haven’t had that beverage here since 1969’ doesn’t sound as good as ‘spirit,’ now does it? By using the word ‘spirit,’ I was trying to strike a balance between ambiguity and semi-coherence…”
Okay, that’s a new one.
Jim O'Brien is the Host of "Big Jim's House" Morning Show at 94.7 WCSX in Detroit. Jim spent eight years in the U.S. Naval Submarine Service, has appeared on Shark Tank (Man Medals Season 5 Ep. 2), raised over two million dollars for local charities and is responsible for Glenn Frey Drive and Bob Seger Blvd in the Motor City. Jim's relationship with Classic Rock includes considering Bob Seger, Phil Collen from Def Leppard, Wally Palmer of the Romantics and many others good friends. Jim writes about ‘80s movies, cars, weird food trends and “as seen on TikTok” content.
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