Don Henley has always had a life outside of the Eagles. During his youth in Texas, where he also currently lives, he drummed and sang in the country-rock band Shiloh. During the Eagles' 1980-1994 sabbatical, he carved out his own career with forward-thinking hits like "The Boys of Summer" and "The End of the Innocence," and he connected with his roots on last year's Cass County, which mixed originals with covers of songs by the Louvin Brothers and more. His interests outside the band include his championing of the Walden Woods Project, dedicated to preserving the legendary Massachusetts piece of nature made famous by Henry David Thoreau. Yet Henley's work with the Eagles will remain his most well-known contribution to popular culture. The songs that he and Glenn Frey co-wrote have become part of the rock & roll canon, and the sandpaper intensity of Henley's voice injected drama and grit into even the band's most mellow moments. More than perhaps any other member of the Eagles, Henley made it clear that they were no mere "laid-back" Seventies act.

From the band's first rehearsals in 1971 to its recent History of the Eagles Tour, only two men – Henley and Frey – were along for the entire ride. For all the ups and downs, the blend of Frey's rock & roll friskiness and Henley's creative deliberation (and their shared drive, and love of R&B) proved to be the perfect balance. Early in 2016, Frey died at 67 of complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis and pneumonia, making Henley, now 68, the lone survivor of the band's start-to-probable-finish saga. Set against a backdrop of Frey's passing and the likely end of the band that he and Henley co-steered for decades, Henley typed out lengthy answers to questions about every Eagles studio album. Not surprisingly for someone who has long been considered one of rock's most pensive frontmen, Henley's responses were articulate, thoughtful and uncompromising.