Don Henley Talks New Album Release, Cites The Dillards As Major Influence
Music luminary, Don Henley, has been fielding tons of print, radio, and television interviews to promote his latest release, Cass County, and I am honored and proud to report he's also one hell of a super fan of the super group I manage and produce: The Dillards.
While noting his intention to explore his musical roots and inspiration with the new album's works - which also features many other artists who were directly influenced by The Dillards: Vince Gill, Alison Krauss, Dixie Chicks, et al - Henley continues to highly regard Rodney Dillard and The Dillards, citing the legendary bluegrass group as a major influence in his musical direction, and also that of his mothership band, The Eagles.
...the Dillards did it first. That first album — the Dillards’ album called Wheatstraw Suite, which came out in 1968 — was as a very influential album in my life … as was Jesse Winchester’s first album. I was a big fan of the Dillards. In fact, I drove through a snowstorm to hear them play in Fort Worth back in 1968. … I just thought it was the most interesting song and they were an interesting band.