Don Henley “The Boys of Summer” released

The Boys of Summer Don Henley

Writer(s): Don Henley, Mike Campbell (see lyrics here) Released: October 26, 1984 First Charted: November 10, 1984 Peak: 5 US, 6 CB, 6 RR, 33 AC, 15 AR, 12 UK, 15 CN, 3 AU (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.2 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 5.6 video, 364.97 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Don Henley rose to fame with the Eagles in the 1970s and #1 hits like “Hotel California,” “Best of My Love,” and “One of These Nights.” He released his first solo album, I Can’t Stand Still, in 1982 and followed up in 1984 with Building the Perfect Beast. “The Boys of Summer” was the lead single. The title of the song comes from a book about the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team by Roger Kahn. However, the song isn’t about baseball. Henly used the title “to represent everything youthful and vibrant with which the narrator can no longer compete.” AS Henley explained that it “is about aging and questioning the past.” WK The narrator is nostalgic about a past relationship, convinced that he can win his ex back once she gives up on fleeting romances with the boys of summer. There is a reference in the lyrics to a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac. Henley said it was “an example of his generation selling out.” WK While driving on the San Diego freeway, he actually saw a Cadillac Seville – what he called “the status symbol of the right-wing upper-middle-class American bourgeoisie” – with a Grateful Dead bumper sticker on it. SF Mike Campbell, “Tom Petty’s right-hand man,” SF created the rhythm on a drum machine and offered it to Petty, but the synthesizers didn’t fit with the album, Southern Accents, that they were doing at the time. Jimmy Iovine, who was producing the album, connected Campbell with Don Henley who then wrote lyrics for it and said he wanted to record it. Campbell ended up playing guitar on the song and producing. SF The black-and-white video was directed by French graphic designer/photographer Jean-Baptiste Mondino. It shows the main character as a boy, young adult, and middle-aged man – each reminiscing about a past relationship. It won Video of the Year and three other awards at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1985. In 2003, the Ataris did a pop-punk cover of the song which reached #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the alternative-rock chart. The Hooters also covered the song in 2007. Resources: AS American Songwriter SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 6/29/2022; last updated 10/28/2022.