Henley Takes it to the Limit

Don Henley was honored Friday as the MusiCares person of the year and with so many industry reps assembled, he just couldn't help but take a few swipes.

He started to talk about musicians and songwriters of yore who indeed died penniless, specifically Stephen Foster and Woody Herman. Then the jokes started about the cause of musicians' indigence, suggesting Mozart and Saliere would have been robbed blind if they were signed to Universal Music Group or Warner Bros. (Henley, obviously, has recorded for both and is still under contract with Warner.)

The staying power of Henley's music with the Eagles was in evidence as the majority of the audience of nearly 2,500 stayed put past 11 p.m. as Henley and his band rolled through four tunes, among them a bracing "Hotel California."

MusiCares is the Recording Academy's branch that deals with musicians in need. The annual dinner-auction-concert raises a significant amount of money --a record $4 million is expected this year -- is an annual highlight of academy events held during Grammy week and attracts the upper echelon
of industry brass.

Night, held at the L.A. Convention Center, was one of the better MusiCares concerts. (They have had 17 and all have featured artists performing the songs of the honoree). Highlights on Friday were the Dixie Chicks performing "Desperado" and Sam Moore (of Sam & Dave fame) soulfully rendering "The Long Run."

After an introduction from Mayor Villaraigosa and the auctioning of a custom car and a handwritten copy of Henley's lyrics to "End of the Innocence" -- it fetched $25,000 -- John Mayer opened up with a blues reading of "Dirty Laundry." Keb' Mo' switched "One of These Nights" from a disco to acoustic blues foundation; Shawn Colvin stripped down "End of the Innocence," removing the drum-machine rhythm and giving it an acoustic guitar base; and Michael McDonald, delivered a reading of "Heart of the Matter" that had a number of music execs buzzing after the performance. Trisha Yearwood delivered a straightforward "Take it to the Limit" and Seal had some nice horn backing on "Best of My Love."

Timothy B. Schmit, the lone Eagle to appear, apparently didn't get the memo and performed his lone Eagles hit, "I Can't Tell You Why."

The one non-performing artist attracting attention was Garth Brooks, who was tagging along with wife Yearwood. Odd to think that the two biggest sellers in the room -- Henley via the Eagles and Brooks - are joined at the hip via exclusive deals with Wal-Mart. (P. Gallo)