Eagles among latest recipients of Kennedy Honors

It’s likely the most bittersweet receipt of the Kennedy Center Honors to date.

Music’s Eagles were slated to get their salute last year, but it was delayed due to member Glenn Frey’s illness. Following his passing last January, he was remembered and surviving members of the band were feted during the 39th annual event earlier in the month in Washington, D.C. – with fellow honorees Al Pacino, James Taylor, gospel and blues icon Mavis Staples and pianist Martha Argerich. CBS will give the ceremony its yearly telecast Tuesday, with Stephen Colbert back as host for the third consecutive time.

“It’s complicated,” Don Henley says of his feelings about receiving the accolade along with other members of The Eagles. “Everything regarding this band is complicated, because there are a lot of relationships involved, but I’m trying to look on the positive side. I’m trying to put my political feelings aside, both in terms of the band and in terms of our government, and appreciate the award for what it is. I’ve looked over the list of past recipients, and we’re in awfully good company.”

The Eagles’ history has been marked by departures and lawsuits, partially accounting for the “ambivalence” Henley maintains he has about the group’s Kennedy Center honor. However, he performed at the 2013 edition in a tribute to then-recipient Billy Joel, and he notes his pleasure at being in the honorees’ box with President and Mrs. Barack Obama (overseeing their last Honors) and with Taylor, with whom Henley has recorded: “I admire James a great deal, so we’re honored to be included with him.”

The many hits by The Eagles – formed in 1971 by Henley, Frey, Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner, with Don Felder, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit as later members – include “Take It Easy” (performed in the Kennedy Center tribute by Kings of Leon), “Peaceful Easy Feeling” (rendered by Vince Gill), “Heartache Tonight” (sung by Bob Seger), “Hotel California” (done by Juanes, Steve Vai and Steuart Smith), “Already Gone,” “Best of My Love,” “One of These Nights,” “Lyin’ Eyes,” “Take It to the Limit,” “Life in the Fast Lane” and “I Can’t Tell You Why.” Ringo Starr introduces the Eagles tribute.

“Obviously, I had a better reaction to it when Glenn was still alive,” Henley recalls of first getting the Kennedy Center notification, “but I was surprised. I probably had mixed emotions back then as well. It’s difficult for people in rock-and-roll bands to be ‘institutionalized.’ We’re supposed to be the antithesis of that, but on the other hand, President John Kennedy (for whom the Center is named) and the Kennedy family are people for whom I have great respect. Sen. Ted Kennedy was a great supporter of my Walden Woods Project, and he’s greatly missed.”

“The country is in such turmoil, Washington is sort of the last place I want to go right now,” Henley said, though he adds he was glad to have his family along. “It’s good for the kids to get to see some of the inner workings of the city. (Former Massachusetts Senator and outgoing U.S. Secretary of State) John Kerry has long been a friend of mine. There’s a whole weekend of events, and I had to wear a tuxedo at least twice, so I got that out of mothballs … hoping it still fit.”

Of course, Henley embarked on a successful solo career (“Dirty Laundry,” “The Boys of Summer,” etc.) in and around what he described as a long Eagles “vacation” rather than a breakup. He’ll tour in America, Australia and New Zealand early in 2017 for concerts that will include a tribute to Frey, whose death means the end of the band in Henley’s view.

“We’ve had a great many awards in our career, several Grammys (six for The Eagles collectively, three for Henley individually) and some other things, and there’s a certain element of ‘put out to pasture’ finality to this thing that makes me a little bit uncomfortable,” Henley said. “I’m not finished working yet – but at the same time, again looking at the list of past (Kennedy Center Honors) recipients, who am I to question any of this?”