Don Henley’s favourite Linda Ronstadt song: “I fell in love”

Don Henley named Linda Ronstadt’s version of ‘Silver Threads & Golden Needles’ as the first song of hers he fell in love with, recalling its importance to his early career. The choice reflects Ronstadt’s influence on Henley and Glenn Frey before they formed the Eagles.

In a 2019 BBC interview, Henley said he toured with Ronstadt in spring 1971 as part of her backing band, alongside Frey, and that the pair began planning their own band during that period. Ronstadt’s recording appeared on her album *Hand Sown … Home Grown*; the song was written by Dick Reynolds and Jack Rhodes and first released by Wanda Jackson. Henley also praised Patsy Cline’s ‘Crazy’ and Glen Campbell’s ‘By the Time I Get to Phoenix’.