'Are We a Brand?': Don Henley Ends Eagles Lyrics Testimony with jabs and jokes

“I'm losing mine voice,” Don Henley said in New York Supreme Court on Wednesday. No surprise: The 76-year-old Eagles captain was wrapping up his third day of testimony in a case involving allegedly stolen pads containing grow-up lyrics to Eagles songs.

After being given a lozenge by one of the prosecutors in the case, Henley continued to answer questions about the pads, a 1979 contract between the band and author Ed Sanders (who was writing an authorized biography of the group) and other topics. from his past. In the case, in which three men are charged with criminal possession of stolen property (the pads containing Henley's handwritten lyrics to Eagles songs), Henley was the third witness — after Eagles manager Irving Azoff and a former Christie's manuscript executive whose company auctioned off some of the pages but chose not to sell them.

Henley's first day of testimony included recounting a 1980 incident involving a woman identified as an underage sex worker at his home, as well as recounting the band's deal with writer Ed Sanders, who had his lyric pads for over 30 years (and sold them to Horowitz in 2005). Although many bases were covered that day, there was still plenty of ground to cover, as the next two days proved.

What did everyone know about a critical contract and when did they know it?

Attorneys for the defendants — rare book dealer Glenn Horowitz, rock memorabilia businessman Edward Koskinski and former Rock and Roll Hall of Fame curator Craig Inciardi — repeatedly returned to the Eagles' original 1979 paperwork with Sanders, which set the terms for the authorized resume. Signed by all parties, it stipulated that all “materials” provided to him for his research remained the property of the band, which, in the eyes of Henley and his team, meant he had no right to sell them. “There is no tape or document anywhere where I say, 'Mr. Sanders, you are free to keep these items in perpetuity and you are free to sell them,” Henley testified Wednesday. He later added: “I had a common sense that he [Sanders] he would return the material when he was done with it.”

The first batch of lyrics appeared at an auction house, Kosinski's Gotta Have Rock and Roll, in 2012. Lawyers for the defendants tried to play down the idea that none of their clients were told at the time about the contract or given copy of it. They reported the same with Sotheby's, which planned to auction off some of these papers. That argument is one of the reasons for the defendants' case: They didn't know the paperwork, and the pads weren't technically stolen since they were given to Sanders for his work.

One of the first police reports claimed the pads were stolen from Henley's barn in Malibu, California. Since it was determined that at least one package of research materials was mailed to Sanders at his home in Woodstock, New York, Inciardi's attorney, Stacey Richman, asked Henley, “The idea that the items were stolen from your barn was perhaps an exaggeration. fair to say?'

Kosinski's attorney, Scott Edelman, asked Henley if he knew the location of the original copy of the contract: “What folder would it be in for 30 years? Have you ever looked?' In both cases Henley said he did not know.

Thomas Jirgal, one of Henley's lawyers, testified that he had not sent a copy of the contract to Sotheby's once the auction house was contacted about the allegedly stolen pads. Jirgal asserted attorney-client privilege multiple times, but said Sotheby's also did not request a copy of the contract. A testy moment came when Horowitz's attorney, Jonathan Bach, asked Jirgal if he had contacted his client. Jirgal didn't remember, leading Bach to exclaim, “You had one phoneSir; Had e-mailSir;”

Some of the much talked about yellow notebooks are finally emerging

During the interrogation, Henley was given several manila envelopes and asked to open each one and identify their contents. Pulling out pads, he began rattling off the names of draft songs, from “After the Thrill Is Gone” to several songs from The Long Run (the title track and “Sad Café”). Unfortunately, the papers were not held up for all in the courtroom to see, making the moment less dramatic than it could have been.

More details about Sanders' unpublished book are coming out

In an earlier presentation of evidence, a letter from Henley to Sanders was presented. sent in the 80s, included Henley's positive words about the work Sanders had done and how it was a publishable product. As part of the follow-up question, another part of the letter was discussed, this time about the end of the book.

The Eagles broke up in 1980 while Sanders was writing and reporting on his work, and details of that breakup, which apparently included tentative comments from band members, were included in Sanders' draft. In the letter to Saunders, Henley wondered if the book would end there or if they should “let the book end on a slightly softer note?” (The Eagles had final say on the book's content.) As Henley wrote, “I wonder how these comments will age.” It is not clear how the final draft of the book was completed.

Frank Ocean cameo!

To demonstrate Henley's penchant for legal action whenever he felt his creations, intellectual property or likeness were being infringed upon, the defendants' lawyers cited several past cases. One was Henley's 2014 lawsuit against clothing manufacturer Duluth Trading Co., makers of the Henley shirt. In court, Henley clarified that the suit was the result of advertising copy for the product. (Although the musician didn't say so in court, he was mentioned in marketing text that read: “Don a Henley and Take It Easy.”)

Henley was also asked about the time the band took legal action in 2014 against Frank Ocean, who incorporated the tune “Hotel California” into “American Wedding” from Nostalgia, Ultra, without securing a license. “I think we talked some sense into him,” Henley said. “He had written new lyrics over the melody. You can not do that.”

When Richman asked about Azoff's role in protecting the group and its brand, Henley seemed genuinely confused. “Are we a brand? Campbell's Soup is a brand.”

The Eagles' infamous after-show parties also made a cameo

Under cross-examination by Richman, Henley was asked about the Eagles' reported, old habit of handing out passes to “beautiful women,” in Richman's phrase, for after-show parties. (Former Eagle Don Felder described these alleged hedonistic shacks, called E3s, in his memoir Heaven and hell.)

Asked if the story was true, Henley said: “No, but it's a good idea!” The crack resulted in the loudest laughs of the trial to date.

The infamous 1980 incident at Henley's house is back

In the first hour of his questioning Monday, Henley was asked about the infamous incident in 1980 when a sex worker (who turned out to be 16, something Henley said he didn't know at the time) suffered a seizure at his home. Both were eventually arrested on drug charges, and Henley pleaded guilty to contributing to the delinquency of a minor and served two years in prison.

Asked by Edelman if Henley knew the girl's age, Henley replied, “It never occurred to me that she was a minor. I don't ask for ID when they come to my house.” That response prompted Edelman to reply, “Do sex workers come to your house often?” Henley replied: “It was just a general statement.”

Henley was also commented on his drug use at the time and whether it could be considered significant. “Significant?” Henley replied. “Sex, drugs and rock and roll is not regulatory. We used cocaine during the seventies… If I had been some kind of drug-fueled zombie, I couldn't have accomplished all that I had.” When asked if he continued to use cocaine after the 1980 incident, Henley said: “I used it less and eventually stopped.”

More moments of joy!

During a conversation about the recording of “Hotel California”, Henley was asked by defense lawyers about the number of guitars used in the song, apparently as a way to further prove the involvement of Felder, who also wrote the song along with Henley and Frey. When Henley said there were four, including a bass, Judge Farber said, “I don't know how relevant it is, but it's interesting.”

When the first batch of lyric pads appeared on Kosinski's Gotta Have Rock and Roll memorabilia site in 2012, the Eagles were on tour. “Let's go back to South Africa,” lawyer Bach announced. “I'd rather not,” Henley replied.

Assistant District Attorney Aaron Ginandes concluded his initial questioning of Henley by asking him about his ownership of the pads, from the time he bought them at a stationery store to the present. Every day, Henley replied, “I did.” Leaving the courtroom for the last time, he passed the table where the defendants sat and gave the slightest disapproving nod.