Mike Campbell and Don Henley and I wrote 'The Heart of the Matter,' which was a huge hit for Don.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Dixie Chicks surprised me with a beautiful three-part harmony version of 'I'll Take Care of You.' And Don Henley's performance of 'The Heart of the Matter' still just slays me every time I hear it.
Nobody told Don Henley or me that we were going to make it as solo artists, but I can speak for Don when I say that we are both really happy now that the band is not together.
Me and Don Henley are fast acquaintances now, or something. He actually got on stage and sang with me.
That was when Neil discovered Jack Nietzsche. They went off and pretty much came up with that by themselves, but I thought it was a great song, and I was more than happy to do my harmony parts on it.
I went to see 'Listen to My Heart: The Songs of David Friedman.' I have been a fan of his music for years, and I was invited to opening night because I know one of the producers.
You know, Glen Campbell sang with the group right before I joined the group.
I did the co-writing thing all through the '90s and I got one hit out of it - a Keith Urban song called 'But For The Grace Of God' - but then I got burnt out.
I've never written a song that I thought was a hit.
I'm a huge fan of 'Heart On My Sleeve' - I think it has a 'Take That' feel to it! John Shanks and James Morrison wrote the track, and we spoke to Sony and asked if we could reference a 'Greatest Day'/'Rule The World' sound to make that epic ballad. I think it does the job.
What influenced me was Tori Amos, who was unapologetic about expressing anger through music, and Sinead O'Connor. Those two in particular were really moving for me, and very inspiring, before I wrote 'Jagged Little Pill.'