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TL;DR:

  • Don Henley discussed the way teenagers in the 1980s reacted to The Eagles’ “Witchy Woman.”
  • Henley didn’t want to endorse the song completely.
  • A star of the Broadway musical Wicked covered the track for a movie about a witch.
The Eagles with long hair during the "Witchy Woman" era
The Eagles | RB / Staff

Don Henley was asked his opinion about Madonna. Subsequently, he revealed what he thought about one of his most famous classic rock songs: The Eagles’ “Witchy Woman.” Notably, “Witchy Woman” was an important commercial milestone in the band’s career.

The Eagles’ Don Henley said fans would be able to tell if Madonna was a good artist if 1 thing happened

During a 1985 interview with the Sun–Sentinel, Henley was asked about Madonna. For context, the Queen of Pop’s career was just starting at the time. He said fans would know Madonna was a true artist if she stuck around for eight or 10 years. Notably, Madonna would continue to have hit songs in the United States for the following 30 years.

Back in 1985, Henley said his audience overlapped with Madonna’s. “I’ve noticed that my audience is pretty mixed,” he said. “There were a lot of young people the first two concerts on this tour. There were people in their 30s and people in their 20s, and there were teenagers.”

Don Henley said The Eagles’ ‘Witchy Woman’ sounded good to teenagers with orange hair

Henley discussed how teenagers reacted to his music. “And the teenagers, it’s funny — when I played ‘Witchy Woman,’ which is an Eagles song that’s 13 years old, the teenagers and the kids with the mohawks and the orange hair were going just as nuts as the people in their 30s. So I think good material is timeless.”

Henley explained his philosophy regarding music. “I’m not saying that ‘Witchy Woman’ is a good piece of material, but I think if you build things to last, then they last,” he said. “Songwriting, songs, are the bottom line. And I think if you write good songs, then you’ll be around for a while.”

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‘Witchy Woman’ became a huge hit and inspired covers by a classic rock band and a Broadway star from ‘Wicked’

“Witchy Woman” reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. This made it the band’s first top 10 single in the United States, and their second charting song after “Take It Easy.” “Witchy Woman” stayed on the chart for a total of 13 weeks.

“Witchy Woman” appeared on the album Eagles. The album reached No. 22 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 49 weeks.

The song also inspired cover versions, including one by The Hollies which appeared as a bonus track on some editions of the album Romany. Perhaps the most famous cover of “Witchy Woman” is the remake by Broadway icon Kristin Chenoweth. Her cover appeared on the soundtrack of the film adaptation of the sitcom Bewitched. You don’t get witchier than the star of Wicked covering “Witchy Woman” for that movie!

“Witchy Woman” stood the test of time and Henley said that spoke to its quality.

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