| "Dirty Laundry" | ||||||||
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| Single by Don Henley | ||||||||
| from the album I Can't Stand Still | ||||||||
| B-side | "Lilah" | |||||||
| Released | October 29, 1982 | |||||||
| Format | 7" (45 rpm) | |||||||
| Recorded | 1982 | |||||||
| Genre | New Wave, rock, dance-rock, hard rock | |||||||
| Length | 5:36 | |||||||
| Label | Asylum | |||||||
| Writer(s) | Don Henley, Danny Kortchmar | |||||||
| Producer | Don Henley, Greg Ladanyi | |||||||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | |||||||
| Don Henley singles chronology | ||||||||
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"Dirty Laundry" is a song by Don Henley from his debut solo album I Can't Stand Still, released in 1982. The song reached number one on the Billboard Top Tracks chart in October 1982. Released as the second single from I Can't Stand Still, it peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1983. The single was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1983, representing shipments of one million records.[1]
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The song is about the callousness (and callowness) of TV news reporting as well as the tabloidization of all news. Henley sings from the standpoint of a news anchorman who "could have been an actor, but I wound up here", and thus is not a real journalist. The song's theme is that TV news coverage focuses too much on negative and sensationalist news; in particular, deaths, disasters, and scandals, with little regard to the consequences or for what is important ("We all know that crap is king"). The song was inspired by the intrusive press coverage surrounding the deaths of John Belushi and Natalie Wood, and Henley's own arrest in 1981. Lines in the second verse, "Is the head dead yet?", were likely inspired by the shooting of President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
Among the musicians on the record were Timothy B. Schmit and Joe Walsh, two of Henley's Eagles bandmates. Walsh performs the first guitar solo, followed by Steve Lukather of the band Toto. Jeff Porcaro (also of Toto) plays the drums on this track.
In the Eagles' Farewell 1 Tour-Live from Melbourne concert DVD, Henley (speaking for the band) dedicated this song "to Mr. Rupert Murdoch"; in many live performances, this dedication remains but is sometimes changed "to Mr. Bill O'Reilly". The song was also used in the 2004 documentary Outfoxed as well as in the shorts for the 1995 movie To Die For. The song was performed on the Eagles' Long Road Out of Eden tour in 2008. During the song, a background video shows, among other things, clips from The O'Reilly Factor, Glenn Beck, and The Jerry Springer Show.
| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Kent Music Report | 51[2] |
| Austrian Top 40 | 8 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 1 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 7 |
| South African Singles Chart | 2 |
| U.K. Singles Chart | 59 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play | 47 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Tracks | 1 |
The song was live covered by The Eagles in 1999.
Lisa Marie Presley released a cover version of the song in 2005. It was the first single released from her album Now What, and reached #36 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart. Presley also shot a music video, which featured a cameo appearance by George Michael.
Robin Meade covered the song in her 2011 album Brand New Day.
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