On this day in music history: November 19, 1984 – “Building The Perfect Beast”, the second solo album by Don Henley is released. Produced by Don Henley, Danny Kortchmar and Greg Ladanyi, it is recorded at Record One in Sherman Oaks, CA, Bill Schnee Studio in Universal City, CA, and The Villa in North Hollywood, CA from Late 1983 – Mid 1984. Following up his successful solo debut “I Can’t Stand Still”, the second release from the former Eagles vocalist and drummer features instrumental and vocal support from Lindsey Buckingham, Mike Campbell, Belinda Carlisle, Martha Davis, Patty Smyth, Benmont Tench, Charlie Sexton, Pino Palladino, David Paich, Jim Keltner, Randy Newman and J.D. Souther. The cassette and CD releases of the album include the additional bonus track “A Month Of Sundays” (the non-LP B-side of “The Boys Of Summer”). It is left off of the vinyl pressing of the album due to the time constraints of the format. It spins off four singles including “The Boys Of Summer” (#5 Pop) and “All She Wants To Do Is Dance” (#9 Pop). “Summer” wins Henley a Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male in 1985, and also wins four MTV Video Music Awards including Video Of The Year for the songs’ iconic music video directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino (“Justify My Love” “Slave To Love”). “Building The Perfect Beast” peaks at number thirteen on the Billboard Top 200, and certified is 3x Platinum in the US by the RIAA.
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