"Dirty Laundry"
Single by Don Henley
from the album I Can't Stand Still
B-side	"Lilah"
Released	October 1982
Format	7" (45 rpm)
Recorded	1982
Genre	Classic Rock, New wave
Length	5:36
Label	Asylum
Writer(s)	Don Henley, Danny Kortchmar
Producer	Don Henley, Greg Ladanyi
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
Don Henley singles chronology
"Johnny Can't Read" (1982) "Dirty Laundry" (1982) "I Can't Stand Still" (1982)

"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 Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1983, representing shipments of one million records.^[1]

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.

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. The late 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 Jerry Springer Show.

Contents 1 Lisa Marie Presley version 2 Chart performance 2.1 Don Henley version 2.2 Lisa Marie Presley version 3 See Also 4 References

[edit] Lisa Marie Presley version

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 Hot 100 chart. Presley also shot a music video, which featured a cameo appearance by George Michael.

[edit] Chart performance

[edit] Don Henley version

Chart (1982)	Peak position
RPM Top Singles	1
UK Singles Chart	59
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	3
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	47
U.S. Billboard Top Tracks	1

[edit] Lisa Marie Presley version

Chart (2006)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	36

[edit] See Also

• Narcotizing dysfunction

[edit] References

v • d • e Don Henley Albums I Can't Stand Still • Building the Perfect Beast • The End of the Innocence • Inside Job • Actual Miles: Henley's Greatest Hits Singles "Johnny Can't Read" • "Dirty Laundry" • "The Boys of Summer" • "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" • "Not Enough Love in the World" • "Sunset Grill" • "The End of the Innocence" • "New York Minute" • "The Last Worthless Evening" • "The Heart of the Matter" • "The Garden of Allah" • "Everybody Knows" See also Discography • Eagles

This 1980s rock song-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e