Guitar Sessions 41: Play Don Henley’s “The Boys of Summer”
For a long time I’ve loved Don Henley’s great song “The Boys of Summer,” and I worked out a rocking way to adapt it for acoustic guitar, including the main riff and an instrumental section. Learn how to play my arrangement in this episode of Guitar Sessions.
This song has an interesting back story that I talk about in the video, starting with a synthesizer and drum machine groove created by Mike Campbell (of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers). Petty heard the music first but, according to Campbell’s story (recounted in this video), passed because it was jazzier than what his band was doing at the time. But of course Henley jumped on it.
In the YouTube video above I teach the basics of the song—chords, riff, and rhythm. On Patreon you can find the complete video lesson, the charts and tab, and a performance of the full song.
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