Sunset Grill

Album: Building the Perfect Beast (1984)
Charted: 22
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Songfacts®:

  • Don Henley wrote this song with guitarist Danny Kortchmar and keyboard player Benmont Tench. Kortchmar, who played on popular albums by Carole King, Jackson Browne and Warren Zevon, was a key contributor to Henley's first three solo albums, co-writing and producing many of the tracks. Tench is a member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - he has also written songs with Lone Justice ("Sweet, Sweet Baby") and Hal Ketchum ("Stay Forever").

    The Sunset Grill is a real place and a favorite spot for Henley. Located on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, it's a place where Henley could see how everyday people interact, which isn't always easy to do when you're a celebrity in LA.
  • Henley had the title and lyrical theme in mind for this song, but needed the right music to go with it. As he did with "New York Minute," Danny Kortchmar came up with a tune that he thought fit what Henley had in mind, and they hashed out the song from there.
  • The song is about more than just a hamburger joint. In our interview with Danny Kortchmar, he explained: "Sunset Grill is a real hamburger place on Sunset Boulevard that Don used to go to. He admired the fact that the same family and the same people had run it for many years, and that the burgers were made with love - they were everything he liked about American society. So he used that Sunset Grill as a metaphor for what he liked, what he thought was great about society. And then he also used it to describe what he didn't like, which is plenty."

    What Henley didn't like is the vapid commercialism and duplicity that was so common around Hollywood. In many ways, the song answers the question many denizens of Los Angeles ask: "why do we live here?" The answer is found in the last line of the song: "all our friends are here."

Comments: 5

  • AnonymousPatti Smyth (Scandal) did the backing vocals...not sure if it was only her or anyone else contributed...
  • AnonymousHenley is a Hitman in this song. We find him taking a break on the terrace of the Sunset Grille with his girl.
  • John from MemphisNot just brilliant music & lyrics, but also an inspired arrangement and outstanding production/recording. This one fires on all cylinders, for sure.
  • Bob from Upstate New YorkI can relate to the content of this song in so many ways. I see myself and many friends who fit nicely into the people described in the lyrics and in the mindset of why we are here, why we are still here, and the likelihood that we will still be sitting right here...same place, next year. Love Don Henley songs.
  • Lee from Southwest GeorgiaLove that sunset grill song
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