"The Heart of the Matter" is a song recorded by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

singer

Don Henley Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. He is the drummer and one of the lead singers for the Eagles. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles hits such as "Witchy Woman", "Despe ...

from his third solo studio album, '' The End of the Innocence'' (1989). Written by Henley, Mike Campbell, and

J. D. Souther John David "J. D." Souther (born November 2, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He has written and co-written songs recorded by Linda Ronstadt and the Eagles. Souther is probably best known for his songwriting abilities, especi ...

and produced by Henley, Campbell, and

Danny Kortchmar Daniel "Danny Kootch" Kortchmar (born April 6, 1946) is an American guitarist, session musician, producer and songwriter. Kortchmar's work with singer-songwriters such as Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, David Crosby, Carole King, David Cassidy, ...

, the song was released as the album's third

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, reaching No. 21 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 2 on the

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

in early 1990. The shorter radio edit version omits the "I'm learning to live without you now, but I miss you baby" lyric and skips directly to "I've been trying to get down to the heart of the matter". In 1994 Henley, along with the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

, played an acoustic version of the song at their reunion concert; the performance was omitted from the ''

Hell Freezes Over ''Hell Freezes Over'' is the second live album by the Eagles, released in 1994. The album is the first to be released after the Eagles had reformed following a fourteen-year-long break up. The band's lineup was that of the ''Long Run'' era: Gle ...

'' live CD, but was included in the concert DVD. The song was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

singer

India.Arie India Arie Simpson (born October 3, 1975), also known as India Arie (sometimes styled as india.arie), is an American singer and songwriter. She has sold over five million records in the US and ten million worldwide. She has won four Grammy Awards ...

in 2006 on her third studio album, '' Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship''. Her version of the song is used in the second episode of '' Brothers & Sisters'', entitled "An Act of Will", and in the theatrical trailer for the 2008 film adaptation of ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City (newspaper column), newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the ...

''. It is also played briefly in a scene of the film. Stage and television actress

Megan Hilty Megan Kathleen Hilty (born March 29, 1981) is an American actress and singer. She rose to prominence for her roles in Broadway musicals, including her performance as Glinda the Good Witch in '' Wicked'', Doralee Rhodes in '' 9 to 5: The Musical' ...

recorded a cover on her 2013 debut solo album '' It Happens All the Time''. Canadian singer

Nikki Yanofsky Nicole Rachel "Nikki" Yanofsky (born February 8, 1994) is a Canadian jazz-pop singer from Montreal, Quebec. She sang the CTV Olympic broadcast theme song, " I Believe", which was also the theme song of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. She also p ...

recorded a live acoustic cover for her 2010 DVD ''Live in Montreal''.

Composition

In a November 2003 interview with ''Songfacts'',

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. Formed in 1976, the band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer S ...

guitarist and songwriter Mike Campbell explained the song's origins:

Personnel

* Don Henley – lead vocals * Mike Campbell – keyboards, guitars *

Larry Klein Larry Klein (born March 17, 1956) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is based in Los Angeles. He began his career as a bassist, playing with jazz artists Willie Bobo, Freddie Hubbard, Carmen McRae, Joe Henderson, Bobby ...

– bass *

Stan Lynch Stanley Joseph "Stan" Lynch (born May 21, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the original drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for 18 years until his departure in 1994. Early years Lynch was born in ...

– drums, percussion * Carmen Twillie – backing vocals * Julia Waters – backing vocals * Maxine Waters – backing vocals

Charts

Don Henley version

;Weekly charts ;Year-end charts

India.Arie version

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heart of the Matter, The 1980s ballads 1989 songs 1990 singles 2006 singles Don Henley songs Geffen Records singles India Arie songs Motown singles Rock ballads Songs written for films Songs written by Don Henley Songs written by J. D. Souther Songs written by Mike Campbell (musician)