Boys Of Summer Chords And Guitar Lesson (Don Henley)

Let’s go back in time to the early 1980s…

The story goes legendary guitarist Mike Campbell was about to get his house foreclosed on then suddenly had this smash hit song.

It was supposed to be a Tom Petty tune. But he passed on it. He thought it sounded too jazzy to be a Heartbreaker’s tune.

It wasn’t until Don Henley got into the mix and as they say, the rest is history.

Below I’m going to break it down for you step-by-step. 

So grab your axe, and let’s dive into this "Boys Of Summer" chords and guitar lesson!

Who Wrote Boys Of Summer?

“Boys of Summer” was written by Don Henley and Mike Campbell. It started off as a simple instrumental track Campbell was putting together using a LinnDrum drum machine at his home studio. Originally it was meant to be a Tom Petty tune. But when Petty heard the vibe, he felt it was too jazzy.  

So he didn’t want to record it.

Shortly after the song was pitched to Don Henley. Henley felt it was a good fit and added some lyrics, changed the key and then recorded it. 

“Boys Of Summer” became a huge solo hit for Henley. The song was released in 1984 on Henley's album Building the Perfect Beast. Henley has said in interviews that the song is about being nostalgic. It has bittersweet lyrics, blending themes of lost love and youth with a reflection on aging and change. 

The title “Boys of Summer” is a reference to baseball, inspired by Roger Kahn’s 1972 book The Boys of Summer about the 1950s Brooklyn Dodgers, though Henley’s lyrics take a more reflective slant. 

“Boys of Summer” features a distinctive new-wave rock sound, blending synthesizers with Campbell’s epic guitar riffs, which gives the song its signature driving melody.  

The song reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and winning a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance in 1986. The music video, directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino, also won several awards at the MTV Video Music Awards, including Video of the Year. 

Now, you may be wondering…

What is the tuning for Boys Of Summer?

The tuning for "Boys Of Summer" as recorded by Don Henley is standard tuning.  

Standard tuning for a guitar is spelled out as EADGBE. 

Here are the strings: 

• E (6th string, lowest pitch)
• A (5th string)
• D (4th string)
• G (3rd string)
• B (2nd string)
• E (1st string, highest pitch)

Next, let’s talk about the…

Does Boys Of Summer use a capo?

Apparently, after Don Henley first heard the guitar parts Mike Campbell played on his original demo, he wanted to change the key. He felt the higher key suited his voice better. It’s interesting because in interviews, Campbell said changing keys was something they didn’t typically do. If they wrote a song in A major then they would play it in A major and just make it work. But Henley was right.

His key change was vital to creating the iconic sound you hear on the recording. To make this sound great on guitar I use a capo on the 2nd fret. You don’t have to have a capo to play this song, but this will put you in the key of the originally recording.

Now you may be wondering about the…

Boys Of Summer Chords

To play "Boys Of Summer" you only need to know 4 main chords C#m9, Asus2, Bsus4, and E. Now, it’s important to keep in mind these are the capo chords. Let’s take a look at a few options for how they can be played on the fretboard.

C#m9 is played like this:

Asus2 is played from the 5th string down like this:

Bsus4 is like a power chord with some open strings:

Finally, E is played using all 6 strings like this:

If you’ve struggled to understand the fretboard and want to learn it faster and in the simplest way. Then get your hands on my free fretboard guide PDF right here now:  

All right, now that you know the "Boys Of Summer" chords, let’s now talk about…

What key is Boys Of Summer in?

"Boys Of Summer" as recorded by Don Henley is in the key of Gb major/Eb minor concert pitch. The verse section is more Ebm, while the chorus is Gb major. These two keys are “relative” major and minor…so it’s a nice songwriting move to have that slight change in tonality from section to section in the tune.

However, if you use a capo on the 2nd fret… then simply think in the key of E major/ C# minor.

E (plus capo on 2) = Gb

Live Henley plays a more introspective softer version and does it without a capo in the key of C major/ A minor like this…

Boys Of Summer Acoustic Version 

Conclusion

To wrap it up, “Boys Of Summer” is a monumental tune from the 80s. It has quite an interesting backstory from Tom Petty rejecting the song, to Mike Campbell almost getting his house forclosed on. This hit came to Don Henley just in the nick of time and saved the day. 

So keep practicing, and if you want to learn songs faster, better understand the fretboard, and not waste years spinning your wheels with guitar, grab my free fretboard guide PDF right here now:  

Jon MacLennan