Don Heffington Tribute LP to be Released Feat. Fiona Apple, Jackson Browne, John C. Reilly, & More

Nine Mile Records and Clover Music Group have announced Tonight I’ll Go Down Swingin’: A Tribute to Don Heffington, a musical salute to the late prolific drummer and singer-songwriter, due out October 18. The new tribute album features performances of Heffington originals from collaborators and friends including Fiona Apple, Jackson Browne, Buddy Miller, John C. Reilly, Watkins Family Hour and more. Proceeds from Tonight I’ll Go Down Swingin’ will benefit Sweet Relief Musicians Fund, a charity that helps musicians and industry members in need of health care and all-around aid. The announcement arrives with Browne’s melancholic take on the previously unreleased Heffington cut “Everywhere I Look,” which was featured at Variety who hailed Heffington as “one of the most beloved of all musicians on the L.A. scene over the last several decades.”

“I knew Don from the Largo, playing with the Watkins Family Hour,” shares Browne, referring to the iconic Los Angeles venue. “His drumming was so amazingly solid and assured, and he had the combined strength and sensitivity to make that quiet stage and all those acoustic instruments work. Sometimes I would see him at the guitar-pulls at Benmont Tench’s house, sitting there with a snare drum between his knees, adding his rhythm and feel to the songwriters who were playing various guitars, Benmont on piano. I didn’t realize that he wrote songs until I heard his album Gloryland, and I was so taken by his originality. Eventually, I got to hear him do his own show, and again, was just knocked out by the songs, and that Bakersfield Beatnik persona. There’s no accounting for why somebody becomes a songwriter. But I think of him as inhabiting the same Los Angeles as Warren Zevon, Lowell George and Tom Waits. The breadth and depth of his songwriting are on display here in this loving tribute by his friends. He asked me to sing ‘Everywhere I Look.’ The arrangement is based closely on the demo he gave me, with Sebastian Steinberg playing bass. For the guitar, I called on Greg Leisz, who played with Don and Sebastian in the Watkins Family Hour. Lots of people knew Don longer and better than I did. I’m so grateful for the times I got to play with him. I really miss him. He is, and always will be, an inspiration.”

Produced by Sheldon Gomberg (Ben Harper, Rickie Lee Jones) and Sebastian Steinberg (Fiona Apple, Iron & Wine), Tonight I’ll Go Down Swingin’ also features co-writes with Tom Waits (“Seeds On Hard Ground”) and Allen Ginsberg (“Put a Kiss and a Tear in Yr. Letter”), as well as a triumphant rendition of Porter Wagoner’s “Tonight I’ll Go Down Swingin’” by Heffington himself. The album closes with a poignant cover of Van Morrison’s “Irish Heartbeat” by Heffington and his daughter Laura.

Packing several music lifetimes into a lauded career that spanned decades, Don Heffington was a renowned drummer and versatile musician who first rose to prominence as a co-founding member of the beloved country-rock band Lone Justice in the 1980s, which toured with U2. In addition to a revered solo career and time as a member of the Watkins Family Hour, Heffington's production skills and drumming prowess made him a sought-after musician over the years. He collaborated with some of the biggest names in music including Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams, Dwight Yoakam and many others. 

In 2021, Heffington tragically passed at the age of 70 due to complications from leukemia. His death was a significant loss to the music community, with many peers and collaborators expressing their admiration for his talent and mourning his passing. He is remembered not only for his musical contributions but also for his deep knowledge of music history and his generous spirit.

Tonight I’ll Go Down Swingin’: A Tribute to Don Heffington Tracklist:

1. “Kiss The Moon Goodbye” – Watkins Family Hour
2. “Fired Again” – Buddy Miller
3. “Avenue C” – Dave Alvin
4. “Crablice & Quaaludes” – The Boltcutters
5. “Generator” – Eleni Mandell
6. “Seeds On Hard Ground” – Tony Gilkyson
7. “Everywhere I Look” – Jackson Browne
8. “The Heffington Appreciation Society” – MOMO feat. Jim Keltner
9. “Heffington Abstract” – Sarah Kramer with Jorge Calderón and Van Dyke Parks
10. “Live Slow Die Old” – John C. Reilly
11. “Lately” – Fiona Apple
12. “Tonight I’ll Go Down Swingin’” – Don Heffington
13. “Although the Lord” – Victoria Williams
14. “Flying Over Flagstaff” – Marvin Etzioni
15. “Sorry About the Matter” – Tom Brousseau
16. “Time to Drink Whiskey” – Willie Watson
17. “New Rising Sun” – Peter Case
18. “That’s Hollywood” – Ramsay Midwood
19. “Put a Kiss and a Tear in Yr. Letter” – Inara George
20. “Irish Heartbeat” – Laura and Don Heffington

Photo credit: Laura Heffington