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

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 singer Don Henley

Don Henley

Donald Hugh "Don" Henley is an American singer, songwriter and drummer, best known as a founding member of the Eagles before launching a successful solo career. Henley was the drummer and lead vocalist for the Eagles from 1971–1980, when the band broke up...

 from his third solo studio album, The End of the Innocence

The End of the Innocence

Released in 1989, The End of the Innocence is the third album by Don Henley. It is his best selling album, selling over 6 million copies in the United States, peaking at #8. The album released three Top 40 singles "The End of the Innocence", "The Heart of the Matter", and "The Last Worthless...

(1989). Written by Henley, Mike Campbell, and J. D. Souther

J. D. Souther

John David Souther is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and actor. He has written and co-written numerous hits songs recorded by artists such as Linda Ronstadt and Glenn Frey of the Eagles.-Singing career:...

 and produced by Henley, Campbell, and Danny Kortchmar

Danny Kortchmar

Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar is a guitarist, session musician, and songwriter. Kortchmar's work with singer-songwriters such as David Crosby, Carole King, Graham Nash, Carly Simon and James Taylor helped define the signature sound of the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s...

, the song was released as the album's third single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

, reaching number twenty-one on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 and number two on the Mainstream Rock Tracks in early 1990. A radio edit version of this single, which is played on airline radio and on-air broadcast has the "I'm learning to live without you now, but I miss you baby" omitted and skipped directly to "I've been trying to get down to the heart of the matter". In 1994 Henley, along with the Eagles, played an acoustic version of the song at their reunion concert; the performance was omitted from the Hell Freezes Over

Hell Freezes Over

Hell Freezes Over is a live album by the Eagles, released in 1994. The album contains four new studio tracks and eleven tracks recorded live for an MTV special. It went to #1 on the Billboard album chart upon its release where it stayed for two weeks. It is the band's second live album behind their...

live album, but was included in the concert DVD.

The song was covered

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 by American soul

Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

 singer India.Arie

India.Arie

India.Arie is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter and record producer . She has sold over 3.3 million records in the U.S. and 10 million worldwide. She has won four Grammy Awards from her 21 nominations, including Best R&B Album.-Background:Simpson was born in Denver, Colorado...

 in 2006 on her third studio album, Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship

Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship

Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship is the third studio album by American soul/R&B singer India.Arie. It was released in the United States on June 27, 2006 on Motown Records...

. 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. It is also played briefly in a scene of the film. During the 2007 North Sea Jazz Festival

North Sea Jazz Festival

The North Sea Jazz Festival is an annual jazz festival held each second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. It used to be in The Hague but since 2006 it has been held in Rotterdam...

, Arie revealed she heard that Henley preferred her version over his own.

In 2010, best-selling author Emily Giffin released preview copies of her novel, also titled, 'Heart Of The Matter', which many sources believe to be loosely based on the song's core lyrics.

Don Henley version

Chart (1990)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...	21
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	2
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...	3

India.Arie version

Chart (2006)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Smooth Jazz Songs	7
Chart (2008)	Peak position
Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...	33
Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association ....	46
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	79