The Eagles member Don Henley described as “Duane Allman and Eric Clapton together”
There are several notable aspects of the Eagles, with one of the most famous being that they have had a large cast of members. While Don Henley, Don Felder and Glenn Frey are responsible for most of their best-loved work, several others helped the California-based outfit become such world beaters.
One of the most important is guitarist Joe Walsh. The influential Kansan axeman had been a musical force for a long time before Eagles came to prominence thanks to his work with James Gang, whose most famous hit, 1970’s ‘Funk #49’, demonstrated his talent on the guitar and as a vocalist. He later left the band in 1972 and formed Barnstorm in 1972 before joining the Eagles in 1975 to replace the outgoing Bernie Leadon, a founding member.
It seemed that Walsh becoming an Eagle was bound to happen long before it eventually materialised. The final Barnstorm record, 1974’s So What, featured guest contributions from Eagles members Frey, Henley and Randy Meisner, as well as producer Bill Szymczyk, who had worked on On the Border and One of These Nights. Furthermore, Walsh was managed by Irving Azoff, who also looked after the Eagles.
The writing was on the wall for Leadon two years before he left, and the band would later reveal that they had spoken to Walsh at the beginning of 1975. Frey told Melody Maker the following year that Walsh’s response to the feelers about replacing Leadon was to give him a call if he ever left. “It was more or less a matter of time” before they converged, he conceded. After all, Leadon, a former Flying Burrito Brothers member, had been on the road much longer than all his bandmates.
As for Walsh, he was tired of leading a group and writing all the songs, so he was perfectly placed to be a participant in the Eagles with more of a backseat role. In that same interview, Frey explained that there was never any question of them hiring anyone else apart from the former James Gang maverick because there was no one else who could and that they didn’t want to return to being a quartet, as they preferred the sonic benefits of being a five-piece.
For instance, when Walsh joined, it allowed Frey to stick to rhythm guitar while still having two lead guitarists dovetailing in the new guitarist and Felder. This angle would be made iconic by the group’s highlight, ‘Hotel California’, the title track of their first album with Walsh from 1976.
It was Henley who provided real insight into Walsh joining the band, though. Given Walsh’s distinctive hard-rock approach, many doubted that he would assimilate into the group’s rootsy, soft-rock sound, but in reality, their disparate styles complemented each other seamlessly. Henley explained that on their first tour together, Walsh and the Eagles worked perfectly, with them even performing his efforts such as ‘Funk #49’ and ‘Rocky Mountain Way’.
The drummer said: “He’s capable of playing the stuff we do, and we’re capable of playing his music.”
Henley was so appreciative of the impact of Walsh’s hard-rock style linking up with Felder’s softer approach that he described it as “Duane Allman and Eric Clapton” combined. That is some compliment, given the power of their own individual styles and efforts as a duo in Derek and the Dominos. Similarly, Clapton has long been deemed one of the finest guitarists of all time.
Henley concluded: “Sure, he introduced some harder guitar playing even though he didn’t put it on this album in the way of songwriting, but I think he and Felder played some killer guitar for us all. To me, it’s like Duane Allman and Eric Clapton together.”
