The only guitarist Don Felder was truly “frightened” of
In 2019, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame collaborated for an exhibit that promised to give music fans a rare look at the instruments behind some of the most cherished songs in cultural history. Nestled alongside Chuck Berry’s hollow-body Gibson and James Jamerson’s upright bass sat a white double-neck. It belonged to Don Felder, who famously played both the twelve and six-string parts on live renditions of ‘Hotel California’.
Felder flew to New York for the exhibit’s opening, and that afternoon, Jimmy Page was there too. For his part, Page had loaned them seven guitars, one of which was the cherry red answer to Felder’s double-neck. “I am an absolute monstrous fan of him,” Felder told WOUB.
“Both as a person,” he said, “and his musical creations and the things he’s brought to this planet for everyone to enjoy.” He brought a sense of innovation and excellence to the table that inspired everyone from the Eagles to David Gilmour, Paul McCartney, and, well, practically every guitarist bar Eddie Van Halen in between.
Although Felder had refined his blend of southern rock with the Eagles, it was clear the Led Zeppelin guitarist left him starstruck when they met with their competing double-necks. But he didn’t have much time to dwell on it because soon enough, staff at the exhibit were asking if he’d go out and play ‘Hotel California’ for everyone… in front of Page, no less.
Felder wasn’t phased; it was a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, and he’d played it so many times by this point it was probably muscle memory. It was his signature tune, and he could practically play it as though he was whistling. He pointed out he didn’t have a band with him, but he had a couple of tricks up his sleeve.
Naturally, they were very keen to hear Felder play; backing band be damned. They soon set him up on a little stage, where 200 members of the press sat wide-eyed. There were video cameras, television cameras, still photographers, newspaper writers, and magazine staff. The room was teeming with guitars, press, and a pregnant silence.
Still, that didn’t bother Felder. Until, that is, he stepped out on stage and saw Jimmy Page sitting in the front row with a ‘let’s see what you’ve got’ look slapped across his face. “I’ve got to stand there and sing and play the solos on ‘Hotel [California]’, the whole thing, just spotlessly,” he recalled.
Humbly adding, “Because if I make a mistake, I would turn over in my sleep every night for the rest of my life, agonising over that moment.” And this was a song he had perfected to such an extent that he made it even more complex with additional flourishes over the years. But respect for Page is pervertingly profound.
He’d never been scared of walking on stage, but playing a surprise set to Page would set any guitarist in their right mind on edge. “I got a gasp inside,” he admitted. “[I] took a deep breath and go, ‘Well, this is gonna be interesting.'”
He soon cornered Page after the performance. “I told [Page] how frightened I was by him sitting right there listening to every note,” he said. As he stood on stage, he pictured Page sitting in the audience, waiting for a bad fret or a sharp pitch. When he told Page this, he laughed and told him he’d been there before himself.
“We became bonded there, at that event, to connect ‘Stairway to Heaven’ and ‘Hotel California’,” said Felder. “The two double-neck guitar players.”
