The band Don Felder called the most soulful Southern rock band: “Just an incredible talent”
Most bands could stake a claim at being labelled as Californian natives. The way the entertainment industry has always worked, has meant that the very best musicians of all time have camped out in a studio, somewhere amidst the green Californian hills to make music that will live long in the memories of fans. But the truth is, there are only a select few who can truly pay homage to the West Coast state, and label it their home.
The Eagles, The Beach Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Doors, and Guns N’ Roses all proudly call Southern California their home and through their respective music, you get a grip on just how captivating this place was. Through the Eagles and The Beach Boys, you had enough harmonies and melodies to understand the paradox of California, an idyllic surface that harboured a deep, dark introspection underneath.
While Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Doors and Guns N’ Roses exemplified California’s brand of expansive and glamourous rock. Funky basslines, wild vocal takes, and excessive guitar solos all felt custom-made for the opulence of California, and more specifically, Hollywood.
With all of this diversity of thought and ideas that existed in California, especially in the late 20th century, it’s truly hard to understand who encapsulated the area best. But to me, something about the Eagles’ sound has made them the de facto representatives of the state. The cool breeze melodies, the aspirational aesthetic and the soft-rock underbelly that hints towards a better world always felt like the perfect soundtrack to the Golden State.
Willing to accept that crown, it’s up to the band’s guitarist, Don Felder, to knight another member of rock royalty, as guardians of an American area. Outside the borders of California, there was a host of bands in the late 20th century who were typifying the soulful sounds of Southern America, and the blues rock that created it.
So when it came to deciding what band best represented America’s deep south, Felder couldn’t look past Florida’s, The Allman Brothers Band. He said, “They were just an incredible talent. The combination of Gregg’s voice and Duane’s guitar was just immaculate. It was probably the best southern/rock/blues/slide guitar/ soulful voice combination I had ever heard and still is to this day. The writing and performing was just amazing.”
It was The Allman Brothers’ sound that influenced so much of Felder’s guitar playing and subsequently, the smooth Californian sound of the Eagles. Felder explained, “He was the first guy that I saw that played electric slide guitar in that E tuning and had just taken it light-years above where everyone else that I’d ever seen or heard was able to play it.”
But Duane’s style was inherently linked to the blues scene of Southern America, one that fitted the band’s sound so well but had a somewhat alien feel to it, when it came to writing songs for the Eagles. So Felder adapted, taking the soul from Allman’s style, but leaving behind some of the twang.
“I didn’t want to be a Duane clone,” he explained, “Although he had influenced me and started me, I needed to find my own technique, and I did.”
Together, the Eagles and The Allman Brothers helped define the entire sound of America’s southern states, and created a generation of soulful rock music, fitting for the glamorous years of the late 20th century.
