Joe Walsh Is Still Soaring Like an Eagle
Author: David Surkamp
Publication: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Date: July 2, 1998
Abstract: A brief overview of Joe's career.
Legendary figures in rock music have become as commonplace as washed-up ballplayers hawking home loans on television. One rock guitarist who has the sense of humor to rise above much of the hype and critical baggage is the wonderfully eccentric Joe Walsh, a rock'n'roll survivor if there ever was one.
Walsh will perform at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 4 on the Budweiser stage.
A self-described third-generation bluesman, he became acquainted with the genre through the recordings of British guitarists.
In 1966, he joined an up-and-coming hard rock outfit called the James Gang, which was quickly catching the ear in Midwestern music circles. With Walsh's wildly eclectic guitar stylings, and admittedly whiny vocals as the trio's centerpiece, the band grabbed national attention with its 1969 debut "Yer Album."
Three more best-selling James Gang recordings followed, before Walsh found his creative abilities stifled in the trio format. In addition to the guitar, he was proving himself an able multi-instrumentalist on all kinds of keyboards. Walsh's increasingly sophisticated musical palate ushered in his next professional undertaking in the form of Barnstorm, his Colorado-based ensemble.
Barnstorm retained much of the hard-rock impact of the James Gang, but introduced an emphasis on vocal harmonies as well as elements of Latin percussion and jazz. Commercial endorsement of Walsh's efforts became increasingly apparent when his song " Rocky Mountain Way " grabbed a choke-hold on both AM and FM radio, becoming one of the most radio-insistent singles of 1973.
Walsh again became restless. So it was no surprise when it was announced that the guitarist was becoming a member of the Eagles, an act with whom he shared the services of manager Irving Azoff.
Azoff knew that there was trouble in the Eagles ranks, with the departure of lead guitarist Bernie Leadon, and increasing friction between Don Henley and Glenn Frey, the group's frontmen. Hiring a guitarist of Walsh's star power was a shrewd way of plugging the hole. And everyone knew that Walsh's bizarre outlook would add levity to an act in which humor previously had as much chance of breaking through as a January sun in North Dakota . In fact, Walsh has often commented that it was his job to "keep everybody laughing, or at least keep the band from breaking up."
Whatever the intentions, no one was ready for what happened next. In 1976, "Hotel California," the Eagles’ first recording after Walsh joined the band, had a major impact on American radio. The album became the cornerstone of the Eagles' career.
Even with the inclusion of Walsh, the Eagles only managed to continue through one more album, "The Long Run," before imploding under its own mass of egos. Walsh, already an established solo act, continued as a high-profile guitarist.
In 1994, the unlikely happened with the aptly titled "Hell Freezes Over" reunion of the Eagles. Whatever conflicts remained between band members appeared to be water under the bridge, and the "Hell Freezes Over" project be came one of the most successful tours in rock'n'roll history.
The CD of the concert tour has sold more than 8 million copies worldwide, and Walsh found himself enshrined with the rest of the Eagles in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in Cleveland .
