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Dr. Joseph Fidler "Joe" Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist and rock musician. He has served stints in two successful bands, James Gang and Eagles. He has also experienced success as a solo artist.
A native of Wichita, Kansas, Walsh and his family lived in Columbus, Ohio for a number of years, and subsequently moved to New York City. Later, Walsh moved to Montclair, New Jersey and attended Montclair High School. He spent time in various bands playing around the Cleveland area while attending Kent State University.
In 1968, he replaced Glen Schwartz as lead guitarist for the James Gang, an American power trio. Walsh proved to be the band's star attraction, noted for his innovative rhythm playing and creative guitar riffs. The James Gang had several minor hits and became an early album-oriented rock staple for the next two years. In November, 1971, Walsh left the group for a solo career. Walsh released his solo debut Barnstorm in 1972. Although it was a critical success, it only sold moderately. The followup, The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get (1973) was his commercial breakthrough. The first single "Rocky Mountain Way", received heavy airplay and reached #23 on the US top 40 charts. It is still a fixture on classic rock radio.
Over the next three years, Walsh would release a studio album So What and a live set, You Can't Argue with a Sick Mind. These would be his last solo albums until 1978. In 1976, he joined the highly successful country rock band Eagles as Bernie Leadon's replacement. His addition pushed the band toward a harder-edged sound and away from their early country-style work.
As the Eagles struggled to record the follow-up to their highly successful album Hotel California, Walsh re-ignited his solo career with the well-received discs But Seriously Folks (1978) (which featured his hit comic depiction of rock stardom, "Life's Been Good") and There Goes the Neighborhood. Joe also contributed "In the City" to the The Warriors soundtrack (1979), an Eagles song penned and sung by Walsh, originally appearing on "The Long Run" album.
Following the Eagles breakup in 1980, Walsh continued to release albums throughout the 1980s. Unfortunately, sales were poor. Musical trends had passed him by and he maintained a low profile until the mid-1990s. He toured with Ringo Starr in 1989, alternating a handful of his best-known songs with Ringo's tunes, as did all the members of the "All Starr" band. Walsh sang the US National Anthem at the beginning of game four of the 1995 World Series. In 1989, Walsh recorded a MTV Unplugged with the R&B musician Dr. John.
In 1994, Walsh reunited with the Eagles for a highly successful reunion tour and live album (Hell Freezes Over). Walsh has toured regularly with the Eagles since then and the group is currently working on a new album titled Long Road Out of Eden, which is set for release on October 30, 2007.
In June 2004, Walsh performed live before a huge crowd at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival in Dallas, Texas. He was also featured in September 2004 at The Strat Pack, a concert held in London, England to mark the 50th anniversary of the Fender Stratocaster guitar. Walsh (WB6ACU) is an active amateur radio operator. In 2006 he donated an autographed guitar to the ARRL for its charity auction.
In 2006, Walsh reunited with Jim Fox and Dale Peters of James Gang for a 15-date summer reunion tour. The tour lasted into the fall. Some of his most recent compositions, such as "One Day At A Time", deal with his struggles with substance abuse, particularly alcoholism. He is now a teetotaller and has been sober since 1995.
He was also a frequent guest on The Howard Stern Show. His August 8, 1989 appearance on the show was re-broadcast on January 5, 2007 during an episode of Stern's Master Tape Theatre on Sirius Satellite Radio.
Walsh commences 2007 with an appearance at Dear Mr Fantasy - A Celebration For Jim Capaldi: a charity gig being held at London's famous Roundhouse where he will appear alongside Steve Winwood, Pete Townshend, Bill Wyman, Paul Weller and many others.
During 2007, Walsh has appeared at selected shows with country-rock star musician Kenny Chesney on his Flip Flop Summer Tour 2007. “I don’t think there’s anybody in the world who doesn’t know ‘Life’s Been Good To Me’ or ‘Rocky Mountain Way’ if they’ve listened to any rock radio at all,” said Kenny. Walsh is also playing a number of solo dates during late summer.
Walsh's song "All Night Long" is played at Shea Stadium whenever David Wright hits a home run.
Walsh has produced albums for artists such as Dan Fogelberg and Ringo Starr. He was a background musician (1st guitar solo) on Eagles bandmate Don Henley's 1982 hit "Dirty Laundry" (listed as such in the liner notes of Actual Miles: Henley's Greatest Hits).
Walsh co-wrote and played lead guitar on the song "Split Decision" which appeared on Steve Winwood's 1986 album Back in the High Life.
Walsh would reunite with former Eagles bandmates Randy Meisner and Timothy B. Schmit as background musicians on the 1987 Richard Marx hit "Don't Mean Nothing."
Walsh played a prisoner in The Blues Brothers. He is noticeable as he is the first prisoner to get on the cafeteria tables during the Jailhouse Rock song at the end. Joe was a close friend of John Belushi, who starred in the movie. He appeared on the comedy game show Street Smarts.
Walsh appeared as a mystery guest on the Howard Stern show on August 8, 1989, along with Pat Cooper. He has appeared numerous times on Stern's show since, more recently with the James Gang to promote their summer 2006 tour.
Walsh played his guitar alongside Laura Hall in a surprise appearance in Drew Carey's pay-per-view presentation of "Drew Carey's Improv All-Stars" in Las Vegas. He participated in one game in each show, the ending game "biography." Both times he was applauded for his hilariously off subject additions to the story being created piece by piece by the entire cast of the show. He sometimes made guest appearances on the Drew Carey Show as a musician.
Walsh appeared in the television series Duckman, as medical video actor in episode 315 - "They Craved Duckman's Brain". When prompted why he is quoted "Actually i do a lot of medical videos, it's fun, interesting and they pump my stomach for free". Walsh also plays a version of "Life's Been Good" in a Duckman episode. He also appeared on Mad TV in 1995 as a customer at an air guitar shop.
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