1965–1967: The Measles Walsh and three other
Kent State University students formed The Measles, a garage bar band, in 1965. Two tracks on Ohio Express's
Beg Borrow and Steal album, "I Find I Think Of You" and "And It's True", were actually recorded by the Measles, led by Walsh who also provided the vocals. Additionally, an instrumental version of "And It's True" was recorded by the Measles, re-titled "Maybe" and released as the B-side of the "Beg Borrow and Steal" single.
1968–1971: James Gang Around Christmas 1967, James Gang guitarist
Glenn Schwartz, who turned out to be
AWOL from the army and was breaking up with his wife, decided to leave the band to move to California, where he ended up forming the band
Pacific Gas & Electric. The addition of Peters created the most successful incarnation of the James Gang. Walsh proved to be the band's star attraction, noted for his innovative rhythm playing and creative guitar riffs. In particular he was known for hot-wiring the pickups on his electric guitars to create his trademark "attack" sound. The James Gang had several minor hits and became an early
album-oriented rock staple for the next two years. It was during 1969 that Walsh sold his
Les Paul guitar to
Jimmy Page for "about $1,200". Later in 1969, the group's record producer, Szymczyk, arranged for the band to appear in the "electric Western" film
Zachariah, with two James Gang songs, "Laguna Salada" and "Country Fever", also being used. For the recording of these two songs, vocalist Kenny Weiss was brought in to allow Walsh to focus on his guitar playing; he was gone by the time the group arrived in Mexico to shoot their movie scenes. "Laguna Salada" and "Country Fever" later reappeared as bonus tracks on the 2000 re-release of
The James Gang Greatest Hits. Shortly before the release of their second album
James Gang Rides Again, they opened a show for
the Who in
Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. Who guitarist
Pete Townshend met with James Gang before they left, impressed enough to invite them on
the Who's subsequent European tour. When Walsh was asked about it, he said, "Pete's a very melodic player and so am I. He told me that he appreciated my playing. I was flattered beyond belief because I didn't think I was that good." It featured a new member, keyboardist Rocke Grace, and Walsh shared the vocals and songwriting with the other three members of the band. As a result, a variety of styles are explored on this album. There are elements of blues, jazz, folk, pop, and Caribbean music. In 1974, Barnstorm disbanded and Walsh continued as a solo artist. In late 1974, Walsh played slide guitar on Vitale's debut solo album
Roller Coaster Weekend. Walsh was taught the slide technique by
Duane Allman, co-founder of the
Allman Brothers Band with his brother
Gregg, who had done a standout turn on
Eric Clapton's 1970
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs double-album as a drop-in contributor to
Derek and the Dominos. Barnstorm's last tour was in the spring of 1975, shortly after Walsh joined the Eagles. , 1975
1975–1980: Eagles In 1975, Walsh was invited to join the
Eagles as founding member
Bernie Leadon's replacement. There was some initial concern as to Walsh's ability to fit in with the band, as he was considered far too "wild" for the band's sound, especially by their drummer and co-lead vocalist,
Don Henley. Released on December 8, 1976,
Hotel California was the band's fifth studio album and the first to feature Walsh. The album took a year and a half to complete, a process which, along with touring, drained the band. The second single from the album was the title track, "
Hotel California", which topped the charts in May 1977 and became one of the Eagles' signature songs next to "
Take It Easy" and "
Desperado". It features Henley on lead vocals, with a guitar duet performed by Felder and Walsh. The hard rock "
Life in the Fast Lane", released on May 3, 1977, was based on a riff by Walsh. It reached No. 11 on the charts and helped establish Walsh's position in the band.
Hotel California was the last album to feature founding member
Randy Meisner, who abruptly left the band after the 1977 tour. He was replaced by
Timothy B. Schmit, who had also succeeded him in
Poco. and "Please Come Home for Christmas", which was released as a single in 1978 and reached No. 18 on the charts. The band broke up in 1980.
1973–present: solo career in
Hallandale Beach, Florida, September 2006 Walsh has released eleven solo studio albums to date. In December 1974, Walsh released his first album that was not considered a
Barnstorm project,
So What, which contained more introspective material such as "Help Me Through the Night" and "Song for Emma", a tribute to Walsh's daughter who had been killed in a car accident that April. On a few tracks,
Don Henley,
Glenn Frey and
Randy Meisner of the Eagles contributed backing vocals. In March 1976, Walsh released a live album, ''
You Can't Argue with a Sick Mind'', which also featured the Eagles. As the Eagles struggled to record their follow-up to
Hotel California], Walsh re-ignited his solo career with the critically well-received album,
But Seriously, Folks... in May 1978. It contained the single "
Life's Been Good", his comedic depiction of rock stardom, which peaked at No. 12 on the
Billboard Hot 100 and remains to date his biggest solo hit. Walsh also contributed "
In the City" to
The Warriors soundtrack in 1979, a song penned and sung by Walsh that was later rerecorded for the Eagles' studio album,
The Long Run. Following the breakup of the Eagles in July 1980, Walsh continued to release solo albums throughout the 1980s, but sales did not match his earlier success.
There Goes the Neighborhood was Walsh's first album since the demise of the Eagles, peaking at No. 20 on the
Billboard 200. It spawned a lone single, "
A Life of Illusion", which topped the
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 1981 and became one of Walsh's most popular songs. "A Life of Illusion" was recorded in 1973 with Walsh's first solo band Barnstorm but was not completed. The overdubs and final mixes were completed during the
There Goes the Neighborhood sessions and released on the album. The promotional video for the track shows the making of the album's cover. This song also appeared in the opening credits of
The 40-Year-Old Virgin and appears as the first song on its soundtrack. In May 1983, Walsh released
You Bought It – You Name It; the album was received negatively by the majority of music critics, though others found some good points. It was also not as successful as Walsh's previous albums, peaking at No. 48 on the
Billboard 200. Walsh found moderate success with the single "
Space Age Whiz Kids", about the pinnacle of the 1980s video arcade craze. The album contains hard rock songs such as "I Can Play That Rock & Roll" and a cover of the
Dick Haymes track, "
Love Letters". It also contains more introspective material such as "Class of '65", and contains a song titled "I.L.B.T.s", an acronym for "I Like Big Tits". Walsh's new girlfriend, former
Fleetwood Mac front singer
Stevie Nicks, was involved in his next album,
The Confessor. Her old friend
Keith Olsen was hired to produce the album, and numerous prolific Los Angeles session musicians, including
Jim Keltner,
Mike Porcaro,
Jeff Porcaro,
Waddy Wachtel,
Randy Newman, and
Alan Pasqua, appeared, along with many other musicians with whom Walsh had never worked. In 1987, Walsh released his final solo album of the 1980s,
Got Any Gum?, which was produced by
Terry Manning, and features vocal contributions from
JD Souther and
Survivor's lead singer
Jimi Jamison. It proved a commercial disappointment. In 1991,
Ordinary Average Guy, his ninth solo studio album, and its title track single, were released on the
Epic label. The album features former
Beatle Ringo Starr, Jimi Jamison, and drummer Joe Vitale from Walsh's former band Barnstorm. Vitale also sings the lead vocals on the final track of the album, "School Days". In 1992, Walsh released what appeared to be his final album,
Songs for a Dying Planet, his ninth solo studio LP, also released on Epic. Keen to rebound from his last album's poor showing, Walsh enlisted his former producer Bill Szymczyk. His song "Vote for Me" was a minor success, peaking at No. 10 on the
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Walsh's latest solo album,
Analog Man, was released in June, 2012. It was co-produced by
Jeff Lynne, with
Tommy Lee James co-writing some of its tracks. The song "One Day at a Time" details his struggles with alcohol and drug abuse earlier in his career.
Eagles reunions with Walsh An Eagles country tribute album titled
Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles was released in 1993, thirteen years after the split.
Travis Tritt insisted on having the
Long Run-era Eagles in his video for "Take It Easy" and they agreed. Following years of public speculation, the band formally reunited the following year. The lineup comprised the five
Long Run-era members—Frey, Henley, Walsh, Felder, and Schmit—supplemented by
Scott Crago (drums), John Corey (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals),
Timothy Drury (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals), and Al Garth (saxophone, violin) on stage. "For the record, we never broke up, we just took a 14-year vacation", announced Frey at their first live performance in April 1994. The ensuing tour spawned a live album titled
Hell Freezes Over (named for Henley's recurring statement that the band would get back together "when hell freezes over"), which debuted at No. 1 on the
Billboard album chart. It included four new studio songs, with "
Get Over It" and "
Love Will Keep Us Alive" both becoming Top 40 hits. The album proved as successful as the tour, selling 6 million copies in the U.S. The tour was interrupted in September 1994 because of a recurrence of Frey's
diverticulitis, but it resumed in 1995 and continued into 1996. In 1998, the Eagles, including Walsh, were inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the induction ceremony, all seven Eagles members (Walsh along with Frey, Henley, Leadon, Meisner, Felder, and Schmit) played together for two songs, "Take It Easy" and "Hotel California". Several subsequent reunion tours followed (without Leadon or Meisner), notable for their record-setting ticket prices. The concert recordings were released on CD as part of the four-disc
Selected Works: 1972–1999 box set in November 2000. Along with the millennium concert, this set included the band's hit singles, album tracks and outtakes from
The Long Run sessions.
Selected Works received
platinum certification from the
RIAA in 2002. The lineup consisting of Walsh with Frey, Henley and Schmit toured beginning in 2001, and a greatest hits album including the entire Eagles career,
The Very Best Of., was released in 2003. A live two-disc DVD,
Farewell 1 Tour-Live from Melbourne, including Walsh and featuring two new songs: Frey's "No More Cloudy Days" and Walsh's "One Day at a Time" was released in 2005. In 2007, the Eagles, including Walsh, released a single, "
How Long", written by
JD Souther. Later that year, the Walsh-era Eagles released
Long Road Out of Eden, their first album of all-new material since 1979. The album debuted at number 1 in the U.S., the UK, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Norway. It became their third studio album and seventh release overall to be certified at least seven times platinum by
RIAA. The Eagles, including Walsh, began a world tour in support of
Long Road Out of Eden in 2008.
Other bands In late 1984, Walsh was contacted by Australian musician
Paul Christie, the former bassist for
Mondo Rock. Christie invited him to come to Australia to perform with
the Party Boys, an all-star band with a floating membership of well-known Australian rock musicians, including the critically acclaimed guitarist
Kevin Borich, with whom Walsh became good friends. Walsh accepted and performed with the Party Boys on their late-1984–early-1985 Australian tour and appeared on their live album,
You Need Professional Help. He remained in Australia for some time after the tour, putting together the short-lived touring band "Creatures From America", with
Waddy Wachtel (guitar),
Rick Rosas (bass guitar), and Australian drummer
Richard Harvey (
Divinyls, the Party Boys). In 1989, Walsh recorded an
MTV Unplugged with the
R&B musician
Dr. John. Also in 1989 Walsh filmed a live concert from the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles with
Etta James and
Albert Collins, called
Jazzvisions: Jump the Blues Away. While producing their
Homegrown album in 1989, Walsh briefly joined New Zealand reggae band
Herbs. Although he had left by the time of its 1990 release, he still appears as lead singer on two tracks, "Up All Night" and "It's Alright". The album includes the first recording of his "Ordinary Average Guys" (sung by late Herbs and
Be Bop Deluxe bassist
Charlie Tumahai), which subsequently became a solo hit for Walsh as "
Ordinary Average Guy". In late 1990, Walsh was part of a band called
the Best, along with keyboardist
Keith Emerson, bassist
John Entwistle, guitarist
Jeff "Skunk" Baxter and drummer
Simon Phillips. The band performed several shows in Hawaii and Japan, with a live video resulting. In 1993, Walsh teamed up with
Glenn Frey for the "Party of Two" tour in the United States. Also in 1993, Walsh,
Terry Reid,
Nicky Hopkins,
Rick Rosas, and
Phil Jones put together an informal group called the Flew. They played one show at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano. This was Nicky Hopkins' last public performance before his death. In 1996,
James Gang did a reunion for President
Bill Clinton. The band consisted of their "classic" lineup (Walsh, Peters, Fox); they performed at the
Cleveland State University Convocation Center on November 4, 1996. In 1998,
ABC wanted to use a classic rock song rock for
Monday Night Football that year, so they asked Walsh to rewrite the lyrics to "Rocky Mountain Way" for the quarterback
John Elway of the
Denver Broncos. "Rocky Mountain Elway" was the new title of the song and Walsh appeared in a video that ABC showed on
Monday Night Football.
2000s and 2010s In June 2004, Walsh performed 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. In 2006, Walsh reunited with
Jim Fox and Dale Peters of the James Gang for new recordings and a 15-date summer reunion tour. The tour lasted into the fall. In 2008, Walsh appeared on the
Carvin 60th Anniversary Celebration DVD as a celebrity endorser. In the recorded interview, he highly praised
Carvin Guitars and claims that the bridge design is "just like the first Les Paul models. I can't even get Gibson to reissue it." In May 2012, the
Berklee College of Music awarded Walsh, along with other members of the Eagles, an honorary doctorate for his accomplishments in the field of music. ==Notable appearances==