Despite the success of solo singles like “Rocky Mountain Way, future Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh was in a bit of a wayward funk in the early to mid-1970s. After cutting his teeth in Midwest garage bands and a relatively successful stint in James Gang, Walsh struggled to find his footing.
Solo work was okay. Fans certainly appreciated it. But at the end of the day, Walsh was on the hunt for something else. In a particularly lonesome and wistful interview with Creem in the summer of 1975, Walsh foreshadowed the very career move that would provide the answers, creativity, and camaraderie he sought so longingly.
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Knowing When To Pack It Up and Move On
In the hustle and bustle of the competitive music industry, it can be tempting to lock onto whatever seems the most commercially viable. Long hours, limited resources, and a thirst for fame can often lead to complacency in artists who have landed a gig that might not be the most creatively enthralling but pays the bills. But as Joe Walsh learned the hard way, he’s not one of those musicians who can stifle their artistry for a good paycheck. This commitment to his craft eventually led to his departure from James Gang, which was the first successful band he was a part of.
“I left the James Gang out of musical frustration,” Walsh told Creem in June 1975. “What was going on in my head couldn’t be played by three people live. It became harder to record, and I had to compensate by not recording too ‘busy.’ I was very unhappy with the entire musical direction of the band. We were doing really well at something I didn’t particularly care to do. After a while, I said, ‘I don’t care how great this is going. It’s not what I want to do.’”
Walsh moved out to Colorado to find himself, which resulted in one of his breakout solo singles, “Rocky Mountain Way.” And while he undoubtedly had an impressive following as a solo artist, it still wasn’t scratching that itch he first felt in James Gang.
Joe Walsh Foreshadowed His Future With The Eagles
As so many musicians were wont to do, Joe Walsh kept moving west from the Rocky Mountains to sunny California in order to be closer to the musicians, producers, and other industry vets needed to progress his career. Walsh’s social circle included musical giants like Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Danny Fogelberg, and the members of the Eagles. The last act on this star-studded roster would prove especially inspiring to Walsh.
“I’m always looking for a band,” Walsh told Creem. “The Eagles are an ideal example of my idea of a band. There’s five guys in the Eagles, and everybody adds a fifth. When you see the Eagles, you know Glenn [Frey] is there, Randy [Meisner] is there, Don [Felder] is there, Bernie [Leadon] is there, and Don Henley is there. Everybody is there, but it’s the Eagles. Barnstorm was almost a band, but not quite the Eagles. It never got from Joe Walsh and Barnstorm to just Barnstorm. I wish it had, because, you know, it’s really lonely in the spotlight.”
Walsh didn’t have to wait long. His lonesome interview with Creem in June preceded his addition to the Eagles by only a few months. By December of the following year, the band released Hotel California, showcasing their new lineup and giving Walsh the musical ensemble he had been pining after for years.
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