Born 79 Years Ago in Florida, the Hall of Fame Guitarist Who Joined the Eagles Just in Time to Co-Write Their Most Popular Song

On this day (September 21) in 1947, Don Felder was born in Gainesville, Florida. After playing in several East Coast bands, he moved to California. Before long, he was jamming with the Eagles. They asked him to play guitar on a couple of songs before inviting him to join. His first album with them was One of These Nights–their first No. 1 LP. Later, Felder co-wrote “Hotel California.” He has also released several solo albums and contributed to the soundtracks of multiple classic movies.

Felder saw Elvis Presley perform on The Ed Sullivan Show and knew what he wanted to do with his life. Soon, he had acquired his first guitar and started teaching himself how to play. He was 13 when he started his first band, the Continentals, which also included Stephen Stills. When Stills left the band, Bernie Leadon, a future Eagles co-founder, took his place.

After that band broke up, Felder traveled to New York, where he played in the improvisational rock fusion band Flow and sharpened his musical skills. When that band dissolved, he moved to Boston and took a job in a recording studio. In 1973, Felder moved to Los Angeles, where he quickly became part of the music scene. He became David Blue’s guitarist. They opened for Crosby & Nash and Neil Young during the tour.

Don Felder Joins the Eagles

Don Felder was already jamming with the Eagles in their rehearsal space when they started working on their 1974 album On the Border. The band asked him to play slide guitar on “Good Day in Hell” and lead guitar on “Already Gone.” Before long, they invited him to join the band. The next year, the band released One of These Nights, their first with Felder as an official member and their first No. 1.

He co-wrote several songs while in the Eagles, but none were as big as “Hotel California.” He is credited with writing the music while Don Henley and Glenn Frey wrote the lyrics.

Felder was with the band until they went on hiatus in 1980. He returned when they reunited in 1994. He was also present for their 1994 live album Hell Freezes Over. Four years later, Felder was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the band. Unfortunately, things were already going downhill behind the scenes. By 2001, he was out of the band.

Why Felder Left the Eagles

Power dynamics and financial issues led to Don Felder’s departure from the Eagles. He explained how things happened in an interview.

“Originally, when I joined the band, it was a five-piece band. Everybody was part of this band called Eagles Limited. We all owned Eagles Limited. We shared equally in the gross and the tours and everything like that, the record sales,” he recalled. “But when we got back together, Don and Glenn felt that they should get a much larger share,” he added. Felder agreed to try the pay split on a temporary basis and renegotiate after 60 concerts.

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“When renegotiations came around, there were no renegotiations. It just stood as it was. So, it constantly rubbed on me through the course of that Hell Freezes Over tour,” he said. “I don’t know who sent who a legal notice or whatnot, but it came down to ‘No, and you’re fired.’ So, that’s the way that happened,” he explained.

Don Felder’s Solo Work

Don Felder released his debut solo album, Airborne, in 1983. In 2012, he released Road to Forever. Seven years later, he dropped American Rock ‘n’ Roll. Last year, he released The Vault–Fifty Years of Music, which included new recordings of songs he’d written and cut demos for over the last five decades.

Felder also contributed “Heavy Metal (Takin’ a Ride)” and “All of You” to the Heavy Metal (1981) soundtrack. Don Felder was one of a few members of the Eagles who contributed songs to the Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1981) soundtrack. His “Never Surrender” appears on the album.

Featured Image by Watal Asanuma/Shinko Music/Getty Images

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