Former lead guitarist for the Eagles, Don Felder, is coming to Hayden Homes Amphitheater June 14. I spoke with the guitar legend about adolescent band battles with the Allman Brothers, opening night at the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles, and if he was responsible for Tom Petty’s music career.
the Source: You recently released a new album, “The Vault – Fifty Years of Music.” How has it been received?
Don Felder: Really well. It’s surprising because a lot of those ideas started as demos that I wrote for the Eagles and never finished.
tS: Why weren’t they finished?
DF: When I joined the Eagles in 1974, Bernie Leadon said if you want to write songs for the Eagles, don’t write lyrics, just write music beds and then give the song to Don [Henley] and Glenn [Frey]. So that’s what I did. I think for the record “Hotel California” I did 16 or 17 different song ideas and only two of them ended up on the record.
tS: Will we be hearing songs from the new album?
DF: I think it’s unfair to play a lot of new music nobody’s heard. It’s a big mistake when artists do that because the people want to hear what they know.
tS: Mostly Eagles songs, then?
DF: Absolutely. A lot of my show is songs that I co-wrote, co-produced, or played on. But the biggest challenge is everybody knows every note of the solo of “Hotel California.” You can’t go out and just jam on the end. And if you play a wrong note, everybody knows it.
tS: No improvisation like you did for the MTV Unplugged “Hotel California” intro?
DF: That was Don’s idea. Before the show he said, “We need a special introduction for this song. Make up something.” We filmed the show twice and I made up the introduction to it both times. When we got to the studio and listened to what was recorded, that first time where I shot from the hip was the best version.
tS: You’ve said that it must have been something in the grass that made Gainesville, Florida, a hotbed for talent. Why do you really think Gainesville produced so many great musicians?
DF: Everybody wanted to be the best in that area. Whether it was Greg and Duane Allman, Lynyrd Skynyrd, or me and [Stephen] Stills having a band together when we were 14, we were in competition to be the best in the area so we could play the most shows. Every weekend when the University of Florida was in session we’d play fraternity parties. In the summer we’d play Daytona Beach. Everybody was vying for those kids. I have the distinct honor of having lost three Battles of the Bands to the Allman Brothers.
tS: Can you talk about Duane Allman teaching you slide guitar?
DF: One night at their house Duane was playing slide and I had never seen anyone play it the way he did. I asked how he did it and he gave me the basics and I was off and running. And thank God, because that’s what got me into the Eagles.
tS: They saw you playing slide in rehearsal and asked you to be on a song?
DF: That’s what happened. They brought me in to play slide and they called me back the next day asking me to join the band. It was the greatest gift I’ve ever received, next to my kids, in my life.
tS: You moved to Los Angeles in 1973 and soon went from sleeping on Bernie Leadon’s floor to filling in for David Lindley with David Blue while Lindley played with Crosby/Nash. You and David Blue opened for Neil Young at the opening night of the Roxy Theatre. What was that opening night like?
DF: It was absolutely packed to the gills. It was a great music night. Days later I got a call from Graham Nash who asked me to grab a guitar and come to his room because Lindley was sick and couldn’t play the show that night. We kick ass and they send Lindley home and for the rest of the tour I open for David Blue and then go out and play with Crosby/Nash. The funniest thing is we’re playing with Crosby/Nash in Denver and Stephen Stills was living there at the time. I’m onstage and Stephen decides he’s going to make a surprise guest appearance, and he comes walking onstage and says, “What are you doing here?” I said, “I’m being you!” He said, “Ok, I’m here now.” It was a fun way to run into him again after being in a band together when we were 14.
tS: When you wrote “Hotel California” did you have any inkling it would send you on the path to superstardom?
DF: No. I was just tinkering around and that progression came out so I went running for my tape recorder. But I never thought it would have any of the success. It was just another idea at the time.
tS: Going back earlier to lyrics, did you ever have an opinion on the lyrics that Henley and Frey wrote for your songs?
DF: Don Henley is an absolute brilliant lyricist. He’s able to write in really beautiful, scripted ways. My lyric writing was weak compared to what he and Glen were able to write together, so I never wanted to jump in. I let the strongest people do what they do best. And it seemed to work.
tS: It’s rumored that you taught guitar to Tom Petty. Is there truth to that?
DF: He was playing bass with two guitar players that were awful and played too loud and flailed artlessly. I went to a couple of their rehearsals and I said, “Don’t play when Tom’s singing.” Then I went over to Tom’s house a few times and showed him some guitar chords. I didn’t teach him on a weekly basis, but, yes, I helped him.
tS: Gainesville, man.
This article appears in Source Weekly June 12, 2025.
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