Joe Walsh birthday - TIMH | Eleven Warriors

Northeast Ohio’s favorite adopted son turns 68 years old today. Though he was born in Wichita, Joe Walsh is forever linked to Cleveland, not only because he is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but also due to the time he spent playing grinding out small gigs around town early in his career. Joe is a blue collar rocker that has worked his way from local shows to riding with the James Gang, soaring with The Eagles and through a solo career that is still active today.

Joe spent some time growing up in Columbus before settling in New Jersey. He played oboe in the high school band before attending Kent State. While at Kent he formed a band with some other students and they called themselves The Measles. The Measles were a popular party band around campus and the surrounding area and they recorded a few singles but nothing much came out of it.

There was a more serious band up the road in Cleveland called the James Gang and Joe was friends with their guitar player, Glenn Schwartz. Schwartz had returned from the Army and formed The James Gang with Jim Fox, the former drummer from The Outsiders. Schwartz failed to tell his bandmates that he wasn’t actually discharged from the Army, he was in fact AWOL when he returned to Cleveland. Trying to stay one step ahead of The Man, Schwartz split for California.

When Joe heard Schwartz was gone he drove to Cleveland, knocked on Fox’s door and asked for an audition. Joe was hired and the golden era of the James Gang began. The band opened for Eric Clapton and Cream in 1968 and released their debut album, “Yer Album”, in 1969. Their initial effort wasn’t very good but they soon rectified that with the release of “James Gang Rides Again” in 1970. The lead track, “Funk #49” introduced Joe to the world while “The Bomber” let us know he wouldn’t be going anywhere for a while.

The last James Gang album with Joe followed in 1971. “Thirds” contained the band’s only truly successful single, “Walk Away”, and the album went gold in 1972. Joe left the band in 1971 and quickly formed a new band called Barnstorm, though the albums they released are credited as Joe Walsh solo efforts. “Barnstorm” was released in 1972 and wasn’t commercially successful. The follow up album, “The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get”, was a different story as it made the Top 10 and spawned a Top 40 single with “Rocky Mountain Way”. Barnstorm also served as the backing band on a record by Cleveland’s native son Michael Stanley, the excellent “Friends and Legends” album in 1973.

Joe left Barnstorm and released a true solo album, “So What”, in 1974. This album featured backing vocals by members of the band The Eagles. Joe would join the Eagles in 1975, just prior to the recording of their colossal album, “Hotel California”. Joe co-wrote a song off the album, “Life in the Fast Lane”, which went to #11 on the charts. Joe remained with the Eagles through their break up in 1980 and reunion in 1994.

Joe was buoyed by the success of the Eagles and continued to release solo albums, both during and after his time with the Eagles. He had hits with songs like “Life’s Been Good”, “All Night Long” and “A Life of Illusion”. While Joe always liked to party he was aware of the dangers of stardom. He’s been quoted as saying, “The first thing that happens is that you get some kind of label, and you gotta live up in it, and you just get caught up in that, and I forget what the second thing is.” Eventually his drinking and drugging got out of control in the 1980s and his music suffered for it. The 80s weren’t a total waste and Joe managed to keep it together enough to start dating Stevie Nicks and release a solid album in 1985, “The Confessor”.

Joe cleaned up his ways in 1995 after he boarded an airplane, landed in Paris and had absolutely no recollection of the trip. A sober Joe proved to be just as much fun as he always was and he got to prove his comedic chops on a few episodes of the Drew Carey Show. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Eagles in 1998. Joe is still performing and he released his eleventh studio album, “Analog Man”, in 2013.

“Funk #49” off the album “James Gang Rides Again” 1970: