The Eagles are often remembered as a whole entity. However, when you look at the individual band members, the ones that seemingly come to mind most frequently are Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, and Don Henley. That being so, several other musicians in the band have been criminally robbed of the credit they deserve. To Glenn Frey, the band member who has been the victim of this is Don Felder.
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Despite the fact that Don Felder was not a founding member of the Eagles, he still became an integral piece of the band after he joined in 1974. Since his 1974 arrival, Felder helped the Eagles win four Grammys and receive 11 nominations. However, in 2001, Felder was fired from the group. Subsequently, Felder sued the group for wrongful termination, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty. Prior to this legal turmoil, Glenn Frey thought Don Felder to be the premier guitarist of the Eagles.
Why Glenn Frey Believed Don Felder To Be an “Incredible Player”
When one thinks of the Eagles’ lead guitarist, they certainly think of Joe Walsh. After all, Walsh did garner the most limelight and as a result, was believed to be one of the band’s premier musical contributors. However, and to a certain extent, Glenn Frey didn’t believe this was the case. Rather, he believed Don Felder contributed the most when it came to strings.
Matter of fact, Frey has openly divulged his perspective on the matter several different times. Regarding Felder’s impactful presence, Frey once said, “Felder’s playing put the extra punch we needed in the band. The softer side to our records and live shows was always real good but, especially live, our rock and roll stuff was a little weak.” “Felder really nails down the hard stuff. From the moment he walked into the studio, he just blew us away. It was just about the best guitar work we had ever heard,” added Frey.
Per Frey’s comments, it seems the Eagles co-frontman believed Felder to be a better guitar player than Walsh. He supported this claim when he stated, “Don Felder [is] the underrated genius guitar player in our band who didn’t have the name of Joe Walsh, but was definitely just an incredible player.”
It is unclear what moments of genius Frey seems to be citing. Although, given that Don Felder helped write “One of These Nights,” “Victim of Love,” “Hotel California,” and “The Disco Strangler,” it seems Frey is gifting Felder credit for several of the Eagles’ biggest hits.
Stagecoach California’s Country Music Festival 2008 – Day 1 per Getty Images
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