Rock fans know that Joe Walsh plays a mean guitar, but the longtime Eagles member displayed a lesser-known musical talent during his appearance Wednesday on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!… he also plays the clarinet.
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Walsh visited the late-night show to promote the upcoming 2023 edition of his annual VetsAid benefit concert, taking place November 12 in San Diego, but at some point, he wound up jamming with host Jimmy Kimmel on the clarinet.
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During the interview segment, Kimmel commented to Walsh that he’d heard the veteran rocker played clarinet while he was in school, to which Walsh responded, “Well, I don’t brag about it.”
Asked why he gave up the instrument and switched to guitar, Walsh explained, “I realized, ‘I’m not gonna get any girls playing clarinet’ … And you can’t accompany yourself and sing with a clarinet in your mouth.”
Kimmel then revealed that he also played the clarinet, and proceeded to pull out two of the woodwind instruments and handed one to Walsh. Walsh and Kimmel then “treated” the audience to a somewhat tuneless clarinet duet as the crowd clapped along.
Kimmel then offered to come and play clarinet at the VetsAid show, to which Walsh responded with a hesitant “OK.”
Earlier in the interview Walsh discussed the VetsAid event, the lineup this year features Stephen Stills, Jeff Lynne’s ELO, The Flaming Lips, The War on Drugs, and Lucius.
The concert raises money for various organizations that help veterans and their families, and the 75-year-old musician explained that one of the reasons he launched the charity event was that his father was killed in a plane crash while serving in the military when Walsh was a child.
With the show taking place in San Diego this year, Walsh noted, “California has the highest homeless vet rate, and I just do what I can … to help vets.”
Also during the interview, Walsh shared recollections of touring with The Who when he was a member of the band the James Gang.
“[Pete Townshend] taught me how to play guitar in a three-piece band,” he revealed to Kimmel. “The thing he taught me was to play with an attitude … and you can hear that attitude on a lot of my records.”
He then added, “But Keith Moon, The Who’s drummer, he taught how to trash hotel rooms.”
Later in the show, Walsh returned to perform a rocking version of his 1979 song “In the City,” which was recorded both as a solo artist and with the Eagles.
You can watch Walsh’s interview and performance on the Jimmy Kimmel Live YouTube channel.
In addition to the VetsAid concert, Walsh will be playing a bunch of concerts with the Eagles in the coming months. Visit Eagles.com to check out the band’s full tour schedule.
Photo by Shannon Finney/Getty Images
