Felder, Don
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Wikipedia-Article "Don Felder"
Don Felder (born September 21, 1947 in Gainesville, Florida) is an American rock musician, best known as guitarist for The Eagles from 1975-2001.
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Early life and influences
Don Felder was first attracted to music after watching Elvis live on the Ed Sullivan show. He got his first guitar when he was around 11, which he is believed to have exchanged with a friend for a handfull of cherry bombs. He was heavily influenced by rock & roll and when he was 15, joined his first band, The Continentals, which also had Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills, and Nash fame. Around this time he also met Bernie Leadon, later one of the founding members of the Eagles. Bernie replaced Stills and the band became the Maundy Quintet.
After the band broke up, Felder went to New York with a band called Flow, which released a single jazz album. While in New York, Felder improved his mastery of the guitar and learned various styles.
After Flow broke up, Felder moved to Boston, where he got a job in a recording studio. There he met the rest of the Eagles in 1971, while they were on their first tour. In 1972, Felder moved to California where he was hired as guitar player for an album by David Blue. He helped Blue put together a tour, in which they opened for Crosby and Nash for around nine months.
Around this time Felder was called by the Eagles to add slide guitar to their song "Good Day in Hell". On the next day he was invited to join the band, some say after a similar offer made to Joe Walsh was rejected. Walsh in turn joined the band later that year, after Bernie Leadon quit. Felder and Walsh were already friends, and together they added a harder edge to Eagles music. The band starting moving away from their earlier country rock style, towards rock and roll.
Hotel California
The first album to be released by the Eagles after their makeover was the legendary Hotel California. The album was a major hit. Felder wrote the music for the album's title track, "Hotel California", now considered a rock classic. After the tremendous success of Hotel California and the tour that followed, the band found itself under tremendous pressure to produce a worthy follow-up album. Following the next album, The Long Run, which took three years to complete, the band broke up.
Post 70's Career
Following the break up of the Eagles, Felder focused more on his family but also embarked on a solo career. In 1983, he released a rock and roll album titled Airborne which to date remains his only solo LP. In 1985-86 he hosted a musical comedy show on MTV entitled FTV.
In 1994, the Eagles (including Felder) regrouped for a concert aired on MTV, which resulted in the new album Hell Freezes Over. Felder continued as a member of the Eagles through their 1999-2000 New Year's concerts.
The Firing and Litigation
On February 6, 2001, Don Felder was fired from the Eagles. Upon being fired he sued Don Henley and Glenn Frey for wrongful termination and breach of contract. Henley and Frey counter-sued Felder for breach of contract. The case is still pending.