On this day (September 21) in 1947, Don Felder was born in Gainesville, Florida. After playing in several East Coast bands, he moved to California. Before long, he was jamming with the Eagles. They asked him to play guitar on a couple of songs before inviting him to join. His first album with them was One of These Nights–their first No. 1 LP. Later, Felder co-wrote “Hotel California.” He has also released several solo albums and contributed to the soundtracks of multiple classic movies.
Felder saw Elvis Presley perform on The Ed Sullivan Show and knew what he wanted to do with his life. Soon, he had acquired his first guitar and started teaching himself how to play. He was 13 when he started his first band, the Continentals, which also included Stephen Stills. When Stills left the band, Bernie Leadon, a future Eagles co-founder, took his place.
After that band broke up, Felder traveled to New York, where he played in the improvisational rock fusion band Flow and sharpened his musical skills. When that band dissolved, he moved to Boston and took a job in a recording studio. In 1973, Felder moved to Los Angeles, where he quickly became part of the music scene. He became David Blue’s guitarist. They opened for Crosby & Nash and Neil Young during the tour.
Don Felder Joins the Eagles
Don Felder was already jamming with the Eagles in their rehearsal space when they started working on their 1974 album On the Border. The band asked him to play slide guitar on “Good Day in Hell” and lead guitar on “Already Gone.” Before long, they invited him to join the band. The next year, the band released One of These Nights, their first with Felder as an official member and their first No. 1…