Don Felder
{{Guitarist infobox
name = Don Felder | image = | born = September 21, 1947
Gainesville, Florida | genre = Rock | affiliation = Eagles (1974 - 2001) | notable guitars = Gibson ES-355 | years = 1974 - present | website = http://www.feldermusic.comDon Felder (born Donald Felder, on September 21, 1947 in Gainesville, Florida) is an American rock musician, best known as guitarist for The Eagles from 1974-2001.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.
In 1974 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 a year later, 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. On the band's fourth album, One of These Nights, Felder sang lead vocal on the song "Visions," which he co-wrote with Don Henley. This is the only Eagles song that Don Felder has ever sung lead vocal on.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". 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 almost three years to complete, the band broke up.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, although he contributed the songs Heavy Metal (Takin' A Ride) and All of You to the 1981 film "Heavy Metal" as well as the title track from the movie "Wild Life". In 1985-86 he hosted a musical comedy show entitled FTV. In 1986 he wrote and performed all the music and the theme song to the animated series Galaxy High.
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.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.*Don Felder fan site
*Don Felder Fans - Felder fan site
*Eagles fan site
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