(Credits: Far Out / Jim Summaria)
Mon 17 November 2025 16:00, UK
There’s a gunslinger quality to Joe Walsh, which has allowed him to cement his place in rock history as one of the most cherished guitarists of his generation.
Operating with a self-assured nature, Walsh was a tearaway who managed to find a home in the Eagles and The James Gang. Both felt like a small outlaw outfit purpose-built for Walsh’s abilities. He was a guitarist able to deliver choppy solos but also fire off riffs with the accuracy of Jesse James. For the most part, you’d imagine nothing really bothered Joe Walsh. But even the best can get stage fright every so often.
No rule says that rock stars don’t get stage fright once they’re famous. Even though they have a track record of making brilliant music whenever they walk into the studio or onstage, every musician is still human at the end of the day, and there are usually a handful of pieces that even the best of the best find a bit daunting. While Joe Walsh has been able to stand amongst some of the biggest rock artists of all time and make out alright, he admitted that he was at a loss when looking at Jimi Hendrix for the first time.
Back when Walsh was still a teenager, though, rock was already going through a major change. After getting a load of Elvis Presley and Little Richard in America, the oncoming British Invasion inspired millions of budding musicians to pick up guitars of their own, practically starting a new genre of music based on The Beatles’ appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
While Walsh was already starting to make ends meet by the time he put together the James Gang, the counterculture was about to be blown wide open when Hendrix appeared on English shores. Serving as the American counterpart to the British Invasion, Hendrix’s massive guitar tone was unlike anything anyone had ever heard before, crying out in pain or making beautiful scale runs depending on what the song needed.
Jimi Hendrix in Copenhagen, 1967. (Credits: Bent Rej)
Whereas Walsh could throw down tasty blues licks whenever he got the opportunity, he was transfixed by what Hendrix did to his guitar. From playing the guitar with his teeth to performing behind his head to setting his guitar on fire, Hendrix turned the idea of lead guitar playing into a spiritual call rather than something someone aspires to do.
Walsh may have been appreciative of what Hendrix gave to the world, but he had no idea what to expect when he played with him for the first time. When opening up for Hendrix, Walsh was jamming backstage when he found the spiritual guitar wizard jamming on his guitar and plugging in next to him.
While Hendrix has always been known as the epitome of level-headed in whatever room he stepped into, Walsh remembered getting out a few notes before letting Hendrix take over for him. He may have been fun to hang out with, but Walsh remembered thinking that he could never aspire to what Hendrix could do.
Speaking with Howard Stern, Walsh said that what Hendrix accomplished on the guitar was nothing short of scary, saying, “We finished, and we were in the same dressing room. He was sitting and playing his guitar, and I came in with mine. I showed him my guitar, and he showed me his. Of course, I was intimidated by him. He had an aura. I mean, he had feathers on him. He was terrifying.”
Despite going through one of the most nerve-wracking experiences any guitarist could have gone through, Walsh ended up walking away with a lovely acquaintance with Hendrix, taking all the lessons with him on his next ventures with the Eagles and his solo career.
The truth is, Hendrix was such a different animal, almost alien-like in his performances, that mere earthling guitarists rarely threatened him. There was no way for anyone to compete with Hendrix, and given what he saw in front of him, even Walsh knew that he shouldn’t try.
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