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Walsh hit the stage at 4pm and plugged his guitar into a small Fender amp. One by one, the other Eagles showed up and plugged in. Joe, looking like a high school music teacher, shouted out, "Barefootin' - in a one, two, three, four." It sounded dangerous right off the bat. Walsh brought a new sound to the Eagles - that gritty guitar of "Life in the Fast Lane" and "Hotel California," plus the Long Run album - and the other band members seemed to want to show their rough edges too, at least at the soundchecks I witnessed on that tour. It was at these afternoon rock-a-thons that the Eagles played down and strip-bar dirty.
Quote:
The race for the soundcheck was about to begin - whoever got there first chose the songs - and Joe wanted us to ride in the limo...
Glenn Frey had been first at the soundcheck and was sitting at the piano. He wanted to do Ray Charles's "Lonely Avenue." Don Henley sang Ray's part and the rest of the Eagles were the Raelettes. It started out as a piano tune but wound up as a guitar tune, thanks to Walsh. Unforgettable. I managed to get that on cassette.
- Tom Wright