Don Felder helped the Eagles soar to the top of the charts when he wrote the music for their 1977 hit “Hotel California.” Although bandmates Don Henley and Glenn Frey built out the song's narrative theme and lyrics, the song's acoustic guitar-driven reggae rhythm and circular chord progression are the lure that pull listeners in and keep them hooked right up through Felder and Joe Walsh's anthemic solos.
Since the song's release, Felder and Walsh's guitar work on the outro to “Hotel California” has regularly been ranked as one of the greatest guitar solos of all time. It remains one of the standout dual-guitar workouts of the classic rock era.
For the band’s next album, 1979’s The Long Run, Felder says he wanted to showcase a different side to the band, and began writing a new muscular track that put his and Walsh’s talents at the fore. He called it “Heavy Metal.”
“It had a real kind of heavy hand to it,” he tells Guitarist. “I wrote it so that Joe and I could play even harder than we did — or edgier than we did — on ‘Hotel California,’ against each other. It had harmony parts, trading-off solos, and a much harder rock edge.”
The Long Run was tracked in five different studios over 18 months. But when it was finally released, “Heavy Metal.” was not among its tracks.
“We went in and recorded the basic track for The Long Run,” Felder reveals, “but never got around to finishing the lyrics. We had a basic track, but it just died in the Eagles’ vault.”
But Felder didn't forget it. Just a few years later, he was asked to contribute a song to the soundtrack of the 1981 animated sci-fi movie Heavy Metal. That gave him the impetus to finish the track, lyrics and all. It is undoubtedly the best-known Felder track apart from "Hotel California."
More than 40 years later, Felder still can't helped wondering what could have been.
“Without the title 'Heavy Metal,' that song could have, and should have, in my opinion, been finished on an Eagles record with Joe and me following up on ‘Hotel…’ with some dazzling guitar solos and stuff,” he says.
“It didn’t happen. We just didn’t have time. We had a tour booked and planned, and we were just dying to get through this record, the final mixes, cleaning up vocals, mastering and artwork.”
The creation of The Long Run had been anything but easy. The Eagles were running fast and dealing with personnel changes. Founding bass guitarist Randy Meisner had left before recording began and was replaced Timothy B. Schmit, making it the second Eagles album in a row to feature a revised lineup.
“Joe had joined during the Hotel California album,” Felder told Guitar World. “When we got to The Long Run, we were right off the road, going into the studio, and nobody had a break or time to start writing. It was a difficult time personally, physically, emotionally, and creatively in every way.”
But he also saw magic in his tandem with Walsh, who had previously enjoyed success with the James Gang and in his solo career, which produced the hit "Rocky Mountain Way." Felder says their chemistry was instant.
“Joe and I always had a great personal relationship and a great deal of respect for each other,” he says. “We developed, without even talking about it, the ability to dance together, where somebody would take a step back and support the person who stepped forward, and that person would step back and support the other person to step forward.”
Felder has remade “Heavy Metal” for his new album, The Vault: Fifty Years of Music. As its title suggests, the album features new songs inspired by rediscovered recordings dating back to the Eagles.
Heavy Metal should have been finished on an Eagles record with some dazzling guitar solos."
— Don Felder
“I write a lot of stuff, whether they see the light of day or not,” he tells Guitar Player. “I still drive down the freeway, and I’ll be singing a chorus into my cell phone. I do what I can to constantly produce.”
In related news, Felder has spoken with Guitar Player about the unlikely influences behind his guitar solo on the Eagles' hit "One of These Nights" and how an argument with Glenn Frey brought an end to the group's 1970s era.
In addition, the guitarist has reflected on how a young Tom Petty once arrived at his door and asked for guitar lessons.
