Teresa Spencer
Words by Teresa Spencer
In a quiet corner of Gainesville, Florida, long before the platinum records and guitar solos that would echo across stadiums, a young 10-year-old Don Felder sat on his porch with his first guitar that he obtained by exchanging a handful of cherry bombs to his friend at the local five and dime.
Best known for his incendiary guitar work and co-writing credit on “Hotel California,” Felder’s musical roots run far deeper than the Hollywood Hills or the high drama of the Eagles. His story isn’t just about fame or friction, it’s about a relentless, lifelong connection to music that began under the humid skies of North Central Florida.
“We had a black-and-white TV and no air conditioning,” Felder recalls, laughing. “I sat on my porch for hours with that guitar and taught myself to play. That was Gainesville. That was life.”
Felder wasn’t the only kid in Gainesville getting calluses on his fingers. The town became an unlikely breeding ground for what would later become the Southern California sound. Tom Petty, Bernie Leadon and Stephen Stills. They all passed through Gainesville’s music scene, not as stars, but as local boys with cheap instruments and big dreams.
“We didn’t know we were shaping anything special,” Felder says. “We were just trying to sound better than the band playing across the street.”
At just 13 or 14, Felder formed The Continentals, his first real band, playing school dances and armories. One of his early bandmates? Stephen Stills, long before Crosby, Stills & Nash would become rock royalty. Later, Felder gave guitar lessons to a teenage Tom Petty.
“He was a sweet kid. Determined. You could tell he had something,” Felder says, pausing with an affection that still carries the scent of Southern magnolias.
But it was a different guitarist who truly altered his trajectory: Duane Allman.
“Duane showed me the slide. Changed my whole perspective on what a guitar could do,” Felder says, in his charismatic way.
So much talent is coming out of that area of Florida. We joked as I said “Maybe it’s something in the water.” He replied “Or maybe it was in something we smoked” which made us both chuckle.
Felder eventually left Florida for New York at the age of 17, immersing himself in the jazz-rock fusion scene of the early ’70s. Jazz greats, Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis filled his headphones and shaped his phrasing. He learned to improvise, to let go of rigid structures, to find melody in chaos. That fluidity of Jazz would later serve him well in all aspects of his musical abilities. He learned to improvise due to that time in his life with his experience learning from Jazz.
When Felder joined the Eagles in 1974, the band had already tasted success. But it was his raw edge and technical firepower that helped catapult them from country-rock roots to a harder, more guitar-driven sound. Then came “Hotel California” a track built from a demo Felder had used as an audition with Don Henley per say.
“It started with just me playing around,” he explains. “I laid down a groove, layered guitar parts and when I gave it to the guys, it was just labeled ‘Number 16.’”
It would become one of the most iconic guitar intros in rock history.
What’s often lost in the mythos of “Hotel California” is the complexity and ambition of its composition. Felder created an intricate dual-guitar arrangement culminating in one of rock’s most celebrated solos. The track was dark and mysterious with a sonic mirage of California. This song and others brought the band a Grammy. They sold millions of records, and unknowingly birthed a cultural anthem.
Touring the world brought surreal highs and a few lows. Felder chuckles as he remembers one particularly unsettling encounter: a fan-turned-stalker who he caught scaling his 6 ft fence at his private residence. The stalking fan had previously left a VCR with a recording showcasing his shrine of Eagles memorabilia on the fence in the front of the residence. On the VCR tape the fan turned stalker eventually became known to Felder and his security as “Psycho Santa”. This guy did all of this in an attempt to ask Felder for autograph(s). Of course, this made Felder so uncomfortable he had to beef up security at his private residence as he has a family to protect. He ended up getting a German Shepard that was trained to protect to the full extent if necessary. For a time, he thought the stalker had gone away but suddenly “Psycho Santa” showed up again at a book signing where he waited in line with a few hundred others. It became apparent that this stalker had followed him from city to city, which eventually prompted a restraining order. Thankfully over some time “Psycho Santa” finally just went away without causing any physical harm. Over the years, there were other stalkers of course but this particular one takes the cake when it comes to top of mind in Felder’s memory.
When asked how it felt to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Felder didn’t hesitate.
“It was such an honor,” he says.
He’s also been inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame and the Musicians Hall of Fame. Accolades that recognize both his technical skill and cultural impact. But for Felder, none of it has ever been about the spotlight.
“It was never about fortune or fame. It’s always been about how music makes me feel. It’s all about the love of music for me.”
And his mission?
“I plan to ROCK UNTIL I DROP.”
Felder continues to tour, write, and reflect. His latest album called “The Vault – Fifty Years of Music” drops on the 23rd of May. It is a collection of newly recorded versions of the songs he has demoed over the years. He is also on tour with whom he deems brilliant talents. Stating “These musicians bring a breath of fresh energy to the mix.” He tipped his hat to his current band members bassist Derek Frank, who has traveled the world with icons Shania Twain, Gwen Stefani, Air Supply and more. Drummer Seth Rausch who has toured with Keith Urban and Carrie underwood and keyboardist Peter Dyer who is known for touring with Mariah Carey and Adam Lambert
And through it all, he remains tethered to that kid on the porch in Gainesville with just a guitar, the Florida heat, and a hunger for something beautiful.
Catch him at Daily’s Place on June 2nd with STYX & Kevin Cronin + Don Felder the Band of Brotherhood of Rock Tour. For information/tix https://www.dailysplace.com/events/detail/styx-kevin-cronin-don-felder-the-brotherhood-of-rock-tour
Here is a stream of the new album.
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