Joe Walsh is a true legend of rock 'n' roll, having spent his four-decade career releasing massively influential music both as a solo artist and as a member bands like the Eagles and James Gang. To this day, Walsh continues to tour with the Eagles and as a solo artist, and his singing, songwriting, and guitar playing is still top of the top.
Joe has been known to use several different guitar and amp combinations over the years, including Gibson Les Pauls, Fender Strats, and even his own signature Duesenberg model, which he's been seen with in recent years. During the James Gang era, it wouldn't be uncommon for Joe to record with a Fender Telecaster plugged into a Fender amp and then a Gibson Les Paul plugged into a Marshall amp for live performance.
I've decided to use a Les Paul for this tutorial to capture Joe's fat humbucker pickup tone and have pulled my ideas mainly from the late-'60s James Gang era and the '70s era of the Eagles. His approach to lead playing is direct and deceivingly simple, never wasting notes and always serving the song, and when practicing these licks, I would keep in mind how much Walsh takes his time and really milks a note for all it’s worth.
Especially with his impeccable vibrato and ability to always select very melodic notes, I think players can learn a lot about emotion and feel by listening, learning, and practicing some of Walsh's lead tricks. Follow along with the video above for a place to start.