Don Felder

American musician Don Felder, most known for his work as the lead guitarist of the rock band Eagles, was born in Gainesville, Florida. Felder showed an interest for music from an early age, and started playing guitar at just ten years old. Self-taught and heavily influenced by rock and roll, he started his first band at age 13. Growing up, he worked at a music school and put out his first single with the band Maundy Quintet. After they broke up, he started working with a new group called Flow, with which he also released an album in 1970. In the early 1970s, Felder moved to Los Angeles, where he started playing with other artists like David Blue and Neil Young, before joining the Eagles. By their fourth album, where Felder sang lead vocals to the song "Visions", the band had already shifted their style to a more hard rock sound. It was with them that Felder wrote the melody and chord progression to one of pop culture's classics, "Hotel California", which has been featured in numerous shows and movies, such as "The Big Lebowski" (1998) and, most recently, "Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings" (2021). The song's success put a lot of pressure on the band, which ultimately led to tensions boiling over and their disbandment. After that, Felder was able to focus more on his family and solo work, working as a session guitarist for artists such as Bee Gees, Diana Ross, Barbra Streisand and Stevie Nicks. His work appeared in many movie soundtracks during the 1980s, such as "Heavy Metal" (1981), and his solo hit "Never Surrender" was also featured in the movie "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (1982). The Eagles got back together in the early 1990s, and Felder continued as a member until 2001, when he was fired. He has since released an autobiography covering his time with the band and has continued to work in music with the Don Felder Band.