Tom Petty may have the reputation of being the most famous rock star born in Gainesville, but he wasn’t the first. That honor goes to former Eagles lead guitarist Don Felder, who beat Petty to the punch by virtue of being born in the city three years earlier. While he hasn’t lived in Gainesville for decades, Felder often still looks back on his days in the Swamp with great pleasure.
Born in Gainesville in 1947, Felder cherished music from a young age. At just 10 years old he “exchanged with a friend for a handful of cherry bombs” in order to get his first guitar.
The self-taught would-be guitarist was greatly inspired by jazz icons including Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, and Miles Davis as well as blues musicians like Albert King and B.B. King.
“I’m primarily influenced melodically by horn players,” he said, “I realized most horn players can only play one note at a time, and you must be very selective about the melody you choose.”
At the age of 13, Felder formed his first rock band, “The Continentals”, with Isaac Guillory and friend Stephen Stills. When Stills left the band, he replaced him with future Eagle Bernie Leadon.
“Stephen Stills and I have been friends since we were 14. We still see each other and grab dinner now and then. He was in my band in high school. He left the band, and a week later Bernie showed up and replaced him,” Felder said in a 2024 interview with Kerry Eggers.
In 1959, 12-year-old Felder and fellow Continentals were named a “classy Gainesville band” and pictured playing at a Freshman forum.
“I’m the skinny kid on the right playing a Stratocaster,” Felder shared on Facebook.
While playing with The Continentals, Felder attended Gainesville High School alongside Petty, Stills and Leadon.
“Gainesville High School had an interesting group of kids during this time,” he stated in a Facebook post.
While growing up in Gainesville, Felder gave guitar lessons at a local music shop called Lipham Music, where he learned how to play slide guitar with future 1995 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame guitarist Duane Allman.
“The Allman Brothers used to live in Daytona Beach. They would come over to play the fraternity parties and play against us in the battles of the bands; they always won,” Felder said.
During those 18 months when Felder worked at Lipham Music, former guitarist Tom Holtz worked alongside Felder and remembered how talented the young guitarist was.
“He was just that much above everybody else,” Holtz told The Gainesville Sun, “The guy could play stuff that I could barely comprehend.”
Holtz later told the Sun how the music scene in Gainesville has changed since Felder’s days. For example, bands used to play over five times a week with good pay.
“You don’t see that anymore,” he says, “You’re lucky to play on weekend nights these days. You’re probably not getting paid any more than you were 30 years ago.”
Felder claims he taught a “young sandy-haired” Petty how to play guitar at Lipham Music, which Petty denied in a Q&A session with the Hollowood Reporter, clarifying that Felder taught him piano.
“Who knew he would become such a rock music icon?” Felder says, “I was so proud to see Tom become as popular and influential as he did.”
During the mid-60s, Felder and Leadon started attending the University of Florida and decided to disband The Continentals. Soon after, the duo formed a “british invasion-influenced frat party-band” first called Pink Panthers, then Maundy Quintet. According to fans on Limestone Lounge, an internet forum dedicated to Florida 60s music, the band’s song, “I’m Not Alone,” went to #1 on popular radio station WGGG in 1967.
“The Maundy Quintet had one of the best 60s folk-rock 45s ever. It’s too bad they didn’t have more recordings,” said fan Jeff Miami in 2004 on a Limestone Lounge subpage.
“Our grades haven’t suffered because of the group. It acts as an outlet,” said bass guitarist Barry Scurran to the Independent Florida Alligator in 1967. “We just try to work around our other obligations.”
Tom Laughon, the lead singer of Maundy Quintet, recalled how in addition to the band’s four harmonies, they also used Felder’s listening skill to improve the band’s sound.
“The way that Felder would listen and listen and get it exactly right, that’s what he did,” Laughon says, “He’d come to the practice and he’d know the song. He just had that ear.”
Pre-Eagles Years
In 1968, Felder joined Ocala-based jazz-rock band “Brave New Whirl” – later renamed “Gingerbread” – that recorded one album for Creed Taylor Record. This record deal led to yet another change to the band’s name: this time to “Flow.” Felder performed guitar, Rick Jaeger played drums, Jim Alves sported keyboard, Dave Vaught played bass and Ed Landreth sang vocals.
After the band was signed to Creed Taylor Record, they had their debut performance in New York. The self-titled first album had many notable tracks, including “It Swallowed the Sun,” “Rodney,” and “Sleeping.” The band disbanded after the album’s police, with Felder moving to Massachusetts to live with his girlfriend Susan Pickersgill, who was attending Harvard.
“Hey, Creed, It’s Don Felder, of Flow. I just want to tell you that I’ve decided to quit the band. It’s not really working for me and I need to leave,” Felder told Creed Taylor from Creed Taylor Record and published in his memoir “Heaven and Hell: My Life with The Eagles.”
Felder and Pickersgil met in the 60s while her family were vacationing in Florida. They dated for a while, before losing touch for years until Felder randomly called Pickersgil on the phone, which led to the rekindling of their romance. Soon after, Felder left Flow and moved to Boston, where he played at the Holiday Inn lounge in Cambridge and did odd jobs in Dorchester to get by. Felder married Pickersgil in 1971 and moved into an apartment in Hingham. They had four children: Jesse, Rebecca, Cody and Leah.
“I know that area very well,” Felder says, “Since those old days, the city has changed a lot, especially Commonwealth Avenue. One night, I brought Peter Green, who’d already left Fleetwood Mac, home to sleep on our couch a few nights.”
After 30 years of marriage, the couple divorced in 2000. Felder wrote about the “painful” experience in “Heaven and Hell: My Life with The Eagles.”
In 1973, Felder moved to Los Angeles and was honored to play alongside the group “Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young” in Gainesville. This group consisted of songwriters David Crosby, Felder’s longtime friend Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young.
“I grew up with Stephen Stills,” Felder says, “and before I joined the Eagles in 1974, I toured with Crosby & Nash in ’73, ironically by being Stephen Stills, playing and singing his parts.”
1973
While playing alongside Felder, Nash always looked up to his bandmate, even after they played together.
“I’ve always been an admirer of Don’s. As a guitar player and a singer, he’s so great,” Nash says, “He learned all of our stuff overnight, and he played with us the very next day. I’m a fan, you know?”
Years with The Eagles
In 1974, Leadon, Felder’s former bandmate and Gainesville High School classmate, invited him to join the Eagles, who were looking to add a skilled guitarist to their lineup. That year, Felder joined the band while recording their third album, “On the Border.” His expertise with slide guitar on the track “Good Day in Hell” earned him the name “Fingers” by bandmate Glenn Frey.
In 1975, Felder’s guitar work was integral to the album’s success, which included hits like “Lyin’ Eyes” and the title track “One of These Nights.”
One year later, Felder co-wrote the iconic title track “Hotel California,” providing the distinctive guitar riff that became one of the most recognizable in rock history. This album solidified the Eagles’ place in rock history and became one of the best selling albums of all time.
“People love the music, the guitar solos, and the overall vibe that song has,” Felder said.
In 1979, Felder continued to contribute to the band’s success with his guitar work and songwriting on their Eagle’s sixth album, “The Long Run,” which included hits like “Heartache Tonight” and “I Can’t Tell You Why.”
Throughout his time with the Eagles, Felder often clashed with other members, particularly Frey and Don Henley, over creative and business decisions. These tensions were exacerbated by the pressures of fame and the demanding nature of their tours and recording sessions. Then, in 1980, these conflicts led to the band’s breakup, until 1994 when they reunited for the “Hell Freezes Over” tour and album.
After the band reunion, the band received 11 Grammy nominations and won four times. In 1998, Felder was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Fame with the rest of the Eagles. Felder was also inaugurated into the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville in 2016 and the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 2017.
“I was blessed to have contributed to and been a part of a very talented mixture of voices, writing, guitar parts and production,” he says, “It was a magical, unique combination that happened in a certain place and time. I’m very proud of that.”
In 2001, a year after Felder’s divorce from Pickersgil and during the “Hell Freezes Over” tour, Felder was fired from the Eagles amid disputes over financial and leadership issues. He later filed a lawsuit against the band, which was settled out of court in 2007.
He later wrote about his experiences with the Eagles in the 2008 memoir “Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles.” The book’s release led to Felder becoming a “bestselling author,” and with the memoir becoming an instant New York Times bestselling hit.
“There’s still a lot of excitement about it,” Felder says, “As many as 50 people come up to the front of the stage who have the book and want me to sign it at just about every show.”
Years after Felder left the band, The Eagles went on another hiatus in 2013. Unfortunately, Frey passed away in 2016, leading to his son Deacon replacing him in the band in 2017. The Eagles plan to play shows in Las Vegas until October.
Post-Eagles Years
In an interview with Howard Stern in 2008, Felder stated that he is still friends with former Eagles members Leadon and Randy Meisner. Though, Felder only had connections with Frey or Henley when their attorneys are involved.
But that does not mean Felder lost respect for estranged bandmates. In a 2023 concert, before playing one of Frey’s compositions, he paid tribute to Frey.
“This was a class act, especially considering their turbulent history,” said Taylor Carlson, who attended the concert and saw the tribute live.
Over the years after his departure from The Eagles, Felder made many connections with other musicians in the rock world. In 2014, Felder met and played alongside guitarist Tommy Shaw of the band Styx, and multiple members of the band Foreigner, including founder Mick Jones and bass player Jeff Pilson, all of whom hold Felder in high esteem.
Shaw admires Felder’s passion for music and willingness to have fun with it.
“Don’s solos are always very beautifully crafted and constructed, but he’s also a guy who can pick up a guitar and just jam,” Shaw said.
Both Jones and Pilson respect Felder for his contributions to the Eagles.
“Don was an eye-opener for everybody on that tour. He really got it together. He faithfully did those songs he used to do with the Eagles, some of which he co-wrote,” says Jones.
“He made the Eagles rock a little harder,” Pilson said.
Looking back, Felder still can’t believe that his hometown became a mecca of future music icons in the 1960s and 1970s, and for all he crossed paths with, alongside him were Petty, Stills and Leadon.
“Some areas have a certain magic about them. It was a very unusual thing to have so many musicians growing up together, playing battles of the bands together,” he told The Gainesville Sun, “It had a huge impact on me, from the Latin influences of South Florida to the Southern rock of Gainesville.
Felder, now 76, tours the US with his new band, playing Eagles tracks along with his own original songs.
“A lot of these songs have a different energy now,” he reports. “It’s really a powerful band and everybody sings just spectacular. It’s a really impressive presentation of the songs that I co-wrote, recorded and toured with the Eagles for so many years.”
While Felder has lived in Boston, New York, and California, he often delights in his upbringing in Gainesville. Without the musician’s experience and connections in Gainesville, it’s hard to say whether he would have changed music history, joined the Eagles, and met Shaw, Jones, and Pilson.
“Growing up in Gainesville, Florida, I always remember standing under the warm moon light with the moss hanging in the trees,” Felder shared in 2023, “When I’m singing Seven Bridges Road, it takes me back to that same exact place. Where does it take you?”
