What Is Joe Walsh's Net Worth?
Joe Walsh is an American musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor who has a net worth of $75 million. Joe Walsh is best known for being a guitarist and vocalist for the popular American rock band Eagles. Joe has also enjoyed a successful solo career.
Walsh first gained attention in the late 1960s as a member of the rock band the James Gang, where his guitar work and songwriting skills played a significant role in hits like "Funk #49" and "Walk Away."
In 1972, Walsh embarked on a solo career, releasing critically acclaimed albums like "Barnstorm" and "The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get." His biggest solo hit, "Rocky Mountain Way," has since become a staple of classic rock.
In 1975, Joe joined the Eagles, replacing founding member Bernie Leadon. His contributions to the band, including the hit "Life in the Fast Lane," were instrumental in shaping the Eagles' sound. The band's 1976 album "Hotel California," featuring Walsh, is considered one of the greatest albums of all time.
After the Eagles initially broke up in 1980, Joe resumed his solo career, releasing a number of successful albums. He rejoined the Eagles when they reunited in 1994 and has continued to tour and record with them since.
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Early Life
Joe Walsh was born Joseph Fidler Walsh on November 20, 1947, in Wichita, Kansas. He came from a musical family, as his mother was a classically trained pianist. Walsh was adopted by his stepfather at age five after his biological dad was killed in a plane crash. The family lived in Columbus, Ohio, for many years during his youth. He got his first guitar at age 10 and learned The Ventures' "Walk Don't Run." When Joe was 12, the family moved to New York City, and he later attended Montclair High School, where he played oboe in his school band. He became part of a popular local band, the Nomads, and then played in various bands while attending college at Kent State University. Walsh majored in English and minored in music and was present during the Kent State massacre in 1970, after which he dropped out of the university.
Music Career
After leaving school, Joe Walsh reached a national audience when he became lead guitarist of the James Gang. The James Gang opened up for The Who on a European tour and had several minor hits, including "Funk #49," which highlighted his skills as both a singer and a guitarist. Walsh left the James Gang in 1972 and formed Barnstorm with college friend Joe Vitale and bassist Kenny Passarelli. The band stayed together for three years and produced three albums. Their last album, 1974's "So What," contained many guest contributions from several members of the Eagles. Walsh's producer, Bill Szymczyk, was also the producer of the Eagles, and Szymczyk suggested Walsh join the Eagles.
In 1975, Joe joined the Eagles as the band's guitarist and keyboardist, replacing founding member Bernie Leadon. As luck would have it, the first album released by the Eagles after Walsh joined the group was "Hotel California." With 32 million copies sold, "Hotel California" became the group's second-best-selling album of all time, behind their greatest hits album, which sold 42 million copies. The singles from the album included "Hotel California" and "Life in the Fast Lane."
The hard-rocking tune "Life in the Fast Lane" was based around a riff by Walsh and reached #11 on the charts.
The next year, the Eagles released their first compilation album, "Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)," which became the highest-selling album of the 20th century in the United States. Their next album, 1979's "The Long Run," took two years to complete and was considered a disappointing follow-up by some critics compared to "Hotel California," but it still proved a huge commercial hit for the band. The album topped the charts and sold seven million copies. Three top ten singles by Walsh received considerable airplay: "Heartache Tonight," The Long Run," and "I Can't Tell You Why." The Eagles split up in 1980 and took a fourteen-year hiatus, meanwhile, Joe went his own separate way entirely.
Walsh had already forged a solo career while part of the Eagles, releasing albums such as "So What," "You Can't Argue with a Sick Mind," and "But Seriously, Folks…" Following the break-up of the Eagles, he continued to release solo albums throughout the eighties, although sales never quite met the same level as his earlier successes. He released "There Goes the Neighborhood" in 1981, and it peaked at #20. The album spawned just one single, but it went on to become one of Walsh's most popular tunes, "A Life of Illusion." In May 1983, he released "You Bought It — You Name It," which was largely negatively reviewed by critics. He released two more albums in the eighties that were deemed commercial disappointments. Walsh went on to release four more albums: 1991's "Ordinary Average Guy," 1992's "Songs for a Dying Planet," 2012's "Analog Man," and 2013's "All Night Long: Live in Dallas."
Over the years, Walsh has collaborated with countless big names in the music industry, including BB King, Dan Fogelberg, Randy Newman, Bob Seegar, Ringo Starr, Sheryl Crow, Warren Zevon, and many others. In 2001, he joined the Eagles reunion and resumed touring with them.
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Other Ventures
Joe has appeared in "The Blues Brothers," "RoboCop," "The Drew Carey Show," "MADtv," and "The Voice." Walsh has long been active in preserving Santa Cruz Island's parks and is President of the Santa Cruz Island Foundation. He had a mock presidential campaign in 1980 where he promised free gas for everyone. In 2012, he told WASH FM that he would seriously consider running for Congress. In 2017, Walsh organized and performed in what became VetsAid, a concert series similar to the likes of Willie Nelson's Farm Aid.
Personal Life
Joe has been married five times. He was married to Margie Walsh in the 1960s, Stefany Rhodes from 1971 to 1978, Juanita Boyer from 1980 to 1988, and Denise Driscoll from 1999 to 2006. Walsh and Stevie Nicks had a well-publicized fling in the '80s. In December 2008, he married Marjorie Bach. Marjorie's sister, Barbara Bach, has been married to Ringo Starr since 1981.
Walsh's eldest daughter Emma Kristen (b.1971) died at age 3 in a car accident on her way to nursery school. Joe's daughter, Lucy Walsh, is also a solo musician. Through Marjorie Bach, Joe has a stepson named Christian Quilici. Joe and Christian are the co-founders of a philanthropy called VetsAid, a philanthropy that raises money for veteran charities through an annual music festival.
Walsh admits to struggling with alcohol and drug addiction for much of his early career. He has been in recovery since 1993.
Real Estate
Today, Joe's primary residence is a 20-acre property in the so-called "Beverly Hills Post Office" area, which he bought in 2008 for $4.5 million.
For roughly three decades, his primary home was a mansion in Studio City, California, which he sold in 2018 for $1.9 million.
In 2013, Joe paid $3.95 million for a home above Beverly Hills, California. He listed the home for sale in May 2019 for $5.3 million and ultimately $4.6 million in October 2019. Here is a video walkthrough of the home:
Legacy
Walsh has been ranked #54 by "Rolling Stone" in the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" list. As part of the Eagles, he won five Grammy Awards. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Eagles in 1998. Walsh's guitar solo for "Hotel California" was selected the best guitar solo of all time by "Guitarist" magazine in 1998. His guitar work has been praised by Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and Pete Townshend. He has produced albums for Ringo Starr and Dan Fogelberg.
