One of the greatest American guitarists of all time, Joe Walsh first achieved fame as the frontman of the James Gang, then went on to build a highly successful and critically acclaimed solo career, which later led him to become a member of the Eagles, a band in which he played a crucial role in turning them into one of the best-selling acts of all time. Over the decades, he had the opportunity to share the stage with a vast number of musicians on special occasions and see many incredible bands perform. As a result, he has shared his opinions on many American bands, including The Grateful Dead and their late guitarist and singer Jerry Garcia.
What is Joe Walsh’s opinion on Jerry Garcia and Grateful Dead
Although Joe Walsh has a deep respect for the late guitarist Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead, he is not a fan of their music. He never really understood them because he could not figure out what they were doing during their live improvisations and he even said he was not sure if the band itself knew what they were trying to do. “Some improv bands I like. I love the Allman Brothers and I was listening to a lot of blues and of course that’s all improv. (But) I never really quite got the Grateful Dead.”
“I have a lot of respect for Jerry Garcia, but I could never tell what the hell they were doing. I’m not sure they knew either. But I was open to their input… To be able to improvise yourself, you’ve got to study other people. You’ve gotta not be afraid of it and you’ve gotta have enough licks to show that you can just play.”
Joe Walsh continued:
“You get your mind out of the way and just let it go. So (I had) all kinds of influences. I was studying Cat Stevens a lot, and, of course, the Beatles. I studied all the Beatles songs, because I was trying to figure out the craft also,” he told Harford Courant about Jerry Garcia and the Dead. Walsh was not that into the Dead’s music but he did have the chance to meet a few members of the band, including the late Bob Weir. In 2025 he even posted on his social media a photo with the late guitarist and singer Bob Weir, alongside the bassist Timothy B. Schmidt and Queen’s guitarist Brian May.
They attended one of the Eagles’ concerts at the Sphere in Las Vegas, where most of Weir’s final live performances took place. Throughout 2025 he played at the venue with Dead & Company, Grateful Dead’s spin-off band featuring John Mayer. On the caption, Walsh wrote, quoting his solo song “Life’s Been Good”: “Everybody’s so different. We haven’t changed. Night #32.”
Walsh didn’t post a statement about Weir’s passing in January 2026 at the age of 78. But the Eagles, as a band shared a special tribute to him. “Bob Weir’s dedication to his craft was inspirational. Although our music styles were different, we always admired his commitment to pushing himself to be as good as he could be. You can’t improvise the way Bob did, unless you have the ability to play as well as he did.”
The band continued:
“Musicians admired him and fans adored him. We were fortunate enough to see one of his final performances at the Sphere. Rock on, Bob. You have left a beautiful legacy,” the band said in an official statement. As said, they had the chance to see one of Bob’s final performances at the Las Vegas technological venue.
Curiously, Weir had already performed some Eagles songs live during his solo shows with Wolf Bros in 2023. During his concert at the in Menlo Park, California, for example, he covered “New Kid in Town” and “Heartache Tonight.” The main reason he played those tracks that night was that songwriter, singer, and guitarist J.D. Souther joined him on stage, as he co-wrote both songs with the Eagles.
Why the Eagles’ live improvisation differed from the Grateful Dead’s
As Joe Walsh said, he was a fan of bands that improvised when playing live, such as the Allman Brothers. But in his view, the Grateful Dead’s improvisation was a bit more confusing. He once explained why the Eagles’ music and live shows never really left much space for improvisation. According to him, their approach was more structured, which helps explain why he was not particularly into what the Dead were doing.
“I miss playing live, and because the Eagles are kind of a structured musical situation — it’s not exactly note for note, but it’s more structured, say, than what I’m doing. There’s less room to improvise — you can’t really turn up that loud, because the focus is on the vocals. I miss playing and I just decided that since my album was done and coming out, I’ve wanted to play for a long time with Kunkel and with Chocolate. I’ve just decided, ‘what the heck, I’ll just go out and turn it up. I won’t take another guitar player, just turn up and improvise like the old days,’ you know?”
He continued:
“It’s very healthy, I think, for everybody in the Eagles to be able to play with other people. Glenn’s in working on a solo album, and he’s not using anybody from the Eagles. It’s real healthy for all of us to play in situations with other people, ’cause you get to be like the Who or the Rolling Stones. Them guys have played together for like 15 years. They’re all to the point where they can’t play with anybody else. It makes everybody better musicians,” Joe Walsh said in an interview with David Gans in 1981.
Unlike Walsh, his former bandmate, the guitarist Don Felder is a big fan of the Grateful Dead. He had the chance to see the band playing at Woodstock and was impressed by their performance. “Just heard of the passing of Bob Weir. I first saw Bob at Woodstock with the Grateful Dead and was blown away by that whole band, and the musicianship. I feel so blessed to have been able to have him sing on “Rock You” from American Rock and Roll. Until we meet again, amigo,” Don Felder said on his social media in 2026.
Don Henley mentioned the Deadheads in his solo hit “Boys of Summer”
An interesting connection between the Eagles and the Grateful Dead is that the band’s drummer and singer Don Henley mentioned the famous “deadheads” in his biggest solo hit “Boys of Summer”. “Out on the road today. I saw a dead end sticker on a Cadillac. A little voice inside my head said, ‘Don’t look back. You can never look back,'” the lyrics say.
Talking to NME back in 1985, he explained why he included that part mentioning the Grateful Dead fans. “I was driving down the San Diego freeway and got passed by a $21,000 Cadillac Seville. (It was) The status symbol of the Right-wing upper-middle-class American bourgeoisie. All the guys with the blue blazers with the crests and the grey pants (were there) – and there was this Grateful Dead ‘Deadhead’ bumper sticker on it!” Don Henley said.
The Grateful Dead and the Eagles are two of the most influential and successful American bands of all time. However, they followed very different paths to achieve that status, as the Dead did not sell large numbers of studio records like many of their peers. They were a unique case of a band that became one of the highest-grossing live acts of all time, even though their record sales did not reflect those numbers. This is why they were often referred to as essentially a live band, known for delivering an exceptional concert experience.
On the other hand, the Eagles, in addition to being highly successful in terms of ticket sales, were also one of the best-selling bands of all time. Their album “Greatest Hits (1971–1975)” is the best-selling album in the USA, more than 40 million copies were sold. The Grateful Dead came to an end in 1995 after Jerry Garcia passed away at the age of 53.