Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXCVI: Joe Walsh: Life's Been Good

As regular readers (both of you) may recall, I've noted a time or two here on Friday Night Jukebox that sometimes songs are just fun--and this week's tune certainly fits that bill.  What make it extraordinary, though, is that it's a peek inside what fame is like...but with a rather humorous--and humble--take on it.

For a man with his career resume, Joe Walsh's life work surprisingly comes across mostly as workmanlike--which for an artist who had a minor hit with a song called "Ordinary Average Guy" (and it was autobiographical to boot) is probably perfect.  Walsh is obviously best known for being in the Eagles since 1975, but had several hits with the James Gang prior to joining and has had a few solo hits since becoming an Eagle.  He is widely regarded as one of the best guitarists to ever pick up an ax, and in 1998 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with his fellow Eagles.  For his solo career, Walsh has released 10 studio albums (four of which hit the top twenty, with one of those hitting #8), one live album, and five compilations.  He's also released 21 singles, four of which have hit the top forty.  Like many a rock star before him, Walsh has had substance abuse issues, but cleaned up in 1993 and has been an advocate for clean living ever since.  Sadly, Walsh lost his three year old daughter Emma in an auto accident in 1974.

Fun Fact:  For those of you who, like myself, at one point in your life had a crush on Stevie Nicks, she has noted that Walsh was the one true love she ever had (so if you, too, can become a drug addled rock guitarist, you might have a chance to date Ms. Nicks).  Unfortunately, their addictions to cocaine drove them apart as Walsh feared they'd both die if he didn't make a break from Fleetwood Mac's reigning queen.

"Life's Been Good" was released as a single in 1978 from Walsh's wonderfully titled LP But Seriously, Folks....  It would become the highest charting single of his career, reaching #12 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.  The album was his highest charting solo studio LP, peaking at #8 on the Billboard 200.

Backed by a reggae like groove, "Life's Been Good" offers up a series of vignettes that playfully paint a picture of "fortune and fame."  Walsh has noted that all of the stories offered up were true (e.g., he did own a Maserati and he literally lost his license so he couldn't drive) which serves to humanize not only Walsh but also the reluctant rock star.  The full length version (a four minute radio friendly version became the hit single) features some fine instrumentation and lets Walsh showcase his guitar chops a bit.  Walsh has a self-deprecating wit (my favorite kind of wit), but isn't afraid to let us know that (as one might guess) rock stars have a bit of an ego, too--at one point Walsh calls out "Everybody say I'm cool" and the backing vocalists sing out "He's cool!"  This one isn't going to change the world--it's a gentle reminder that not only are our lives humorous, but that they're also not nearly as important as we sometimes make them out to be.

Lyric Sheet:  "Lucky I'm sane after all I've been through/(Everybody say I'm cool)(He's cool)/I can't complain but sometimes I still do/Life's been good to me so far..."

Enjoy:

194,000+ Dead Americans

Fuck Donald Trump,

emaycee