During the inaugural episode of Paul Shaffer Plus One on SiriusXM in 2019, Joe Walsh of the Eagles shared the unexpected story behind the iconic guitar lick in “Life in the Fast Lane.” Walsh explained that the riff wasn’t originally part of the song at all — it was just a warm-up exercise.
“I was just playing, warming up for the show, and Glenn Frey comes busting in my dressing room and says, ‘What the hell is that? I love it,’” Walsh recalled. “And I said, ‘I don’t know, it’s just this warm-up.’ What he said was, ‘Joe, this is an Eagles song.’” That spontaneous moment became the foundation for one of the band’s most enduring hits.
