In 1967 I was in a band called The Case of E. T. Hooley. We were a band that was inspired as everyone was back then by the English Invasion. We did cover songs and some originals and had some local success. We got the opportunity to go play in New York so we left to find fame and fortune in NYC. We didn’t get famous but we had the time of our lives. We lived in The Village during the Golden Age and we learned how to play by opening up for national groups like The Grateful Dead, The Chambers Brothers and Taj Mahal at a great club called The Electric Circus. The Village was alive in ’67 and we saw it all. We saw Hendrix and Clapton and realized that we weren’t ready yet but what a time it was. Back in Cleveland in1969 I got a call from Jim Fox who was the drummer in a band called The James Gang. When E.T. Hooley was still playing in Cleveland The James Gang was our main competition on the local scene. We were similar musically but they had a secret weapon, a guitar player named Joe Walsh. Jimmy told me that their bass player had left the band and asked if I wanted to play a gig with them at a club in Kent, Ohio called JB’s to see if we jelled. We all knew the same songs so it was an easy fit. As soon as we started playing we knew we had something special, it just worked. After a year of playing practically every club in the country and opening for many big acts we made an album called “James Gang Rides Again”. Everything changed. That album produced Funk #49, our first hit. We started headlining concerts and the crowds got bigger. We went around the world two or three times and recorded a live album called “Live At Carnegie Hall” that was a great success and finally our last album with Joe was called “Thirds”. Thirds had a song on it called “Walk Away” that charted and did very well. After Joe left the band we carried on for a few more years and played with different guitar players one of whom was Tommy Bolin who had played with Billy Cobham and went on to play with Deep Purple. We stopped touring in 1977 and since then have gotten together with Joe in the original line up on several occasions including a very successful tour in 2006. We’ve done other one off’s recently including a gig last year at Wembley Stadium in London at a tribute show for Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.
Westwood One
After the group broke up I started doing some record engineering in different studios and found that I liked it very much. I was the chief engineer on the Dazz Band album “Keep It Live”. That album had the #1 single “Let It Whip” on it and that song won a Grammy in 1982 for Best R&B Vocal by a Duo or Group”. I really enjoyed working with various bands and in 1985 got a call from the chief recording engineer at Westwood One Radio Networks based in Los Angeles. Westwood was the premier live recording company in the world at that time and they offered me a job to be the head engineer for the Midwest/East Coast division of the company. I jumped at the chance and for the next five years we recorded all of the big festivals and the biggest artists in the world. We did all of MTV’s “Unplugged” shows and all of their “Spring Break Concerts” shows from Daytona. We did all of the “Farm Aid” events, the nationally syndicated “Super Star Concert Series” and some for hire shows such as Van Halen’s “Live Without A Net” live album recorded in New Haven Connecticut. That album became the best selling live dvd ever recorded until it was eclipsed by “The Eagles “Live From Melbourne” many years later. We also recorded artists such as Madonna, The Police, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Nicks, Neil Young, Tom Petty, REM, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin,CSNY, The Beach Boys and all of the greats at the time. Westwood One changed their main business in 1989 and I went back to the studio. Since then I play out occasionally and still do some recording at my home studio
The James Gang
Jimmy Fox | Dale Peters | Joe Walsh
Emerging from Cleveland, Ohio in 1966, the James Gang set the template for classic rock trios. Despite various line-up shuffles, the band truly came into its own when Joe Walsh, Jim Fox, and Dale Peters took to the stage. Their unique blend of catchy guitar riffs, rhythmic complexity, and hard rock attitude hailed the dawn of the hard rock era in the early 1970s.
Their signature sound reached new heights with James Gang Rides Again, an album that struck gold and peaked at number 20 on the Billboard charts. This record included the iconic “Funk 49”, a track that continues to resonate with classic rock fans and has one of the most memorable riffs in rock history.
In 1971, the band kept the creative momentum going with the release of ‘Thirds’. Climbing to number 27 on Billboard, this album showed the band’s versatility with the country-infused pedal steel additions and tender, melodic backup vocals from The Sweet Inspirations.
However, all good things come to an end, and by winter 1971, Walsh left the band, leading to the eventual disbandment in 1974. Yet the James Gang’s legacy was far from over. The original power trio of Walsh, Fox, and Peters reassembled for various reunions, including a performance at the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert in Wembley Stadium on September 3, 2022.
The James Gang: a true cornerstone of American classic rock and an
unforgettable part of rock history.