Watch Joe Walsh, Dave Grohl Play Raucous James Gang Cover
Joe Walsh joined in on a jam in tribute to his musical legacy Thursday night, performing his James Gang single “Funk #49” with a star-studded cast of his famous fans and peers. Dave Grohl, Paul Rodgers, Todd Rundgren, Robert Randolph, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and many others accompanied him onstage in Seattle where Walsh was honored with a Founders Award by the Museum of Pop Culture.
Ringo Starr had presented him with the trophy before the performance. “I love the man,” Starr said, according to The Seattle Times. “Joe and I have known each other a long time, and probably longer than either of us can remember. Because we were both taking lots of medication. … Now that we are both medication-free, we remember everything.”
In addition to honoring Walsh as a solo artist, the purpose of the gala was to raise money for the museum’s educational programs; it raised $1.2 million Thursday night. “They shut down music programs in public schools something like 10 years ago,” Walsh said in his acceptance speech. “And now they’re going, ‘Geez, what happened to music? There’s no good songs anymore!’ Duh! My high school music teacher has a lot to do with the reason I’m here because he told me, ‘Joe, you got it, go do it.'”
In other Walsh news, he and the other members of the Eagles were recognized at the Kennedy Center Honors two weeks ago. The ceremony will be broadcast on CBS on December 27th.