Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In a career spanning more than forty years, he has been a member of five successful rock bands: James Gang, Barnstorm, Eagles, the Party Boys, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band. In the 1990s, he was also a member of the short-lived supergroup the Best. Walsh has also experienced success both as a solo artist and prolific session musician, being featured on a wide array of other artists' recordings.

Joseph Fidler Walsh was born on November 20, 1947 in Wichita, Kansas, the son of Robert Newton Fidler and grandson of Alden Anderson Fidler and Dora Jay Newton. Walsh's mother was a classically trained pianist of Scottish and German ancestry, and Walsh was adopted by his stepfather at the age of five after his biological father was killed in a plane crash. In the 1950s, it was common practice for Social Security, school registration, and health records for children to take the name of their stepfather, but Walsh's birth father's last name was Fidler, so he took that as his middle name.  Walsh and his family lived in Columbus, Ohio, for a number of years during his youth. When Walsh was twelve years old, his family moved to New York City. Later, Walsh moved to Montclair, New Jersey, and he attended Montclair High School, where he played oboe in the school band.  Inspired by the success of the Beatles, he replaced Bruce Hoffman as the bass player in the locally popular group the Nomads in Montclair, beginning his career as a rock musician. After high school, Walsh attended Kent State University, where he spent time in various bands playing around the Cleveland area, including the Measles. The Measles recorded for Super K Productions' Ohio Express the songs "I Find I Think of You", "And It's True", and "Maybe" (an instrumental version of "And It's True"). Walsh majored in English and minored in music; he was present during the Kent State massacre in 1970. Walsh commented in 2012: "Being at the shootings really affected me profoundly. I decided that maybe I don't need a degree that bad." After one term, he dropped out of university to pursue his musical career.

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