Joe Walsh But Seriously, Folks

The classic rock band The Eagles were already
immensely successful by the time 1975 hit, having scored
multiple Billboard-charting albums, numerous Top 40
singles, and had even won a "Best Pop Performance"
Grammy. Despite this, many fans of the band believe that
they had not truly hit their stride until the next year, when
founding member Bernie Leadon exited the group. His
replacement was singer/guitarist Joe Walsh, a longtime
friend of the band, a former member of contemporary
groups James Gang and Barnstorm, and a solo artist in
his own rite, who brought a harder edge to The Eagles
which took front and center of their greatest success: the
multi-million-selling 1976 album Hotel California.
Joe Walsh would continue to release solo works before
the Eagles' follow-up to Hotel California in 1979, keeping
busy with live and studio releases, and further bolstering
his own commercial success. 1978 would see the release
of his fourth album, and one of his greatest successes of
the 1970s, titled But Seriously, Folks...The album reached
#8 on the Billboard 200 charts, featured contributions
from his fellow Eagles bandmates Don Henley, Glenn
Frey, and Don Felder, and received wide critical praise for
its subject matter. Walsh had previously cultivated a
reputation for playful irreverence and a surreal sense of
humor, yet But Seriously, Folks...featured introspective,
melancholy, and existential tracks that were considered
out of character, and still found time for the caustically
sarcastic Top 10 single "Life's Been Good", which
bitterly takes the piss out of the partying rock-star image
he'd cultivated.