Updated On: 07 June, 2021 08:29 AM IST | Mumbai | Sonia Lulla
In what’s best described as the musical equivalent of a casting coup, Joe Walsh and Ustad Amjad Ali Khan jam for an EP; the Eagles guitarist tells mid-day he fretted when attempting Indian classical

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan with Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh
Joe Walsh is a big believer in destiny’s mysterious ways. During a visit to India a few years ago, he developed a liking for the sarod, and subsequently purchased the instrument ahead of his return to Los Angeles. When Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, along with his sons, Ayaan and Amaan arrived in LA for a collaboration with the American rock guitarist — who has been a member of three successful rock bands, including James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band — their instruments had been misplaced. “It was meant to happen,” Walsh says of the subsequent collaboration, which saw the Khans then employ his sarod to piece together the three-part EP, Prayers, an ode to frontline workers.
At 73, 50 of which he has devoted to the field of music, Walsh still has childlike enthusiasm when discussing the art. “I have just been introduced to the world of Indian music. I don’t have a great understanding of it, but I get excited with it. Being in India, making friends, and being around spiritual people has been insightful. I am at the tip of the iceberg. The more I do, the more I want to do,” he says, adding that the fear he harboured when dabbling in a style he knew little about is essential for the making of a worthwhile project.