A Life of Illusion

"A Life of Illusion" is a song written by the American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joe Walsh and guitarist Kenny Passarelli, which became a hit and one of Walsh's most recognizable songs. It appears as the fifth track on Walsh's fifth solo studio album, There Goes the Neighborhood (1981). The majority of the track was originally recorded in 1973 as part of The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get sessions.

"A Life of Illusion"
Single by Joe Walsh
from the album There Goes the Neighborhood
B-side"Rockets"
ReleasedMay 1981
Recorded1973
GenreRock
Length3:30
LabelAsylum
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Joe Walsh
Audio
"A Life of Illusion" on YouTube

Release

The song was a hit in the United States, peaking at #34 on the Billboard Hot 100, and also reaching #1 on the magazine's Top Tracks chart,[1] where his former bandmates Don Henley and Glenn Frey would also score #1 hits.

Reception

Record World said that "Walsh s existential lyrics wind into a great hook."[2] Record World also praised Passarelli's guitarrón playing on the song.[2]

Chart history
Chart (1981) Peak
position
Canada RPM Top Singles[3] 37
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[4] 34
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock 1
U.S. Cash Box Top 100[5] 35

Cover versions

In 2002, the Foo Fighters recorded a cover of the song as a B-side, which later appeared on their covers album Medium Rare in 2011.

The song is used as the musical background to the opening scene in the film The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), and appears as the first track on the soundtrack album. It is also featured early in an Apple TV 2023 documentary about Michael J. Fox. The song is likewise referenced in author Rick Riordan's The Burning Maze (2018), the third book in The Trials of Apollo series.

See also

References
  1. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 666.
  2. "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. May 23, 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  3. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1981-08-29. Retrieved 2018-08-19.
  4. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  5. Cash Box Top 100 Singles, July 11, 1981



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