Guitar great Joe Walsh returns to Las Vegas for 3-show stint

With Joe Walsh returning to the House of Blues, here are five things you might not know about the guitar great:

He’s a would-be politico

In 1992, Walsh ran for vice president on a ticket with “Blues Party” candidate and Native American activist Rev. Goat Carson. This followed a presidential bid in 1980 in which Walsh declared that his hit “Life’s Been Good” would become the new national anthem if he won. Everybody rise, hand over heart and sing along: “I go to parties sometimes until 4 / It’s hard to leave when you can’t find the door.”

He’s related to Ringo

Walsh is married to Marjorie Bach, his fifth wife. She’s the sister of former Bond girl Barbara Bach, whom Ringo Starr wed in ’81. That’s not where the connection ends: Starr played on Walsh’s ninth solo record, 1991’s “Ordinary Average Guy” — you know, the one with “The Gamma Goochee” on it.

He’s an amateur radio enthusiast

Walsh holds an amateur radio license and has his own station, WB6ACU. When he’s not making songs for the radio, well, he’s on the radio.

He’s down with half-man, half-machine police officers

Walsh has made numerous cameos in films and TV shows over the years, from playing a prisoner in “The Blues Brothers” to Ed on “The Drew Carey Show” to appearances on “RoboCop: The Series,” for which he created the soundtrack, which has sold a mere 32 million copies less than “Hotel California.”

He played an instrumental role in other acts’ classic recordings

Two of the greatest six-stringers of all time got iconic instruments by way of Joe Walsh. In 1970, Walsh gave Pete Townsend a ’59 Gretsch that he played on “Who’s Next” and “Quadrophenia.” The year before, Jimmy Page bought a ’59 Les Paul from Walsh for $1,200, which he used on “Led Zeppelin II.” The message here: All you have to do is get a guitar from Walsh somehow and you will immediately make one of the greatest rock records of all time.

Preview

■ Who: Joe Walsh

■ When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday; Nov. 18 and Nov. 19

■ Where: House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South

■ Tickets: Start at $99 (702-632-7600)

Contact Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476. Follow @JasonBracelin on Twitter.