Hotel California

Last updated

Don Henley and Glenn wrote most of the words. All of us kind of drove into L.A. at night. Nobody was from California, and if you drive into L.A. at night [...] you can just see this glow on the horizon of lights, and the images that start running through your head of Hollywood and all the dreams that you have, and so it was kind of about that [...] what we started writing the song about. [19]

Henley decided on the theme of "Hotel California", noting how The Beverly Hills Hotel had become a literal and symbolic focal point of their lives at that time. [20] Henley said of their personal and professional experience in LA: "We were getting an extensive education, in life, in love, in business. Beverly Hills was still a mythical place to us. In that sense it became something of a symbol, and the 'Hotel' the locus of all that LA had come to mean for us. In a sentence, I'd sum it up as the end of the innocence, round one." [21]

Frey came up with a cinematic scenario of a person who, tired from driving a long distance in a desert, saw a place for a rest and pulled in for the night, but entered "a weird world peopled by freaky characters", and became "quickly spooked by the claustrophobic feeling of being caught in a disturbing web from which he may never escape". [15] In an interview with Cameron Crowe, Frey said that he and Henley wanted the song "to open like an episode of the Twilight Zone ", and added: "We take this guy and make him like a character in The Magus , where every time he walks through a door there's a new version of reality. We wanted to write a song just like it was a movie." [20] Frey described the song in an interview with NBC's Bob Costas as a cinematic montage "just one shot to the next [...] a picture of a guy on the highway, a picture of the hotel, the guy walks in, the door opens, strange people". Frey continued: "We decided to create something strange, just to see if we could do it." [2] [22] Henley then wrote most of the lyrics based on Frey's idea, and sought inspiration for the writing by driving out into the desert as well as from films and theater. [20]

Part of the lyrics, such as "Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes bends / She got a lot of pretty pretty boys she calls friends", are based on Henley's break-up with his girlfriend Loree Rodkin. [15] [21] According to Frey's liner notes for The Very Best Of , the use of the word steely in the lyric "They stab it with their steely knives, but they just can't kill the beast" was a playful nod to the band Steely Dan, who had included the lyric "Turn up the Eagles, the neighbors are listening" in their song "Everything You Did". [23] Frey had also said that the writing of the song was inspired by the boldness of Steely Dan's lyrics and its willingness to go "out there", [20] and thought that the song they wrote had "achieved perfect ambiguity." [22]

Recordings

The Eagles recorded the track with Don Henley on lead vocal three different times, twice at the Record Plant in Los Angeles and finally at the Criteria Studios in Miami. [2] [3] They first recorded a riff, but when it came to recording the vocal, it was found to be in too high a key for Henley's voice, so Felder progressively lowered the key from E minor, eventually settling on B minor. The second recording, however, was judged too fast. [2] In Miami, the band fine-tuned the instrumentation and the lyrics and recorded numerous complete takes. Five or six best ones were selected, and the best parts were then spliced together to create the released version. According to the producer Bill Szymczyk, there were 33 edits on the two‑inch master. [3] The final section features a guitar battle between Joe Walsh (who had replaced Bernie Leadon after Leadon's departure from the band in 1975) and Felder, which took the two of them sitting together working for around three days to achieve the necessary precision. [15] Walsh and Felder initially started improvising but Henley insisted that the recording should follow the music as first recorded in Felder's demo. [16] However, according to Szymczyk, Walsh and Felder's improvisations did make the final cut of the song, with the producer splicing different Walsh and Felder licks together while he, Walsh, and Felder arranged harmonized guitar parts together in the studio. [3]

Henley decided that the song should be a single, although Felder had doubts and the record company was reluctant to release it because, at over six minutes, its duration far exceeded that of the songs generally played by radio stations. [16] [24] The band took a stand and refused the label's request to shorten the song. [25] The song was released as the second single from the album after "New Kid in Town". The front cover art for some overseas editions of the 45rpm single released was a reworked version of the Hotel California LP cover art, which used a photograph of the Beverly Hills Hotel by David Alexander, with design and art direction by Kosh. [26]

The Eagles performing "Hotel California" in Australia during their Long Road Out of Eden Tour The Eagles in concert - 2010 Australia.jpg
The Eagles performing "Hotel California" in Australia during their Long Road Out of Eden Tour

As "Hotel California" became one of the group's most popular songs and a concert staple for the band, [27] live recordings of the song have therefore also been released. The first live recording of the song appeared on the Eagles' 1980 live album, and an acoustic version with an extended intro is a track on the 1994 Hell Freezes Over reunion concert CD and video release. [28] The Hell Freezes Over version is performed using eight guitars and has a decidedly Spanish sound, with Felder's flamenco-inspired arrangement and intro. [29]

A music video for the song, filmed at the Capital Centre in March 1977, was first aired on the USA Network as part of the Night Flight program in August 1985. [30] This video would continue to air on VH1. [31] In 2013, a re-edited version of the video, as well as other footage from the Capital Centre concerts, was released as part of the History of the Eagles documentary set.

Chart performance

"Hotel California" first entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated February 26, 1977, [32] and topped the Hot 100 singles chart for one week in May 1977, [33] the band's fourth song to reach No. 1 on that chart. [9] It peaked at number 10 on the Easy Listening chart in April 1977. [34] Billboard ranked it number 19 on its 1977 Pop Singles year-end chart. [35] Three months after its first release, the single was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), representing one million copies shipped. In 2009, the song was further certified Platinum (Digital Sales Award) by the RIAA for sales of one million digital downloads, [36] and has since sold over 3 million downloads. [37]

Accolades

The Eagles won the 1977 Grammy Award for Record of the Year for "Hotel California" at the 20th Grammy Awards in 1978. [38] Cash Box said that "the luxuriant harmonies are here, of course, along with muted rhythm guitars and vocal inflections that add a West Indian flavor" and "the multi-tracked guitar harmonies...end the cut with melodrama". [39] In 2003, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. [40]

The song is rated highly in many rock music lists and polls. Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number 49 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". [41] It was named one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. [42] At the induction of the Eagles into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, all seven former and present members of the band reunited to perform "Hotel California" [43] and "Take It Easy."

The song's guitar solo was voted the best solo of all time by readers of Guitarist magazine in 1998, [8] and was ranked 8th on Guitar Magazine's Top 100 Guitar Solos. [8] The song was also included in the music video game Guitar Hero World Tour . It was ranked number 1 in the list of the best 12-string guitar songs of all times by Guitar World magazine in 2015. [44]

Themes and interpretations

Glenn Frey said that originally "We decided to create something strange, just to see if we could do it," and that the song was meant to mimic the imagery of the 1965 novel The Magus by John Fowles, about a man in an unfamiliar rural setting who is unsure about what he is experiencing. [45]

Don Henley has given a number of explanations about the song, ranging from "a journey from innocence to experience" [11] to "a sociopolitical statement." [46] In an interview with Rolling Stone , Henley said that the song was meant to be "more of a symbolic piece about America in general," and added, "Lyrically, the song deals with traditional or classical themes of conflict: darkness and light, good and evil, youth and age, the spiritual versus the secular. I guess you could say it's a song about loss of innocence." [15]

The song has been described as being "all about American decadence and burnout, too much money, corruption, drugs and arrogance; too little humility and heart." [15] It has also been interpreted as an allegory about hedonism, self-destruction, and greed in the music industry of the late 1970s. [47] Henley called it "our interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles," [48] and later said, "It's not really about California; it's about America. It's about the dark underbelly of the American dream. It's about excess, it's about narcissism. It's about the music business. ... It can have a million interpretations." [49] In the 2013 documentary, History of the Eagles , Henley reiterated:

On just about every album we made, there was some kind of commentary on the music business, and on American culture in general. The hotel itself could be taken as a metaphor not only for the myth-making of Southern California, but for the myth-making that is the American Dream, because it is a fine line between the American Dream, and the American nightmare. [50]

In a 2009 interview, The Plain Dealer music critic John Soeder asked Henley if he regretted writing the lines "So I called up the captain / 'Please bring me my wine' / He said, 'We haven't had that spirit here since 1969'" because wines are fermented while spirits are distilled. Henley responded:

Thanks for the tutorial and, no, you're not the first to bring this to my attention –and you're not the first to completely misinterpret the lyric and miss the metaphor. Believe me, I've consumed enough alcoholic beverages in my time to know how they are made and what the proper nomenclature is. But that line in the song has little or nothing to do with alcoholic beverages. It's a sociopolitical statement. My only regret would be having to explain it in detail to you, which would defeat the purpose of using literary devices in songwriting and lower the discussion to some silly and irrelevant argument about chemical processes. [51]

In his Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings, Volume 1, Steve Sullivan theorizes that the "spirit" that the Hotel California hasn't had since 1969 refers to the spirit of social activism of the 1960s, and how disco and the related pop music of the mid-1970s had turned away from it. [15]

Conjectures

The metaphorical character of the story related in the lyrics has inspired a number of conjectural interpretations by listeners. In the 1980s, the Rev. Paul Risley of Cornerstone Church in Burlington, Wisconsin, alleged that "Hotel California" referred to a San Francisco hotel that was purchased by Anton LaVey and converted into his Church of Satan. [52] [53] The song also allegedly contained backwards messages purportedly referring to Satanism: "Yes, Satan, he organized his own religion... It was delicious... He puts it in a vat and fixes it for his son and gives it away." [54] Don Felder denied any such allegations in a 2019 interview, maintaining that the song was about "the underbelly industry in Los Angeles, how it can be less than beautiful." [55] Other rumors suggested that the Hotel California mentioned in the song was actually the Camarillo State Mental Hospital, which was shut down in 1997, and redeveloped into California State University Channel Islands. [56]

The term "colitas" in the first stanza ("warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air") has been interpreted as a sexual slang or a reference to marijuana. [57] "Colitas" means "little tails" in Spanish; in Mexican slang it refers the flowering buds of the cannabis plant. [58] [59] According to Glenn Frey, the "warm smell" is "colitas ... it means little tails, the very top of the plant." [60] The Eagles' manager Irving Azoff appears to lend support to the marijuana hypothesis; [61] however, Felder said, "The colitas is a plant that grows in the desert that blooms at night, and it has this kind of pungent, almost funky smell. Don Henley came up with a lot of the lyrics for that song, and he came up with colitas." [62]

Other interpretations of the song range from drug addiction to cannibalism. [2] On the various interpretations, Henley said: "Some of the wilder interpretations of that song have been amazing. It was really about the excesses of American culture and certain girls we knew. But it was also about the uneasy balance between art and commerce." [57]

Harmonic structure

The intro and verses' chord pattern counts eight measures, each one assigned to a single chord. Seven different chords are used in the eight measures. As the song opens, it is not until the eighth measure that a chord is repeated. The song is initially in the key of B-minor. [63] The presence of E major (a borrowed chord that contains a G#, which isn't usually found in the key of B minor), gives a hint of B Dorian mode.

The chords are played as follows:

Bm–F♯7–A–E–G–D–Em–F♯7
or
Assuming the key of D (the relative major of B minor):
vi–III7–V–II–IV–I–ii–III7

The eight-measure sequence is repeated in the intro, for each verse and in the outro, providing the harmonic framework for the entire extended dual guitar solo at the end of the song. [63] One explanation of the progression is that it is a common flamenco chord progression called the "Spanish progression" (i–VII–VI–V in a Phrygian context) that is interspersed with consecutive fifths. [63] With its descending ostinato pattern, it could be considered a fandango, a forerunner of the Baroque chaconne form. [64]

This chord sequence is not commonly used, and Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull has pointed out its similarity to his song "We Used to Know" from their 1969 album Stand Up , an international hit which reached No. 1 in UK album chart and No. 20 in U.S. Billboard album chart, suggesting the Eagles heard it on the album or when they toured together. [65] While the Eagles did open for Jethro Tull in June 1972, Don Felder, who wrote the music, did not join the band until 1974 and would not have been backstage at their concerts. [66] Felder has said that he had never heard "We Used to Know", and that he was unfamiliar with Jethro Tull apart from the fact the frontman plays a flute. [67] Anderson himself indicated that his comments on the similarities between the songs were meant as a joke, and said: "It's not plagiarism. It's just the same chord sequence. It's in a different time signature, different key, different context. ... Harmonic progression—it's almost a mathematical certainty that you're gonna crop up with the same thing sooner or later if you're strumming a few chords on a guitar." [68]

The chorus, or refrain, uses five of the verse's seven chords, structured with the melody in a way that infers a key change from B minor to its relative major key of D. [63]

G–D–F♯7–Bm–G–D–Em–F♯7
or
assuming a key of D:
IV–I–III7–vi–IV–I–ii–III7

Notable cover versions

Cultural influence

"Hotel California" and its lyrics have become absorbed into the wider culture around the world, and have been used by various writers and commentators to reflect on issues ranging from politics to social media and welfare, [81] [82] [83] or as an observation on a particular situation. [84] [85] The lines "We are programmed to receive / You can check out any time you like / But you can never leave!" were used by an economist to refer to how the appeal of an attractive "Hotel California"-type host country to foreign investors may be countered by the cost of exit on leaving the country. [86] A term "The Hotel California Effect" was then used to refer to the negative effect of financial regulations on investment, [87] and the problems foreign investors faced when getting their money out of China. [88] [89] It has also applied to other ideas such as problems when leaving a service provider or social media network, [90] [91] or when exiting cloud computing. [92] The same analogy has been used by various commentators considering scenarios for Brexit, with the term "Hotel California Brexit". [93] [94] [95]

A book titled Operation Hotel California: The Clandestine War Inside Iraq was written about the clandestine operation named after the song title by CIA–US Special Forces teams in Iraqi Kurdistan in the lead-up to the Iraq War. [96] [97]

Although the Eagles were noted for their reluctance to license their songs for use in shows, [98] the song has been used in a number of films and television shows, such as The Big Lebowski (performed by the Gipsy Kings), [99] Absolutely Fabulous , American Horror Story , The Sopranos , [57] and the end credits of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings . [100]

Alleged theft of lyrics

On July 13, 2022, three individuals –rare-book dealer Glenn Horowitz and rock memorabilia specialists Craig Inciardi and Edward Kosinski [101]  –were charged after allegedly conspiring to sell Henley's handwritten lyrics to the song "Hotel California" and two other songs from the same album that the Manhattan District Attorney's office claims were improperly obtained. Prosecutors claim the lyrics could be worth over $1 million at auction. The three men pleaded not guilty and were released without bail pending trial. Eagles manager Irving Azoff said the case exposed "the truth about music memorabilia sales of highly personal, stolen items hidden behind a façade of legitimacy". [102] In February 2024, Henley testified that he never gave the lyric sheets away and repeated his claim from 2012 that they were stolen from his barn in Malibu, California decades prior. [101] Henley also acknowledged that he granted writer Ed Sanders, who in 1979 began working with The Eagles on a biography which was never published, some access to them, but stated that he never allowed Sanders to have permanent possession of them. [101] Though Sanders was not among those charged, he was acknowledged to have sold 100 pages worth of Hotel California lyric sheets to Horowitz in 2005 after alleging to Horowitz that Henley's assistant sent him the documents. [103] [101] Eventually, Inciardi and Kosinski would begin auctioning them in 2012. [101] Defense lawyers have claimed Henley legally gave Sanders the lyric sheets. [103] On March 6, 2024, Assistant Manhattan District Attorney Aaron Ginandes abruptly dropped the criminal case against Horowitz, Inciardi and Kosinski midtrial, stating to the presiding judge that prosecutors believed that newly released emails backed defense arguments which questioned the trial's fairness. [104] [105]

Personnel

Partial credits from Richard Buskin and Bill Szymczyk. [3]

Live performances

Hotel California has been performed at least 2,204 times by 167 different artists as of the end of 2021. This includes 1,057 performances of the song by Eagles, 202 by Don Felder solo, and 187 by Don Henley solo. [106]

Charts

"Hotel California"
Hotel California by the Eagles US vinyl single.png
Side A of the US single
Single by Eagles
from the album Hotel California
B-side "Pretty Maids All in a Row"
ReleasedFebruary 22, 1977 [1]
Recorded1976
Studio
Genre Rock [4] [5]
Length
  • 6:30 (album version)
  • 6:08 (single version)
Label Asylum
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Bill Szymczyk
Eagles singles chronology
"New Kid in Town"
(1976)		"Hotel California"
(1977)		"Life in the Fast Lane"
(1977)
Audio sample
Eagles – "Hotel California"

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "Hotel California"
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [133] 2× Platinum180,000‡
France (SNEP) [134] Silver250,000*
Italy (FIMI) [135]
Digital download/sales since 2009 		2× Platinum100,000‡
Japan
1976-1978 sales 		—350,000 [136]
Japan (RIAJ) [137]
1996 release (physical sales) 		Platinum100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ) [138] 8× Platinum240,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI) [139] 3× Platinum1,800,000‡
United States (RIAA) [140]
Physical single 		Gold1,000,000^
United States (RIAA) [140]
Digital download 		Platinum3,000,000 [37]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eagles (band)</span> American rock band (formed 1971)

The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles and six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in North America and are one of the world's best-selling bands, having sold more than 200 million records worldwide, including 100 million sold in the US alone. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 and were ranked number 75 on Rolling Stone's 2004 list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Founding members Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner were recruited by Linda Ronstadt as band members, some touring with her, and all playing on her third solo album, before venturing out on their own on David Geffen's new Asylum Records label.

<i>Hotel California</i> (album) 1976 studio album by the Eagles

Hotel California is the fifth studio album by American rock band the Eagles, released on December 8, 1976, by Asylum Records. Recorded by the band and produced by Bill Szymczyk at the Criteria and Record Plant studios between March and October 1976, it was the band's first album with guitarist Joe Walsh, who had replaced founding member Bernie Leadon, and the last to feature founding bassist Randy Meisner. The album cover features a photograph of the Beverly Hills Hotel, taken by David Alexander.

<i>The Long Run</i> (album) 1979 studio album by the Eagles

The Long Run is the sixth studio album by American rock group the Eagles. It was released in 1979 by Asylum Records in the United States and the United Kingdom. This was the first Eagles album to feature bassist Timothy B. Schmit, who had replaced founding member Randy Meisner, and the last full studio album to feature Don Felder before his termination from the band in 2001.

<i>On the Border</i> 1974 studio album by the Eagles

On the Border is the third studio album by American rock band the Eagles, released on March 22, 1974. Apart from two songs produced by Glyn Johns, it was produced by Bill Szymczyk because the group wanted a more rock‑oriented sound instead of the country-rock feel of the first two albums. It is the first Eagles album to feature guitarist Don Felder. On the Border reached number 17 on the Billboard album chart and has sold two million copies.

<i>One of These Nights</i> 1975 studio album by the Eagles

One of These Nights is the fourth studio album by American rock band the Eagles, released on June 10, 1975. The album was the band's commercial breakthrough, transforming them into international superstars. In July that year, the record became the Eagles' first number one album on Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart, yielding three Top 10 singles: "One of These Nights", "Lyin' Eyes" and "Take It to the Limit". Its title song is the group's second number one single on the Billboard Hot 100. The album sold four million copies and received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. A single from the album, "Lyin' Eyes", was also nominated for Record of the Year, and won the Eagles' first Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 18th Annual Grammy Awards in 1976. The band embarked on the worldwide One of These Nights tour to promote the album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Felder</span> American musician

Donald William Felder is an American musician who was the lead guitarist of the rock band Eagles from 1974 to 2001. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 with the Eagles. Felder was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Can't Tell You Why</span> 1980 single by Eagles

"I Can't Tell You Why" is a song by the American rock band Eagles that appeared on their 1979 album The Long Run. It was written by band members Timothy B. Schmit, Glenn Frey and Don Henley. Recorded in March 1978, it was the first song finished for the album and the first Eagles song to feature Schmit on lead vocals. Released as a single in February 1980, it became a Billboard top 10 hit in April, reaching number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Adult Contemporary chart. It was the group's last top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Best of My Love (Eagles song)</span> 1974 single by the Eagles

"Best of My Love" is a song written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey, and J. D. Souther. It was originally recorded by the Eagles, and included on their 1974 album On the Border. The song was released as the third single from the album, and it became the band's first Billboard Hot 100 number 1 single in March 1975. The song also topped the easy listening chart for one week a month earlier. Billboard ranked it as the number 12 song for 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One of These Nights (Eagles song)</span> 1975 single by Eagles

"One of These Nights" is a song by the American rock band Eagles, written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey. The title track from their 1975 One of These Nights album, the song became their second single to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart after "Best of My Love" and also helped propel the album to number one. The single version was shortened from the album version of the song, removing most of the song's intro and most of its fade-out, as well. Henley is lead vocalist on the verses, while Randy Meisner sings high harmony on the refrain. The song features a guitar solo by Don Felder that is "composed of blues-based licks and sustained string bends using an unusually meaty distortion tone."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Kid in Town</span> 1976 single by Eagles

"New Kid in Town" is a song by the Eagles from their 1976 studio album Hotel California. It was written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey and J.D. Souther. Released as the first single from the album, the song reached number one in the U.S. and number 20 in the UK. The single version has an earlier fade-out than the album version. Frey sings the lead vocals, with Henley providing the main harmony vocals. Randy Meisner plays the guitarrón mexicano, Don Felder plays electric guitars, and Joe Walsh plays the electric piano and organ parts. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heartache Tonight</span> 1979 single by Eagles

"Heartache Tonight" is a song written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Bob Seger and J. D. Souther, recorded by the Eagles and features Glenn Frey on lead vocals. The track was included on their album The Long Run and released as a single in 1979. It reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in November of that year and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America representing one million copies sold. It was the Eagles' final chart-topping song on the Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Take It Easy</span> 1972 single by the Eagles

"Take It Easy" is the debut single by the American rock band Eagles, written by Jackson Browne and Eagles band member Glenn Frey, who also provides lead vocals. It was released on May 1, 1972, and peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on July 22, 1972. It was also the opening track of the band's eponymous debut album and has become one of their signature songs, included on all of their live and compilation albums. It is listed as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyin' Eyes</span> 1975 song by the Eagles

"Lyin' Eyes" is a song written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey and recorded in 1975 by the American rock band Eagles, with Frey singing lead vocals. It was the second single from their album One of These Nights, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 8 on the Billboard Country chart. It remained their only top 40 country hit until "How Long" in 2007–2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Dean (song)</span> 1974 single by Eagles

"James Dean" is a song written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Jackson Browne, and J. D. Souther, and recorded by the American rock band Eagles for their 1974 album On the Border. It was the second single released from this album, reaching number 77 on the U.S. pop singles chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Take It to the Limit (Eagles song)</span> 1975 single by Eagles

"Take It to the Limit" is a song by the Eagles from their fourth album One of These Nights from which it was issued as the third single on November 15, 1975. It reached No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and was also the Eagles' greatest success to that point in the UK, going to No. 12 on the charts. Billboard ranked it as the No. 25 song for 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Life in the Fast Lane</span> 1977 single by the Eagles

"Life in the Fast Lane" is a song written by Joe Walsh, Glenn Frey and Don Henley, and recorded by American rock band Eagles for the band's fifth studio album Hotel California (1976). It was the third single released from this album, and peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tequila Sunrise (song)</span> 1973 single by Eagles

"Tequila Sunrise" is a song from 1973, written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey, and recorded by the Eagles. It was the first single from the band's second album, Desperado. It peaked at number 64 on the Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Long Run (song)</span> 1979 song by The Eagles

"The Long Run" is a song written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey and recorded by the Eagles. The sound of the song is viewed as a tribute to the Stax / Memphis rhythm and blues sound. It was the title track of their album The Long Run and was released as a single in November 1979. It reached No. 8 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in early 1980. It was the second of three singles released from The Long Run album, preceded by "Heartache Tonight," which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1979, and followed by "I Can't Tell You Why," which also reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, in the spring of 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Will Keep Us Alive</span> 1994 single by Eagles

"Love Will Keep Us Alive" is a song written by Jim Capaldi, Paul Carrack, and Peter Vale and produced by the Eagles, Elliot Scheiner, and Rob Jacobs. It was first performed by the Eagles in 1994, during their Hell Freezes Over reunion tour, with lead vocals by bassist Timothy B. Schmit. This is the last single to feature Don Felder, who was terminated from the band in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Already Gone (Eagles song)</span> 1974 single by Eagles

"Already Gone" is a song recorded by the American rock band the Eagles for their 1974 album On the Border. It was written by Jack Tempchin and Robb Strandlund and produced by Bill Szymczyk.

References

  1. ↑ Fong, Kevin. "Discography of Eagles". superseventies.com.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Savage, Mark. "Glenn Frey: How Hotel California destroyed The Eagles". BBC.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Buskin, Richard (September 2010). "The Eagles 'Hotel California' Classic Tracks". Sound on Sound.
  4. ↑ Aspden, Peter (April 3, 2017). "Why Hotel California marked a watershed for rock" . Financial Times . Archived from the original on December 10, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Hotel California". BBC.
  6. ↑ Dodd, Philip; Du Noyer, Paul (1999). The Encyclopedia of Singles. Paragon. p. 89. ISBN   0752533371.
  7. 1 2 Felder, Don (December 28, 2016). "Don Felder Reveals the Roots of "Hotel California" and Shows You How to Play It". www.guitarworld.com. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 "Rocklist.net...Guitar Lists..." www.rocklistmusic.co.uk.
  9. 1 2 Trust, Gary (May 7, 2014). "Rewinding The Charts: Eagles' 'Hotel California' Checks In At No. 1". Billboard.
  10. ↑ "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone . December 11, 2003.
  11. 1 2 History of the Eagles. 2013. Event occurs at 1:27:50–1:28:10.
  12. ↑ "Listen to Timothy B. Schmit's New Single, 'Cross That Line'". September 10, 2020.
  13. ↑ Runtah, Jordan (December 8, 2016). "The Eagles' 'Hotel California': 10 Things You Didn't Know". Rolling Stone.
  14. ↑ "Eagles' Hotel California: the real story". Louder Sound. October 30, 2018.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sullivan, Steve (October 4, 2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings, Volume 2. Scarecrow Press. pp. 135–137. ISBN   978-0810882959.
  16. 1 2 3 4 Bosso, Joe (August 21, 2012). "Interview: Don Felder on The Eagles' classic song, Hotel California". Musicradar.
  17. ↑ Crowe, Cameron. "Conversations with Don Henley and Glenn Frey" (The Very Best Of liner notes) (2003)
  18. ↑ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. March 5, 1977. p. 1. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Don Felder interview segment". The Howard Stern Show . Sirius Satellite Radio. July 17, 2008.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Crowe, Cameron (August 2003). "Conversations With Don Henley and Glenn Frey". The Uncool.
  21. 1 2 Eliot, Marc (December 13, 2006). "The Eagles: "It's A Record About The Dark Underbelly Of America"". Team Rock. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016.
  22. 1 2 "1992 Glenn Frey Interview with Bob Costas". KIOA. January 19, 2016. Archived from the original on June 21, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Liner Notes - The Very Best of The Eagles". Glenn Frey Online.
  24. ↑ "'Hotel California' – The Eagles". BBC.
  25. ↑ Eliot, Marc (2004). To the Limit: The Untold Story of the Eagles. Da Capo Press. p. 131. ISBN   978-0-3068-1398-6.
  26. ↑ Ochs, Micheael (2005). 1000 Record Covers. Taschen. ISBN   3-8228-4085-8.
  27. ↑ Ferguson, Kevin; Keller, Chris (May 15, 2014). "20 things to know about Hotel California". 89.5 KPCC.
  28. ↑ Reiff, Corbin (November 8, 2014). "20 Years Ago: The Eagles Release 'Hell Freezes Over'". Ultimate Classic Rock.
  29. ↑ DeRiso, Nick (September 21, 2015). "Top 10 Don Felder Eagles Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock.
  30. ↑ Jessica (March 2, 2023). "The Eagles At The Capital Centre, March 1977: A Closer Look". Randy Meisner: A Retrospective. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  31. ↑ Don Felder Heaven & Hell, my life in the Eagles Howard Stern Show [2008] , retrieved September 5, 2023
  32. ↑ "Billboard Hot 100: February 26, 1977". Billboard.
  33. ↑ "Billboard Hot 100: April 7, 1977". Billboard. January 2, 2013.
  34. ↑ "Adult Contemporary Tracks: April 16, 1977". Billboard. January 2, 2013.
  35. 1 2 "Pop Singles of 1977". Billboard. December 24, 1977. p. 64.
  36. ↑ "Gold & Platinum – Diamond Certifications". RIAA. Archived from the original on July 1, 2007. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  37. 1 2 Appel, Rich (December 10, 2014). "Revisionist History, Holiday Edition: Mariah Gets a 'Christmas' Gift, Wham! Gets the Boot". Billboard . Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  38. ↑ "GRAMMY.com". GRAMMY.com. Archived from the original on April 9, 2009.
  39. ↑ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. March 12, 1977. p. 34. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  40. ↑ "Grammy Hall of Fame Award". Grammy Award.
  41. ↑ "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. December 9, 2004. Archived from the original on December 14, 2006.
  42. ↑ "Experience the Music: One Hit Wonders and The Songs that Shaped Rock & Roll". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on June 24, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  43. ↑ Greene, Andy (February 7, 2013). "Flashback: All the Eagles Unite for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction". Rolling Stone.
  44. ↑ Hart, Josh; Fanelli, Damian (July 16, 2015). "The Top 30 12-String Guitar Songs of All Time". Guitar World.
  45. ↑ "Hotel California by the Eagles: What was it actually about?", BBC News , August 22, 2018, retrieved August 24, 2018
  46. ↑ Soeder, John (March 20, 2009). "Don Henley gets into the spirit talking about 'Hotel California'". The Plain Dealer. p. T14.
  47. ↑ DeMain, Bill (2006). "Rock's Greatest Urban Legends". Performing Songwriter. Vol. 13, no. 92. pp. 50–55. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. October 28, 2011.
  48. ↑ "500 Greatest Songs of All Time: The Eagles, 'Hotel California'". Rolling Stone. December 11, 2003. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  49. ↑ "Now it's the Eagles vs. Hotel California in a federal court". The Washington Post . May 3, 2017 – via The Florida Times-Union.
  50. ↑ History of the Eagles. 2013. Event occurs at 1:30:50–1:31:10.
  51. ↑ Soeder, John (May 20, 2009). "Don Henley gets into the spirit talking about 'Hotel California'". The Plain Dealer .
  52. ↑ Denisoff, R. Serge; Schurk, William. Tarnished Gold: The Record Industry Revisited (1986): 407
  53. ↑ Stoffels, Kenneth. "Minister Links Rock, Sympathy for the Devil Archived January 19, 2016, at the Wayback Machine " The Milwaukee Sentinel September 28, 1982: 6
  54. ↑ Dickey, Nathan. The Devil Has the Best Tunes: The Fundamentalist Crusade against Rock Music (Thesis).
  55. ↑ Trzcinski, Matthew (October 28, 2022). "Why Some Fans Felt The Eagles' 'Hotel California' Was About Satanism". Showbiz Cheat Sheet. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  56. ↑ Bishop, Greg. Weird California (2006): 228
  57. 1 2 3 "Hotel California by Eagles". Song Facts.
  58. ↑ De Artega y Pereira, Fernando. Practical Spanish (1902): 243
  59. ↑ Avant-Mier, Roberto. Rock the Nation: Latin/o Identities and the Latin Rock Diaspora (2010): 81–82
  60. ↑ Ostler, Scott. "Rockin' 'Round the Round" San Francisco Chronicle February 5, 2003
  61. ↑ Adams, Cecil (August 15, 1997). "In the song "Hotel California," what does "colitas" mean?". Straight Dope.
  62. ↑ Don Felder Interview Songfacts. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  63. 1 2 3 4 Tillekens, Ger. "Locked into the Hotel California: Or, expanding the Spanish progression" Archived October 19, 2015, at the Wayback Machine . Soundscapes.info, 2006. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  64. ↑ "The Harvard Dictionary of Music — Don Michael Randel | Harvard University Press". www.hup.harvard.edu. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  65. ↑ "Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull". Song Facts.
  66. ↑ Vaughan, Andrew (February 1, 2015). The Eagles FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Classic Rock's Superstars. Backbeat Books. ISBN   9781617136238.
  67. ↑ Feenstra, Pete (September 2012). "Interview: Don Felder". Get Ready to Rock. hotdigitsnewmedia group. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  68. ↑ Scapelliti, Christopher (November 15, 2017). "Did Jethro Tull Inspire the Eagles' "Hotel California"?". Guitar Player.
  69. ↑ "Jam on the Mutha". Official Charts Company.
  70. ↑ Green, Thomas H. (April 26, 2007). "The song that won't check out". Daily Telegraph.
  71. ↑ Avant-Mier, Roberto (May 6, 2010). Rock the Nation: Latin/o Identities and the Latin Rock Diaspora. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 167. ISBN   9781441167972.
  72. ↑ Rowell, Erica (2007). The Brothers Grim: The Films of Ethan and Joel Coen. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 235. ISBN   9780810858503.
  73. ↑ "Livin' it up with a parody of paradise: Mike Piranha's 'Hotel Honolulu' gets airplay and guffaws". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. June 8, 1998. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  74. ↑ "HOTEL CIŞMIGIU la 100 de ani: reînvierea uneia dintre cele mai frumoase clădiri istorice" (April 9, 2012), "Gandul" (in Romanian)
  75. ↑ Owens, Air (December 24, 2015). "Five Best Covers of Hotel California". Popcorn. Archived from the original on August 7, 2016.
  76. ↑ "The Killers – Hotel California" (December 2, 2009), The Telegraph.
  77. ↑ "R&B Resurgence". Billboard. April 2–9, 2011. p. 31.
  78. ↑ Schneider, Marc (June 4, 2014). "Don Henley Slams 'Arrogant' Frank Ocean for Using 'Hotel' Music". Billboard.
  79. ↑ Hotel California, archived from the original on December 21, 2021, retrieved November 1, 2021
  80. ↑ 摩登保镖 许冠杰 (歌词版), archived from the original on December 21, 2021, retrieved November 1, 2021
  81. ↑ Hendrickson, Mark (February 3, 2015). "The EU's Nightmare In The 'Hotel California'". Forbes.
  82. ↑ Pineiro, Victor (April 17, 2015). "Navigating the 'Hotel California' effect of social platforms". Digiday .
  83. ↑ van Ours, Jan C. (2006). "Leaving 'Hotel California': How Incentives Affect Flows of Benefit Recipients in the Netherlands". Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung. 75 (3, S): 186–207. doi:10.3790/vjh.75.3.186. hdl: 10419/99446 .
  84. ↑ Fineman, Mark (August 11, 1992). "States – Foreign Relations – Iraq Troops Check Out 'Hotel California' : Persian Gulf: West Coast Marines wait nervously in Kuwaiti desert camp as tension rises between U.S., Iraq". Los Angeles Times.
  85. ↑ Aspan, Maria (February 11, 2008). "On Facebook, leaving is hard to do". The New York Times.
  86. ↑ Görgh, Holger (2003). "Fancy a stay at the "Hotel California"? Foreign direct investment, taxation and exit costs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 21, 2008. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  87. ↑ Malan, Todd (November 23, 2006). "Time to change rules at Hotel California" . Financial Times. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022.
  88. ↑ "China Joint Ventures And The Hotel California Effect". Alibaba. May 22, 2013.
  89. ↑ "China and the Hotel California Effect in Banking". China Economics Blog. January 5, 2009.
  90. ↑ Walsh, Larry (October 15, 2015). "Walmart disrupts 'Hotel California effect' in cloud". Channelnomics. Archived from the original on October 16, 2015.
  91. ↑ Pineiro, Victor (December 16, 2015). "Five Social Trends Marketers Won't Be Able to Ignore in 2016". Advertising Age.
  92. ↑ Cohen, Reuven (May 2, 2013). "Cloud Computing at the Hotel California, Check-in and Never Leave!". Forbes.
  93. ↑ 'A Hotel California Brexit?'; The Telegraph, June 8, 2018
  94. ↑ 'Yanis Varoufakis says Brexit is like Hotel California: 'You can check out any time you like but you can't really leave''; The Independent, September 28, 2016
  95. ↑ "Brexit, 'no-deal' vicino. Ue come l'Hotel California": Alessandra Caparello in Wall Street Italia, November 30, 2018
  96. ↑ Matt P. "Operation Hotel California: The Clandestine War Inside Iraq" (PDF). CIA. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 7, 2010.
  97. ↑ Stillman, Deanne (August 23, 2014). "Some Dance to Remember, Some Dance to Forget: A Few Thoughts on Iraq, "Hotel California," and Coming Home". Los Angeles Review of Books.
  98. ↑ Kayeon, Ben (September 14, 2014). "David Letterman punks The Eagles over licensing their music – watch". Consequence of Sound.
  99. ↑ "The Definitive Guide To The Music of The Big Lebowski". LA Weekly. March 7, 2013.
  100. ↑ Francisco, Eric (September 2, 2021). "'Shang-Chi' post-credits scene: Director explains that game-changing cameo". Inverse . Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  101. 1 2 3 4 5 Peltz, Jennifer (February 26, 2024). "Don Henley tells court he never gave away drafts of 'Hotel California' lyrics". AP News. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  102. ↑ Peltz, Jennifer; Hays, Tom (July 12, 2022). "3 charged in scheme to sell stolen 'Hotel California' lyrics". AP NEWS. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  103. 1 2 Peltz, Jennifer (February 22, 2024). "On decades-old taped call, Eagles manager said 'pampered rock star' was stalling band biography". Associated Press. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  104. ↑ Peltz, Jennifer (March 6, 2024). "Prosecutors drop charges midtrial against 3 accused of possessing stolen 'Hotel California' lyrics". Associated Press. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  105. ↑ O'Conner, Roison (March 6, 2024). "Hotel California trial over stolen Eagles lyrics abruptly dropped by prosecutors". The Independent. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  106. ↑ "Hotel California performed by Eagles". setlist.fm. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  107. ↑ "Eagles – Hotel California" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  108. ↑ "Eagles – Hotel California" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  109. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5268a." RPM . Library and Archives Canada.
  110. ↑ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 4362." RPM . Library and Archives Canada.
  111. ↑ "Eagles – Hotel California" (in French). Les classement single.
  112. ↑ "Eagles – Hotel California" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  113. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 21, 1977" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  114. ↑ "Eagles – Hotel California" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  115. ↑ "Eagles – Hotel California". Top 40 Singles.
  116. ↑ "Eagles – Hotel California". VG-lista.
  117. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959-2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN   84-8048-639-2.
  118. ↑ "Eagles – Hotel California". Swiss Singles Chart.
  119. ↑ "Eagles: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  120. ↑ "Eagles Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  121. ↑ "Eagles Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  122. ↑ "Eagles Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard.
  123. ↑ "Eagles Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  124. ↑ "Top 200 Singles of '77". December 31, 1977. Archived from the original on January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  125. ↑ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  126. ↑ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1977". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  127. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1977". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  128. ↑ "End of Year Charts 1977". Recorded Music NZ . Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  129. ↑ "Top de l'année Top Singles 2012" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  130. ↑ "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  131. ↑ "Billboard Global 200 – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  132. ↑ "Billboard Global 200 – Year-End 2022". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  133. ↑ "Danish single certifications – Eagles – Hotel California". IFPI Danmark . Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  134. ↑ "French single certifications – The Eagles – Hotel California" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved October 8, 2020.Select THE EAGLES and click OK. 
  135. ↑ "Italian single certifications – Eagles – Hotel California" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Retrieved November 26, 2020. Select "2019" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Hotel California" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  136. ↑ "Western Influence" (PDF). Billboard . May 27, 1978. p. J-25. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  137. ↑ "Japanese single certifications – Eagles – Hotel California" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan . Retrieved May 4, 2020.Select 1996年5月 on the drop-down menu
  138. ↑ "New Zealand single certifications – Eagles – Hotel California". Recorded Music NZ . Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  139. ↑ "British single certifications – Eagles – Hotel California". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  140. 1 2 "American single certifications – Eagles – Hotel California". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved May 2, 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.