[40], Don Henley has given a number of explanations about the song, ranging from "a journey from innocence to experience"[10] to "a sociopolitical statement". ... 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. [48], 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. The Hotel on the cover of the Eagles album is the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Hotel California was arguably the band's best single album--it was certainly the Eagles' biggest original disc-- and it also underscored the band's need to make a big statement. Gets the Boot", "Experience the Music: One Hit Wonders and The Songs that Shaped Rock & Roll", "Flashback: All the Eagles Unite for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction", "The Top 30 12-String Guitar Songs of All Time", "Hotel California by the Eagles: What was it actually about? "[2][20] 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. 1", Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, https://ultimateclassicrock.com/timothy-b-schmit-cross-that-line/, "The Eagles' 'Hotel California': 10 Things You Didn't Know", "Eagles' Hotel California: the real story", "Interview: Don Felder on The Eagles' classic song, Hotel California", "Conversations With Don Henley and Glenn Frey", "The Eagles: "It's A Record About The Dark Underbelly Of America, "1992 Glenn Frey Interview with Bob Costas", Liner Notes – The Very Best of the Eagles, "20 things to know about Hotel California", "20 Years Ago: The Eagles Release 'Hell Freezes Over, "Adult Contemporary Tracks: April 16, 1977", "Gold & Platinum – Diamond Certifications", "Revisionist History, Holiday Edition: Mariah Gets a 'Christmas' Gift, Wham! The hotel opened in 1912 an has welcomed a list of celebrities to long to ever list here. The Eagles were one of the most popular musical acts of the 1970s, and they hit their peak with their landmark Hotel California album. Rolling Stone reported that the band was not upset at this development, as they were not particularly enamored with the idea of "Hotel California" being adapted into a film. [21] 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",[18] and thought that the song they wrote had "achieved perfect ambiguity. "[54], Other interpretations of the song include heroin addiction and cannibalism. [49] "Colitas" means "little tails" in Spanish; in Mexican slang it refers to buds of the cannabis (marijuana) plant. [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. Hotel California is the fifth studio album by the American rock band the Eagles, released on Asylum in late 1976. [46][47] Other rumors suggested that the Hotel California was the Camarillo State Mental Hospital. [71], Frank Ocean released a song that samples the entire instrumental track of "Hotel California" on his mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra (2011), entitled "American Wedding". Michael Jackson's Thriller has been overtaken as the all-time best-selling album in the US by the Eagles' greatest hits, and that band's album Hotel California is at number three. Believe me, I've consumed enough alcoholic beverages in my time to know how they are made and what the proper nomenclature is. The Eagles' original recording of the song features Henley singing the lead vocals and concludes with an extended section of electric guitar interplay between Felder and Joe Walsh. In the 1980s the Rev. [39], 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. 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Henley said that Phillips offered the band members cocaine and was "nonplussed" when they turned it down. It's just the same chord sequence. [18], 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. Hotel California, an Album by Eagles. It was really about the excesses of American culture and certain girls we knew. ", "Livin' it up with a parody of paradise: Mike Piranha's 'Hotel Honolulu' gets airplay and guffaws", "HOTEL CIŞMIGIU la 100 de ani: reînvierea uneia dintre cele mai frumoase clădiri istorice", "Don Henley Slams 'Arrogant' Frank Ocean for Using 'Hotel' Music", "The EU's Nightmare In The 'Hotel California, "Navigating the 'Hotel California' effect of social platforms", "Leaving 'Hotel California': How Incentives Affect Flows of Benefit Recipients in the Netherlands", "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", "Fancy a stay at the "Hotel California"? Writing credits for the song are shared by Don Felder, Don Henley and Glenn Frey. In that sense it became something of a symbol, and the 'Hotel' the locus of all that LA had come to mean for us. [15][22] The band took a stand and refused the label's request to shorten the song. 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. After taking photos of several different hotels the photo chosen by the band was of iconic The Beverly Hills Hotel, which is located on Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California. Eagles. … Patch On The Cover Of The Beatles Sgt. Don Henley came up with a lot of the lyrics for that song, and he came up with colitas. The Eagles - Hotel California - Live Acoustic Version 1994 Hell Freezes Over is the second live album by the Eagles, released in 1994. "[18] 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." [14] Felder, who met the Eagles through his high school bandmate Bernie Leadon, said that Leadon advised him to make tapes of songs he wrote for the band so that other band members like Henley, whose forte is in writing lyrics, might work with him on finishing the songs they liked. Listen free to Eagles – Hotel California (Hotel California, New Kid in Town and more). Seven different chords are used in the eight measures. "Hotel California" was the title track of the Eagles' most successful regular album (though second overall to the astronomical sales of Eagles/Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975) and a chart-topping hit in its own right. The song is considered the most famous recording by the band, and in 1998 its long guitar coda was voted the best guitar solo of all time by readers of Guitarist. [26] The Hell Freezes Over version is performed using eight guitars and has a decidedly Spanish sound, with Felder's flamenco-inspired arrangement and intro. [9] In the 2013 documentary History of the Eagles, Henley said that the song was about "a journey from innocence to experience... that's all..."[10]. The cover photo of The Eagles 1976 album “Hotel California” was taken by photographer David Alexander with art director Kosh. [8] It peaked at number 10 on the Easy Listening chart in April 1977. The hotel opened in 1912 an has welcomed a list of celebrities to long to ever list here. The Eagles took 18 months between their fourth and fifth albums, reportedly spending eight … In her memoir You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again, Phillips wrote that the band members were difficult to deal with and arrogant. Writing credits for the song are shared by Don Felder (music), Don Henley, and Glenn Frey (lyrics). [36] 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". I first heard this selection of tracks on the 4th May 1977 at Bingley Hall Stafford during their Hotel California tour. "[20], 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. Other articles where Hotel California is discussed: Asylum Records and the Sound of Southern California: …easy” but occasionally dug deeper—Hotel California (1976) was an unexpectedly sardonic take on the hedonistic lifestyle of Los Angeles in the 1970s. Hotel California is the fifth studio album by American rock band the Eagles, and is one of the best-selling albums of all time. … 1. [49] More recently it was used during the final scenes of the premiere episode of American Horror Story: Hotel in October 2015. 9 tracks (47:01). In a sentence, I'd sum it up as the end of the innocence, round one. [57] 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. It is also the last album featuring original bass player and singer Randy Meisner. The band members and Phillips met to discuss the project. 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. "[60], The chorus, or refrain, uses five of the song's seven chords, structured with the melody in a way that shifts the key from B-minor to its relative major of D:[55], Al B. 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 in the 1994 Hell Freezes Over reunion concert CD and video release. Five or six best ones were selected, and the best parts were then spliced together to create the released version. It is one of the best-known songs of the album-oriented rock era. Released 8 December 1976 on Asylum (catalog no. The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1971 by Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner. [81][82] It has also applied to other ideas such as problem when leaving a service provider or social media network,[83][84] or when exiting cloud computing. [14], The metaphorical character of the story related in the lyrics has inspired a number of conjectural interpretations by listeners. [94], *sales figures based on certification alone^shipments figures based on certification alonesales+streaming figures based on certification alone, This article is about the song. "[14] 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. Setting out with photographer David Alexander, the designer shot a shortlist of three locations. [41] 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. Billboard album chart, suggesting the Eagles heard it on the album or when they toured together. during rush hour and shooting the hotel with the sun behind it. Every band has a magic album, Wishbone Ash had Argus, Beatles Sergeant Pepper Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon. Its title track, the haunting Hotel California continues to entrance listeners even though during its heyday the song was on the charts for only nineteen weeks and in the number one spot for only one. Every Song On The Eagles’ Hotel California Ranked From Worst To Best. "Hotel California" is the title track from the Eagles' album of the same name and was released as a single in February 1977. [77][78] The lines "We are programmed to receive / You can check out any time you like / But you can never leave!" [55] The presence of E major gives a hint of B Dorian. [67] Nancy Sinatra recorded a cover version for her 2002 album California Girl, an album of songs about California. Ue come l’Hotel California, "Operation Hotel California: The Clandestine War Inside Iraq", "David Letterman punks The Eagles over licensing their music – watch", "The Definitive Guide To The Music of The Big Lebowski", "Is 'AHS: Hotel' Based On "Hotel California"? 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. It was 45-years-ago today (January 15th, 1977), that the Eagles' album Hotel California hit Number One. 1 … [55] 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. This hotel was already a landmark before it graced the cover of The Eagles album but whenever I drive by it’s the “Hotel California“. Where is the hotel California? The second recording however was judged too fast. (1990). 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.[45]. [41], 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. As the song opens, it is not until the eighth measure that a chord is repeated. [33], The Eagles won the 1977 Grammy Award for Record of the Year for "Hotel California" at the 20th Grammy Awards in 1978. Henley chose a dusk shot of the Beverley Hills Hotel at 9641 Sunset Boulevard. [70] The Killers and Rhythms del Mundo collaborated their version with Afro-Cuban music for the 2009 Artists' Project Earth charity, and it appeared on the album Rhythms del Mundo Classics. [69] Vocal Sampling have performed an a cappella version, which is included in their 2008 album Akapelleando. But that line in the song has little or nothing to do with alcoholic beverages. I was trying to use California as the microcosm for the rest of the nation.”. [89][90], Although the Eagles were noted for their reluctance to license their songs for use in shows,[91] the song has been used in a number of films and television shows, such as The Big Lebowski (performed by the Gipsy Kings),[92] Absolutely Fabulous, and The Sopranos.