Whilst the band sang harmonies, four different members took lead vocals on different tracks.The songwriters (for the single Hotel California) were Don Felder from Florida, Glenn Frey from Detroit and Don Henley from Texas. Despite the Eagles sounding like a California band, only Bernie Leadon was originally from The Golden State. The album was written by and shares the perspective of California ‘outsiders’.The back cover was taken at the Lido Apartments, 6500 Yucca St, Los Angeles (read more about the album cover in this great article, ‘ Location of the Ghostly Eagles “Hotel California” Lobby Gatefold Photo’).That was taken from a cherry picker 60 foot in the air! If you go there, don’t expect to get a picture like the front cover. The hotel on the cover is the Beverly Hills Hotel (one of the many LA Rock n’ Roll Landmarks).The last track on the album, the bleak ‘The Last Resort’, ends with what feels like a comment on the industry and the changing culture of California: “You call someplace paradise, kiss it goodbye.”.‘Pretty Maids All In a Row’ is a reference to lines cocaine. ‘Wasted Time’ was a tired band looking negatively at the past and thinking, was this all wasted? Their success clearly dictates otherwise.Another member of the party kept saying, “life in the fast lane…”, and so a song was born. ‘ Life in the Fast Lane’ was a line the band heard whilst literally ‘racing up and down the freeway’ trying to find drugs.‘ New Kid in Town’ was about being the hot new band and watching as the next group on everybody’s lips came into town: “Everybody’s talking… people starting walking…”.“You can check out any time you like” could be a reference to death a suicide or drug overdose, ‘but you can never leave’ meaning that even after death you are in a record contract. Taken from the album ‘The Royal Scam’ which was released six months prior. On ‘Everything You did’, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen wrote, “turn up the Eagles, the neighbors are listening”. The line “they stab it with their steely knives, but they just can’t kill the beast,” is a playful jab to at Steely Dan. The definite misspelling (Mercedes Bends) could also reference ‘the bends’ that a diver would experience if they came up too quickly.Īlong the way, the songwriters Don Felder, Don Henley & Glenn Frey add in some jibes at other bands. Considering the album was about the dark side of success you can see how the valuations were in material things – jewellery from Tiffany’s, a Mercedes-Benz. ‘Her mind is tiffany twisted’ seems to be a reference to a divorce settlement.
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Only one band member was from California, the rest were all ‘outsiders’ that individually found their way to the land of dreams.Īs the title track song progresses we learn about the excess or success of the record industry and the power of music. There is no one dark desert highway, but a reference to the ‘path’ to Los Angeles and fame.
#WELCOME TO THE HOTEL CALIFORNIA FULL#
Coming in on the dark desert highway full of excitement and expectation and leaving, broken and burnt out sailing off to lahaina.
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The album takes the listener on a journey. Like the welcome to a hotel that promises much, “Welcome to Hotel California” could be “Welcome to the Music Industry.” The band, mostly California outsiders arrived in Los Angeles, along a dark desert highway to be welcomed into the music industry.
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The meaning of Hotel California can be assumed as the record industry. Don Henley (long before he wrote songs about New York) came up with the concept and title into which the other band members added songs. Between their arrival on the scene, and the writing of Hotel California – the band wrote, released and toured four major albums and delivered a Greatest Hits album that remains one of the all time best sellers.īetween 1971 and conceiving the album in February 1977 the band wrote, recorded, toured and partied relentlessly! Money, parties, and drugs all took their toll. The album can be seen as a metaphor for their lives in the 1970s. The story behind Hotel California is the band’s rapid rise to fame. Every interpretation will be subjective, not definitive. There will also be a difference between what it means to me, the listener and what the writers want you to think they are singing about. The great thing about any music is that every listener will take something different from it. I have spent many hours listening to the album and plenty trying to decode the themes and truly understand the meaning of Hotel California. My annual top ten of most played songs includes as least 5 of the 9 album tracks. For the past 5 years it has been my most played album on Spotify. Released in 1976, Hotel California rapidly became one of the world’s best selling albums.