Hotel California

File:DonFelderByPhilKonstantin.JPG

File:Glenn Frey.jpg

File:Don Henley.jpg

A demo of the instrumental was developed by Don Felder{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-eagles-hotel-california-10-things-you-didnt-know-111526/|title=The Eagles' 'Hotel California': 10 Things You Didn't Know |last=Runtah|first=Jordan|date=December 8, 2016 |magazine=Rolling Stone}}{{cite web |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-real-story-behind-hotel-california-by-eagles |website=Louder Sound |title=Eagles' Hotel California: the real story|date=October 30, 2018}} in a rented house on Malibu Beach. He recorded the basic tracks with a Rhythm Ace drum machine and added a 12 string guitar on a four-track recording deck in his spare bedroom, then mixed in a bassline, and gave Don Henley and Glenn Frey each a copy of the recording. 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. The demos he made were always instrumental, and on every album project he would submit 15 or 16 ideas. The demo he made for "Hotel California" showed influences from Latin and reggae music, and it grabbed the attention of Henley who said he liked the song that "sounds like a Mexican reggae or Bolero", which gave the song its first working title, "Mexican Reggae".Crowe, Cameron. "Conversations with Don Henley and Glenn Frey" (The Very Best Of liner notes) (2003) Record World said that "a mild reggae flavor pervades the tune".{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=March 5, 1977|accessdate=February 16, 2023|title=Hits of the Week|page=1|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/77/RW-1977-03-05.pdf}}

Frey and Henley were both interested in the tune after hearing the demo, and discussed the concept for the lyrics. In 2008, Felder described the writing of the lyrics:

{{blockquote|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{{nbsp}}[...] 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{{nbsp}}[...] what we started writing the song about.{{cite episode | title = Don Felder interview segment | series = The Howard Stern Show | publisher = Sirius Satellite Radio | airdate = July 17, 2008}}}}

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. 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."

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". 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."{{cite web |url=http://www.theuncool.com/journalism/the-very-best-of-the-eagles/ |title= Conversations With Don Henley and Glenn Frey|last= Crowe |first= Cameron |date=August 2003 |work= The Uncool}} Frey described the song in an interview with NBC's Bob Costas as a cinematic montage "just one shot to the next{{nbsp}}[...] 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."{{cite web |url=http://kioa.com/mornings/1992-glenn-frey-interview-with-bob-costas/ |title=1992 Glenn Frey Interview with Bob Costas |date=January 19, 2016 |work=KIOA |access-date=January 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170621223445/http://kioa.com/mornings/1992-glenn-frey-interview-with-bob-costas/ |archive-date=June 21, 2017 |url-status=dead}} 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.

Part of the lyrics, such as "Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes {{not a typo|bends}} / She got a lot of pretty pretty boys she calls friends", are based on Henley's break-up with his girlfriend Loree Rodkin.{{cite web |url=http://www.teamrock.com/features/2006-12-13/the-eagles-it-s-a-record-about-the-dark-underbelly-of-america |title=The Eagles: "It's A Record About The Dark Underbelly Of America" |first= Marc |last=Eliot |date = December 13, 2006 |work=Team Rock |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302102734/http://www.teamrock.com/features/2006-12-13/the-eagles-it-s-a-record-about-the-dark-underbelly-of-america |archive-date= March 2, 2016}} 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".{{Cite web|url=http://www.glennfreyonline.com/eagles/verybest/linernotes.htm|title=Liner Notes - The Very Best of The Eagles |website=Glenn Frey Online}} 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", and thought that the song they wrote had "achieved perfect ambiguity."

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. 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. 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. The final section features a guitar battle between Joe Walsh (who had replaced Bernie Leadon after Leadon's departure from the band in 1975) with a Fender Telecaster and Felder with a Gibson Les Paul, which took the two of them sitting together working for around three days to achieve the necessary precision. Walsh and Felder initially started improvising but Henley insisted that the recording should follow the music as first recorded in Felder's demo.{{cite web |url= http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/interview-don-felder-on-the-eagles-classic-song-hotel-california-557397 |title=Interview: Don Felder on The Eagles' classic song, Hotel California |last= Bosso |first= Joe |date= August 21, 2012 |work=Musicradar}} 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.

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.{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/soldonsong/songlibrary/hotelcalifornia.shtml |title= 'Hotel California' – The Eagles |work=BBC}} The band took a stand and refused the label's request to shorten the song.{{cite book|first=Marc|last=Eliot|title=To the Limit: The Untold Story of the Eagles|year=2004|publisher=Da Capo Press|isbn=978-0-3068-1398-6|page=131}} 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.{{cite book |last=Ochs |first=Micheael |title=1000 Record Covers |year=2005 |publisher=Taschen |isbn=3-8228-4085-8}}

File:The Eagles in concert - 2010 Australia.jpg]]

As "Hotel California" became one of the group's most popular songs and a concert staple for the band,{{cite web |url=http://projects.scpr.org/infographics/hotel-california/ |title=20 things to know about Hotel California |first1=Kevin |last1=Ferguson |first2=Chris |last2=Keller |date= May 15, 2014 |publisher= 89.5 KPCC}} 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.{{cite web |url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/eagles-hell-freezes-over-tour/ |title=20 Years Ago: The Eagles Release 'Hell Freezes Over' |last= Reiff |first= Corbin |date=November 8, 2014 |work=Ultimate Classic Rock}} The Hell Freezes Over version is performed using eight guitars and has a decidedly Spanish sound, with Felder's flamenco-inspired arrangement and intro.{{cite web |url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/don-felder-eagles-songs/ |title= Top 10 Don Felder Eagles Songs|last=DeRiso |first=Nick |work=Ultimate Classic Rock|date= September 21, 2015}}

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.{{Cite web |last=Jessica |date=March 2, 2023 |title=The Eagles At The Capital Centre, March 1977: A Closer Look |url=https://randymeisnerretrospective.com/2023/03/02/the-eagles-at-the-capital-centre-march-1977-a-closer-look/ |access-date=September 5, 2023 |website=Randy Meisner: A Retrospective |language=en-US}} This video would continue to air on VH1.{{Citation |title=Don Felder Heaven & Hell, my life in the Eagles Howard Stern Show [2008] | date=October 27, 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KQfYdAPvPU |access-date=September 5, 2023 |language=en}} 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.

In 1998, at the induction of the Eagles into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, all seven members of the Eagles (Henley, Frey, Felder,

Walsh, Meisner, Leadon, and Schmit) appeared on stage together for the only time to perform "Hotel California".{{cite web |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/eagles-all-seven-them-perform-hotel-california-1998 |title=The Eagles—All Seven of Them—Perform "Hotel California" in 1998 |date=January 27, 2016|work=Guitar World }}

"Hotel California" first entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated February 26, 1977,{{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1977-02-26|title=Billboard Hot 100: February 26, 1977 |magazine=Billboard}} and topped the Hot 100 singles chart for one week in May 1977,{{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1977-04-16|title=Billboard Hot 100: April 7, 1977 |magazine=Billboard|date=January 2, 2013 }} the band's fourth song to reach No. 1 on that chart.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/6077596/rewinding-the-charts-eagles-hotel-california-checks-in-at-no-1 |title=Rewinding The Charts: Eagles' 'Hotel California' Checks In At No. 1 |date=May 7, 2014 |last= Trust |first= Gary |magazine=Billboard}} It peaked at number 10 on the Easy Listening chart in April 1977.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/adult-contemporary/1977-04-16|title=Adult Contemporary Tracks: April 16, 1977 |magazine=Billboard|date=January 2, 2013 }} Billboard ranked it number 19 on its 1977 Pop Singles year-end chart. 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,{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=tblDiamond |title=Gold & Platinum – Diamond Certifications |publisher=RIAA |access-date=April 20, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701163046/http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=tblDiamond |archive-date=July 1, 2007}} and has since sold over 3 million downloads.

The Eagles won the 1977 Grammy Award for Record of the Year for "Hotel California" at the 20th Grammy Awards in 1978.{{Cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090409001009/http://www.grammys.com/grammy_awards/Winners/ |url-status=dead |title=GRAMMY.com|archive-date=April 9, 2009|website=GRAMMY.com}} 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".{{cite news|title=CashBox Singles Reviews|date=March 12, 1977|page=34|newspaper=Cash Box|accessdate=December 26, 2021|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1977/CB-1977-03-12.pdf}} In 2003, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.{{cite web |url=https://www.grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award#h|title=Grammy Hall of Fame Award |work=Grammy Award}}

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" in 2004{{cite news |title=The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=December 9, 2004 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061214111349/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs |archive-date=December 14, 2006}} and #311 in 2021.{{Cite magazine |date=2021-09-16 |title=The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time |url=https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-30065/the-doors-light-my-fire-30257/ |access-date=2024-10-27 |magazine=Rolling Stone}} It was named one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.{{cite web |url=https://rockhall.com/exhibits/one-hit-wonders-songs-that-shaped-rock-and-roll/ |title=Experience the Music: One Hit Wonders and The Songs that Shaped Rock & Roll |work=Rock and Roll Hall of Fame |access-date=January 20, 2016 |archive-date=June 24, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624025328/http://www.rockhall.com/exhibits/one-hit-wonders-songs-that-shaped-rock-and-roll/ |url-status=dead }} 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"{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/flashback-all-the-eagles-unite-for-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-induction-20130207 |title=Flashback: All the Eagles Unite for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction|last=Greene |first=Andy |date=February 7, 2013 |magazine=Rolling Stone}} and "Take It Easy."

The song's guitar solo was voted the best solo of all time by readers of Guitarist magazine in 1998,{{Cite web|url=https://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/50.html|title=Rocklist.net...Guitar Lists...|website=www.rocklistmusic.co.uk|access-date=September 10, 2021|archive-date=November 11, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231111094216/https://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/50.html|url-status=dead}} and was ranked 8th on Guitar Magazine{{'}}s Top 100 Guitar Solos. 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.guitarworld.com/top-30-12-string-guitar-songs-all-time?page=0,2 |title=The Top 30 12-String Guitar Songs of All Time |date=July 16, 2015 |last1=Hart|first1=Josh|last2=Fanelli |first2=Damian |work=Guitar World}}

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.{{citation |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45274174?SThisFB |title=Hotel California by the Eagles: What was it actually about? |work=BBC News |date=August 22, 2018 |access-date=August 24, 2018}}

Don Henley has given a number of explanations about the song, ranging from "a journey from innocence to experience" to "a sociopolitical statement."{{cite news |last=Soeder |first=John |title=Don Henley gets into the spirit talking about 'Hotel California' |newspaper=The Plain Dealer |date=March 20, 2009 |page=T14}} 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."{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QWBPAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA135 |title=Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings, Volume 2 |first= Steve |last= Sullivan |publisher=Scarecrow Press |pages=135–137|date=October 4, 2013|isbn=978-0810882959}}

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." It has also been interpreted as an allegory about hedonism, self-destruction, and greed in the music industry of the late 1970s.{{cite news|author=DeMain, Bill| title=Rock's Greatest Urban Legends|journal= Performing Songwriter |volume=13|issue=92 |year=2006|pages= 50–55}} Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. October 28, 2011. Henley called it "our interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles,"{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-20110407/smokey-robinson-and-the-miracles-the-tracks-of-my-tears-20110526 |title=500 Greatest Songs of All Time: The Eagles, 'Hotel California'|magazine=Rolling Stone |date=December 11, 2003|access-date=April 20, 2012}} 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."{{cite news |url=https://www.jacksonville.com/story/entertainment/local/2017/05/03/now-it-s-eagles-vs-hotel-california-federal-court/15753331007/ |title=Now it's the Eagles vs. Hotel California in a federal court |newspaper=The Washington Post |via=The Florida Times-Union |date=May 3, 2017}} In the 2013 documentary, History of the Eagles, Henley reiterated:

{{blockquote|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.{{cite AV media |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2194326/ |title=History of the Eagles |date=2013|time=1:30:50–1:31:10}}}}

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:

{{blockquote|Thanks for the tutorial and, no, you're not the first to bring this to my attention{{snd}}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.{{cite news |title=Don Henley gets into the spirit talking about 'Hotel California'|author=Soeder, John|newspaper=The Plain Dealer|date=May 20, 2009}}}}

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.

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.Denisoff, R. Serge; Schurk, William. Tarnished Gold: The Record Industry Revisited (1986): 407Stoffels, Kenneth. "[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=M90VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XRIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6800,4903798&dq=satan+hotel-california&hl=en Minister Links Rock, Sympathy for the Devil] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160119204718/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=M90VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XRIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6800,4903798&dq=satan+hotel-california&hl=en |date=January 19, 2016 }}" The Milwaukee Sentinel September 28, 1982: 6 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."{{Cite thesis |last=Dickey |first=Nathan |title=The Devil Has the Best Tunes: The Fundamentalist Crusade against Rock Music |url=https://www.academia.edu/2605156}} 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."{{Cite web |last=Trzcinski |first=Matthew |date=October 28, 2022 |title=Why Some Fans Felt The Eagles' 'Hotel California' Was About Satanism |url=https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/fans-felt-the-eagles-hotel-california-satanism.html/ |access-date=May 25, 2023 |website=Showbiz Cheat Sheet |language=en-US}} 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.Bishop, Greg. Weird California (2006): 228

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. "Colitas" means "little tails" in Spanish; in Mexican slang it refers to the flowering buds of the cannabis plant.De Artega y Pereira, Fernando. Practical Spanish (1902): 243Avant-Mier, Roberto. Rock the Nation: Latin/o Identities and the Latin Rock Diaspora (2010): 81–82 According to Glenn Frey, the "warm smell" is "colitas ... it means little tails, the very top of the plant."Ostler, Scott. "[https://archive.today/20120707054337/http://articles.sfgate.com/2003-02-05/sports/17477144_1_pebble-beach-golf-glenn-frey Rockin' 'Round the Round]" San Francisco Chronicle February 5, 2003 The Eagles' manager Irving Azoff appears to lend support to the marijuana hypothesis;{{cite web |url= http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1053/in-the-song-hotel-california-what-does-colitas-mean |title=In the song "Hotel California{{sic|,"|hide=y}} what does "colitas" mean? |date=August 15, 1997 |last=Adams |first=Cecil |work=Straight Dope}} 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."[https://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/don-felder Don Felder Interview] Songfacts. Retrieved May 13, 2019.

Other interpretations of the song range from drug addiction to cannibalism.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35347075 |title=Glenn Frey: How Hotel California destroyed The Eagles|last= Savage |first= Mark |work=BBC}} 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."{{cite web |url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1121 |title=Hotel California by Eagles |work=Song Facts}}

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.Tillekens, Ger. [http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/VOLUME09/Locked_into_the_Hotel_California.shtml "Locked into the Hotel California: Or, expanding the Spanish progression"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019042611/http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/VOLUME09/Locked_into_the_Hotel_California.shtml |date=October 19, 2015 }}. Soundscapes.info, 2006. Retrieved March 1, 2012. 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{{music|sharp}}7–A–E–G–D–Em–F{{music|sharp}}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. 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. With its descending ostinato pattern, it could be considered a fandango, a forerunner of the Baroque chaconne form.{{Cite web|url=http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674011632|title=The Harvard Dictionary of Music — Don Michael Randel {{!}} Harvard University Press|website=www.hup.harvard.edu|access-date=July 21, 2016}}

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.{{cite web |url=http://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/ian_anderson_of_jethro_tull/ |title=Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull |work=Song Facts}} 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.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qky9CQAAQBAJ&pg=PT166 |title=The Eagles FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Classic Rock's Superstars|last= Vaughan |first= Andrew |date= February 1, 2015|publisher= Backbeat Books |isbn=9781617136238}} 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.{{cite web

| last = Feenstra

| first = Pete

| title = Interview: Don Felder

| website = Get Ready to Rock

| publisher = hotdigitsnewmedia group

| date = September 2012

| url = http://www.getreadytorock.com/rock_stars/don_felder.htm

| access-date = May 5, 2015

}} 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."{{cite web |url=https://www.guitarplayer.com/players/did-the-eagles-steal-hotel-california-from-jethro-tull |title=Did Jethro Tull Inspire the Eagles' "Hotel California"? |first=Christopher |last= Scapelliti|date=November 15, 2017 |work=Guitar Player}}

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.

:G–D–F{{music|sharp}}7–Bm–G–D–Em–F{{music|sharp}}7

:

:or

:

:assuming a key of D:

:IV–I–III7–vi–IV–I–ii–III7

• The Orb, under the name of Jam on the Mutha, produced a version that charted at No. 62 in the UK in 1990.{{cite web |url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/26387/jam-on-the-mutha/ |title=Jam on the Mutha |work=Official Charts Company}}{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandjazzmusic/3664688/The-song-that-wont-check-out.html |title=The song that won't check out |first=Thomas H. |last=Green|date= April 26, 2007 |work=Daily Telegraph}}
• Gipsy Kings recorded a flamenco version sung in Spanish, and the version was used as a theme tune for "the Jesus" in the Coen brothers film The Big Lebowski.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v-ioAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA167|title= Rock the Nation: Latin/o Identities and the Latin Rock Diaspora|first= Roberto |last=Avant-Mier |date= May 6, 2010|page= 167|publisher= Bloomsbury Publishing USA|isbn= 9781441167972}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pWSw_p2pYvwC&pg=PA235 |title=The Brothers Grim: The Films of Ethan and Joel Coen |first= Erica|last= Rowell |year=2007 |page=235|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=9780810858503 }}
• Mike Piranha recorded the parody "Hotel Honolulu" in 1998, satirizing overdevelopment, crime, and other issues on Oahu; the song became a local hit in Hawaii.{{cite news |title=Livin' it up with a parody of paradise: Mike Piranha's 'Hotel Honolulu' gets airplay and guffaws |work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin |date=June 8, 1998|url=http://archives.starbulletin.com/98/06/08/features/story1.html |access-date=August 20, 2015}}
• The Romanian band Vama Veche recorded its version with different lyrics entitled "{{lang|ro|Hotel Cişmigiu}}", sung in its native language.[http://www.gandul.info/reportaj/hotel-cismigiu-la-100-de-ani-reinvierea-uneia-dintre-cele-mai-frumoase-cladiri-istorice-9495340 "HOTEL CIŞMIGIU la 100 de ani: reînvierea uneia dintre cele mai frumoase clădiri istorice"] (April 9, 2012), "Gandul" {{in lang|ro}}
• The Cat Empire recorded a version sung in French titled "L'Hôtel de Californie" for Triple J's Like a Version segment, and is included in its 2005 compilation album as well as the band's 2003 live album On the Attack.{{cite web |url=http://ppcorn.com/us/2015/12/24/five-best-covers-of-hotel-california/ |title=Five Best Covers of Hotel California |last=Owens |first=Air |date=December 24, 2015 |work=Popcorn |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807171232/http://ppcorn.com/us/2015/12/24/five-best-covers-of-hotel-california/ |archive-date=August 7, 2016}}
• 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.[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/6671926/The-Killers-Hotel-California.html "The Killers – Hotel California"] (December 2, 2009), The Telegraph.
• Frank Ocean released a song that samples the entire instrumental track of "Hotel California" on his mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra (2011), entitled "American Wedding."{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ScqFpB4lJg4C&q=%22Frank+Ocean%22+hotel-california&pg=RA2-PA31 |magazine=Billboard |date= April 2–9, 2011|title=R&B Resurgence |page= 31}} Don Henley threatened Ocean with a lawsuit for copyright infringement.{{cite news |url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6106517/don-henley-frank-ocean-hotel-california-american-wedding |title=Don Henley Slams 'Arrogant' Frank Ocean for Using 'Hotel' Music |date=June 4, 2014 |last= Schneider |first= Marc |magazine=Billboard}}
• Christina Aguilera performed the song during the eighth season of the American reality talent show The Voice, along with her team.{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/the-voice-recap-top-10-revealed-6531821/|title=‘The Voice’ Recap: Top 10 Revealed|work=Billboard|date=April 14, 2015|first=Kayla|last=Kumari Upadhyaya|access-date=February 19, 2025}}
• Czech singer Victoria covered the song for her debut album This Is Me! (2006),{{Cite web |title=Zpěvačku Victorii, která proslula coverem "Hotel California", zastřelil manžel |url=https://musicserver.cz/clanek/73924/zpevacku-victorii-ktera-proslula-coverem-hotel-california-zastrelil-manzel/ |language=cs}} and her version reached No. 1 on Czech radio Top 50 chart.{{cite web |url=https://ifpicr.cz/hitparada/7?weekId=1296 |title=CZ - RADIO - TOP 50 CZ: 1. týden 2006 |work=ČNS IFPI}}

"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,{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/markhendrickson/2015/02/03/the-eus-nightmare-in-the-hotel-california/ |title=The EU's Nightmare In The 'Hotel California' |date= February 3, 2015 |last=Hendrickson |first=Mark |work=Forbes}}{{cite web |url=http://digiday.com/agencies/navigating-hotel-california-effect-social-platforms/ |title=Navigating the 'Hotel California' effect of social platforms |last=Pineiro |first=Victor |date=April 17, 2015 |work=Digiday}}{{cite journal |url= |title=Leaving 'Hotel California': How Incentives Affect Flows of Benefit Recipients in the Netherlands |first=Jan C. |last=van Ours |journal=Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung |volume=75 |year=2006 |issue =3, S |pages= 186–207 |doi=10.3790/vjh.75.3.186 |hdl=10419/99446 |hdl-access=free}} or as an observation on a particular situation.{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-08-11-mn-5553-story.html |title=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 |date=August 11, 1992|last=Fineman |first=Mark |work= Los Angeles Times}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/11/business/worldbusiness/11iht-11facebook.9919316.html |title=On Facebook, leaving is hard to do |last=Aspan |first=Maria |date=February 11, 2008 |work=The New York Times}} 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.{{cite web |title=Fancy a stay at the "Hotel California"? Foreign direct investment, taxation and exit costs |url=http://www.dnb.nl/binaries/sr096_tcm46-146873.pdf |last=Görgh |first=Holger |date=2003 |access-date=January 20, 2016 |archive-date=November 21, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121174550/http://www.dnb.nl/binaries/sr096_tcm46-146873.pdf |url-status=dead }} A term "The Hotel California Effect" was then used to refer to the negative effect of financial regulations on investment,{{cite news |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/18cd68f6-7b21-11db-bf9b-0000779e2340.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/18cd68f6-7b21-11db-bf9b-0000779e2340.html |archive-date=December 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Time to change rules at Hotel California|last= Malan |first= Todd |date=November 23, 2006 |work=Financial Times}} and the problems foreign investors faced when getting their money out of China.{{cite web |url=http://news.alibaba.com/article/detail/knowledge/100898170-1-china-joint-ventures-hotel-california.html |title=China Joint Ventures And The Hotel California Effect.|date= May 22, 2013 |work=Alibaba}}{{cite web |url=http://china-economics-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/china-and-hotel-california-effect-in.html |title=China and the Hotel California Effect in Banking |date=January 5, 2009 |work=China Economics Blog}} It has also applied to other ideas such as problems when leaving a service provider or social media network,{{cite web |url=http://www.channelnomics.com/channelnomics-us/analysis/2430686/walmart-disrupts-hotel-california-effect-in-cloud |title=Walmart disrupts 'Hotel California effect' in cloud |first= Larry |last=Walsh |date=October 15, 2015|work=Channelnomics |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016143824/http://www.channelnomics.com/channelnomics-us/analysis/2430686/walmart-disrupts-hotel-california-effect-in-cloud |archive-date=October 16, 2015}}{{cite web |url=http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/social-trends-marketers-ignore/301725/ |title=Five Social Trends Marketers Won't Be Able to Ignore in 2016|last= Pineiro|first= Victor|date=December 16, 2015 |work=Advertising Age}} or when exiting cloud computing.{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/reuvencohen/2013/05/02/cloud-computing-at-the-hotel-california-check-in-and-never-leave/ |title=Cloud Computing at the Hotel California, Check-in and Never Leave! |first=Reuven |last=Cohen |work=Forbes |date=May 2, 2013}} The same analogy has been used by various commentators considering scenarios for Brexit, with the term "Hotel California Brexit".[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/06/08/hotel-california-brexit/ 'A Hotel California Brexit?']; The Telegraph, June 8, 2018'[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/yanis-varoufakis-says-brexit-is-like-hotel-california-you-can-check-out-any-time-you-like-but-you-a7334781.html 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"[http://www.wallstreetitalia.com/brexit-no-deal-vicino-ue-come-lhotel-california/ Brexit, 'no-deal' vicino. Ue come l'Hotel California]": Alessandra Caparello in Wall Street Italia, November 30, 2018

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.{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol.-54-no.-2/pdfs-vol.-54-no.-2/MattP-Hotel%20California-web.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100707004623/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol.-54-no.-2/pdfs-vol.-54-no.-2/MattP-Hotel%20California-web.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 7, 2010 |title=Operation Hotel California: The Clandestine War Inside Iraq |author=Matt P. |work=CIA}}{{cite web |url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/thoughts-on-iraq-hotel-california |title=Some Dance to Remember, Some Dance to Forget: A Few Thoughts on Iraq, "Hotel California{{sic|,"|hide=y}} and Coming Home |last= Stillman |first= Deanne |work=Los Angeles Review of Books |date=August 23, 2014}}

Although the Eagles were noted for their reluctance to license their songs for use in shows,{{cite web |url=http://consequenceofsound.net/2014/09/david-letterman-punks-the-eagles-over-licensing-their-music-watch/ |title=David Letterman punks The Eagles over licensing their music – watch |last= Kayeon |first= Ben |date=September 14, 2014 |work=Consequence of Sound}} the song has been used in a number of films and television shows, such as The Big Lebowski (performed by the Gipsy Kings),{{cite web |url=http://www.laweekly.com/music/the-definitive-guide-to-the-music-of-the-big-lebowski-4168132 |title=The Definitive Guide To The Music of The Big Lebowski|date=March 7, 2013 |work=LA Weekly}} Absolutely Fabulous, American Horror Story (Hotel), The Sopranos, and the end credits of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.{{cite web |last=Francisco |first=Eric |date=September 2, 2021 |title='Shang-Chi' post-credits scene: Director explains that game-changing cameo |url=https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/shang-chi-post-credits-scenes-explained-avengers-10-rings |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903024641/https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/shang-chi-post-credits-scenes-explained-avengers-10-rings |archive-date=September 3, 2021 |access-date=September 3, 2021 |website=Inverse}}

On July 13, 2022, three individuals{{snd}}rare-book dealer Glenn Horowitz and rock memorabilia specialists Craig Inciardi and Edward Kosinski{{cite news |last=Peltz| first=Jennifer|title=Don Henley tells court he never gave away drafts of 'Hotel California' lyrics| url=https://apnews.com/article/henley-hotel-california-lyrics-trial-eagles-aa5300708de790099f9f7d0ba3b8afcf|website=AP News|accessdate=February 26, 2024 | language=en |date=February 26, 2024}}{{snd}}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".{{cite web |last1=Peltz |first1=Jennifer |last2=Hays |first2=Tom |title=3 charged in scheme to sell stolen 'Hotel California' lyrics |url=https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-new-york-california-290e31743f028951408a4a80a681f880 |website=AP NEWS |access-date=July 13, 2022 |language=en |date=July 12, 2022}} 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. 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. 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.{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/article/hotel-california-lyrics-manuscript-trial-eagles-henley-1b873edc7596bb736428fbf8fb431c1d|title=On decades-old taped call, Eagles manager said 'pampered rock star' was stalling band biography|first=Jennifer|last=Peltz|publisher=Associated Press|date=February 22, 2024|accessdate=February 26, 2024}} Eventually, Inciardi and Kosinski would begin auctioning them in 2012. Defense lawyers have claimed Henley legally gave Sanders the lyric sheets. 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.{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/article/hotel-california-lyrics-trial-eagles-e54331f073373ecdc801349c39cda889|title=Prosecutors drop charges midtrial against 3 accused of possessing stolen 'Hotel California' lyrics|first=Jennifer|last=Peltz|publisher=Associated Press|date=March 6, 2024|accessdate=March 6, 2024}}{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/hotel-california-trial-dropped-reason-eagles-b2508032.html|title=Hotel California trial over stolen Eagles lyrics abruptly dropped by prosecutors|first=Roison|last=O'Conner|work=The Independent|date=March 6, 2024|accessdate=March 6, 2024}}

Partial credits from Richard Buskin and Bill Szymczyk.{{cite web |url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep10/articles/classic-tracks-0910.htm |title=The Eagles 'Hotel California' Classic Tracks|date=September 2010|last=Buskin |first=Richard |work=Sound on Sound}}

• Don Felder: 12-string acoustic guitar, 12-string electric guitar, backing vocals
• Don Henley: lead vocals, drums, percussion
• Glenn Frey: 12-string acoustic guitar, backing vocals
• Joe Walsh: electric guitar, organ, backing vocals
• Randy Meisner: bass, backing vocals

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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.setlist.fm/stats/songs/eagles-6bd6bede.html?songid=63d63a7b|title=Hotel California performed by Eagles|website=setlist.fm|access-date=December 26, 2021}}

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{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for "Hotel California"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Denmark|award=Platinum|number=2|type=single|artist=Eagles|title=Hotel California|access-date=February 29, 2024|certyear=2024|relyear=2013|id=13564}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=France|artist=The Eagles|title=Hotel California|type=single|award=Silver|relyear=1977|certyear=1977 |source=infodisc|access-date=October 8, 2020}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|award=Platinum|number=2|type=single|artist=Eagles|title=Hotel California|certyear=2019|relyear=1976|note=Digital download/sales since 2009|access-date=November 26, 2020}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Japan|nocert=true|type=single|artist=Eagles|title=Hotel California|relyear=1976|salesamount=350,000|note=1976-1978 sales|salesref={{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music//Billboard/70s/1978/Billboard%201978-05-27.pdf|title=Western Influence|magazine=Billboard|page=J-25|date=May 27, 1978|issn=0006-2510|accessdate=March 5, 2022}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Japan|award=Platinum|type=single|artist=Eagles|title=Hotel California|access-date=May 4, 2020|relyear=1996|certyear=1996|certmonth=5|relmonth=4|note=1996 release (physical sales)}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|artist=Eagles|title=Hotel California|award=Platinum|number=9|type=single|relyear=1976|id=2024-08-16|source=newchart|access-date=2024-11-20|certyear=2024}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Spain|award=Platinum|number=2|type=single|artist=Eagles|title=Hotel California|access-date=August 30, 2024|relyear=1976|certyear=2024|id=eagles-hotel-california}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|award=Platinum|number=4|type=single|artist=Eagles|title=Hotel California|access-date=January 10, 2025|relyear=2004|certyear=2025|id=3004-663-1}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|award=Gold|type=single|artist=Eagles|title=Hotel California|access-date=May 2, 2013|relyear=1977|certyear=1977|note=Physical single}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|award=Platinum|type=single|digital=true|artist=Eagles|title=Hotel California|access-date=May 2, 2013|relyear=2003|note=Digital download|salesamount=3,000,000|salesref={{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/6397815/revisionist-history-holiday-edition-mariah-carey-eagles-bryan-adams |title=Revisionist History, Holiday Edition: Mariah Gets a 'Christmas' Gift, Wham! Gets the Boot |last=Appel |first=Rich |magazine=Billboard |date=December 10, 2014 |access-date=December 10, 2014}}}}

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{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep10/articles/classic-tracks-0910.htm Classic Tracks: The Eagles 'Hotel California']

{{Eagles}}

{{Grammy Award for Record of the Year}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hotel California (Song)}}

Category:1976 songs

Category:1977 singles

Category:Asylum Records singles

Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles

Category:Cashbox number-one singles

Category:Eagles (band) songs

Category:Fictional hotels

Category:Grammy Award for Record of the Year

Category:Nancy Sinatra songs

Category:Oricon International Singles Chart number-one singles

Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles

Category:Song recordings produced by Bill Szymczyk

Category:Songs about Los Angeles

Category:Songs about hotels and motels

Category:Songs written by Don Henley

Category:Songs written by Glenn Frey

Category:The Killers songs