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"Hotel California"
Single by Eagles from the album Hotel California
B-side	"Pretty Maids All in a Row"
Released	February 22, 1977
Format	7" single
Genre	Rock
Length	6:31
Label	Asylum
Writer	Don Felder, Glenn Frey, Don Henley
Producer	Bill Szymczyk
Eagles singles chronology
"New Kid in Town" (1976) "Hotel California" (1977) "Life in the Fast Lane" (1977)

"Hotel California" is the title song from the Eagles' album of the same name and was released as a single in early 1977. It is one of the best-known songs of the album-oriented rock era. Writing credits for the song are shared by Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Don Felder.

Contents 1 History 2 Cover versions 3 Influences 4 Lyrics Interpretation 5 Trivia 6 External links 7 References

The lyrics of the song describe the title establishment, a hotel where "you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave." On the surface, the song is a tale of a weary traveler who becomes trapped in a nightmarish hotel that at first appeared tempting. There are many urban legends about the meaning of this metaphor (see Lyrics Interpretations below). The song is generally thought to be about the hedonism and self-destruction in the Hollywood music industry^[1]. The idea is that the song compares the culture of fame and excess to a luxury hotel. Though initially welcoming its guests with unlimited pleasure, it is merely a guise and ends up trapping its residents through their own self-destructive actions. Hence, the line, "we are all just prisoners here, of our own device."

The original version of the song is performed in slow rock style, opening with a long, repeated acoustic twelve string guitar motif. During the verses, guitar and bass provide melodic counterpoint to the vocal. The end section of the song consists of a series of guitar solos building to a multi-layered variation on the opening theme with multiple guitars in chorus. The song is also well known for its guitar solos, which are performed by both Joe Walsh and Don Felder, with Glenn Frey playing rhythm guitar. The guitar solo has been ranked by many as one of the best guitar solos of all time.

"Hotel California" won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1978.

It is rated by many polls to be one of the greatest songs of all time: Rolling Stone magazine, for example, states it is the forty-ninth greatest song of all time.^[2] Similarly, it is one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

As one of the group's most popular and well-known songs, "Hotel California" has been a concert staple for the band since its release; performances of the song appear on the Eagles' 1980 live album and, in an acoustic version, on the 1994 Hell Freezes Over reunion concert CD and video release. The version of this song on the live album "Hell Freezes Over" is performed by eight guitars in total.

A few cover versions of "Hotel California" have been released, notably by flamenco band the Gipsy Kings. Majek Fashek has also done a reggae cover of the song, which is often falsely credited to Bob Marley. In 2004, it was recorded by American Idol reject William Hung. Australian band The Cat Empire recorded a version of the song in French (L'Hotel de Californie), for Triple J's Like a Version segment and subsequent CD compilation. Marc Anthony has often sung the song live. Brixton (England)-based band Alabama 3 also covered the song on their 2000 album "la peste." Country group Rascal Flatts performed their own version of the song at the 2007 Grammy Awards. In 1977, German artist Stefan Hallberg ^[3] recorded a cover in ^[4] German. Krzysztof Piasecki has recorded a cover in Polish. Also the American band SkaDaddyZ released a ska version of the song in 1999. In 1983 the band Big Daddy recorded a comedic cover version , mixing the original lyrics with the music of Del Shannon song "Runaway". In 1997 The Moog Cookbook included a version on their album Ye Olde Space Bande.

The song may have been influenced by the 1969 Jethro Tull song "We Used to Know", from the album Stand Up.^{[citation needed]} The bands toured together prior to the release of the song and Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson has stated, in several interviews, that he is still waiting for the royalties to come in. Additionally, the chord progressions are nearly identical, however, as the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain highlight in their live act, the chords are also similar to I Will Survive, Fly Me to the Moon and classical works, amongst others. While recording in Miami, Don Felder had to phone home to California to have his maid send him a copy of the demo in order to reproduce the introduction and end solos, which may have accounted for the words "copyright in dispute" in the liner notes and the use of compulsory license, as noted by the EU copyright designation "no claim to underlying music". Additionally, fans have noticed thematic similarities with Don Henley's solo single "Sunset Grill". The harmony twin guitar in evidence throughout most of the track and especially in the last section of the solo is highly reminiscent of Wishbone Ash and was probably an idea of the producer Bill Szymczyk who had produced There's the Rub by Wishbone Ash just prior to the Hotel California sessions.

• The term "colitas" in the first stanza of the song is a Spanish term for "little tails." This is a reference to the buds of the marijuana plant, which contain higher concentrations of the psychoactive ingredient, THC, than other parts of the plant. ^[5]
• The references to courtyards and wine, coupled with the influx of Iranians during that time points to a Sufi festival of Iranians (dissidents or establishment; probably both), who still make up a large percentage of the population in Los Angeles county. The minaret-like structures on the cover of the album also support this rumor.
• The lyric "They stab it with their steely knives/But they just can't kill the beast" was widely believed to be a nod to Steely Dan's lyric "Turn up the Eagles, the neighbors are listening" in their song Everything You Did (and in the liner notes of The Very Best of the Eagles (2001), Glenn Frey confirmed this).
• Urban legend has attributed the name "Hotel California" to many physical locations:
  • The Church of Satan which happens to be located in a converted hotel on California Street. The Satanic Bible was also written in 1969, a year that is mentioned in the song. Some believe that the lyrics, " ... kill the beast," and "... that spirit here" refer to black magic. Also, others believe on their inside cover of the Hotel California album, looking down on the festivities, is either Satan or Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan. These rumors, however, were proven false.^[6]
  • The California State Mental Hospital at Camarillo, so called by some of the staff who worked there. This interpretation is backed up by the lyric from the song: '"So I called up the captain, Please bring me my wine, He said "We haven't had that spirit here since 1969"'. The staff used to give wine to the patients to calm them before dinner. This practice was halted in 1969.^{[citation needed]}
  • Hotel California in the Mexican town of Todos Santos in Baja California, between Cabo San Lucas and La Paz. Though this urban legend persists, Don Henley stated: ""I can tell you unequivocally that neither myself nor any of the other band members have had any sort of association - business or pleasure - with that establishment."
• The lyrics "her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she's got the Mercedes bends" (NB bends rather than the typically used "Benz") both associate physical discomforts with expensive merchandise.
• Some believe that the initials of [The] Hotel California may refer to tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive ingredient of the Cannabis plant, commonly abbreviated as THC.^{[citation needed]}
• It has been speculated that the song is also about drug rehab and the reference to stabbing the "beast" with "steely knives" refers to the cutting of cocaine prior to ingestion by nasal inhalation.
• Additionally, there has been some speculation that the song refers to cancer and that the "hotel" is a hospital. The "stabbing" refers to surgery and the "beast" is a cancer or tumor

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• The first six bars of the song (all instrumental) are part of the theme-development background music of Disney's Grand Californian Hotel in Anaheim, California.^{[citation needed]}

• Snopes.com article debunking the Satanic myth
• Cecil Adam's "Straight Dope" article: In the song "Hotel California," what does "colitas" mean?
• Soldes d'hiver : Pack Hotel California A collection of versions of the song

Preceded by "Southern Nights" by Glen Campbell	Billboard Hot 100 number one single May 7, 1977	Succeeded by "When I Need You" by Leo Sayer
Preceded by "Don't Leave Me This Way" by Thelma Houston	United World Chart number one single May 7, 1977 – May 21, 1977	Succeeded by "Sir Duke" by Stevie Wonder

v • d • e Eagles
Current members
Glenn Frey | Don Henley | Joe Walsh | Timothy B. Schmit
Former members
Don Felder | Randy Meisner | Bernie Leadon
Touring musicians
Steuart Smith | Will Hollis | Michael Thompson | Scott Crago | Bill Armstrong | Al Garth | Chris Mostert | Greg Smith | Richard F.W. Davis
Discography
Studio albums: Eagles | Desperado | On the Border | One of These Nights | Hotel California | The Long Run | Long Road Out of Eden
Compilations: Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) | Eagles Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 | Selected Works: 1972-1999 | The Very Best of the Eagles
Live albums: Eagles Live | Hell Freezes Over | Farewell 1 Tour-Live from Melbourne