"The first version we recorded was just a riff,” says Bill Szymczyk, who earned a 'Producer Of The Year' Grammy for his efforts producing and engineering the album. So, it's interesting that the track itself underwent three different versions before emerging in the form that everyone knows. Ostensibly, a song about a luxury hotel visit that crosses over to the dark side, but really an allegory about American materialism and excess - as well as the decadent LA lifestyle that many musicians experienced during the mid‑'70s - 'Hotel California' was a pivotal track for the Eagles.Īt a time when punk was starting to explode and album‑oriented rock was all the rage, the song not only topped the US singles chart and scooped the Grammy for 'Record Of The Year' it also established the theme of - and lent its name to - the Eagles' autobiographical, multi‑platinum LP that, courtesy of guitarist Bernie Leadon's replacement by Joe Walsh, saw the band make the transition from country rock to mainstream rock while achieving their greatest critical and commercial success. The Eagles on stage, Rotterdam, 1977.Photo: Redferns
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Producer Bill Szymczyk tells us how it happened. As evidence from the photographer for the album cover, he has stated that the picture was intended to represent the dramatic loss of innocence and rising growth of corruption.Hotel California saw the Eagles abandon their country origins in favour of full-blown rock & roll, and made them one of the biggest selling groups in the world. Moreover, the Eagles admitted they themselves were drowning in these temptations. This includes the excess of drugs, piles of money, and easy women. The song is aimed the characteristic greed and hedonism associated with Hollywood during the time period. Add the beaches with scantily clad women, and shining lights you could see for hundreds of miles.
#WHAT IS HOTEL CALIFORNIA SONG ABOUT FULL#
This was full of propaganda with the signature images of the stars on Hollywood Boulevard, for instance. “Hotel California” was merely the band’s interpretation of the high life in California. Instead, it’s all about the “uneasy balance between art and commerce.” The song was actually the Grammy winner for Record of the Year in 1977.
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He disproved the wilder interpretations as mere figments of the overactive public imagination.
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Back in 2007, in an interview with the London Daily Mail, Don Henley approached the issue. However, it also hints at the same situation across the nation in the 1970s. The “Hotel California” lyrics meaning focuses on the excessive materialism of California. The song is written by Don Felder, Glenn Frey, and Don Henley of the Eagles. It focuses on the pitfalls of living within Southern California in the tumultuous 1970s. The hit song is actually an interesting examination. They have confirmed that “Hotel California” actually has nothing to do with Satanism, psychiatric hospitals, or cocaine addictions.
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Background on “Hotel California”ĭespite popular belief, the Eagles turned down all the theories. Most likely, this is to blame for these bone-chilling theories. The threatening lyric “you can check out anytime you like but you can never leave” is fascinating. He was a man who was notorious for converting people to Satanism. Still others divined that this was a devil-worshipping song about Anton LaVey. Others hypothesized that the band was referring to the Camarillo State Mental Hospital in Ventura County. This would make the Eagles vent about the hospitality industry. Some believed that the “Hotel California” was a real hotel in Baja California near Santa Barbara. This has lead to it becoming the victim of several misinterpretations by both critics and fans alike. The first thing we need to do is to admit the cryptic nature of the song’s lyrics. As one of the most well-known songs of the rock era, and the 49th greatest song of all time according to Rolling Stone magazine, chances are you’ve heard the famous song “Hotel California” by the Eagles from 1977 – unless you’ve been living under a rock.