Hotel California

About this song

Don Felder wrote the music and put it on a cassette with other song ideas that he shared with Joe Walsh, Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Randy Meisner. Henley called the early music a Mexican reggae-style sound, and later he came up with the lyrical framework of a hotel called the Hotel California, with the Beverly Hills Hotel appearing on the album cover. In February 2016, during the 58th Grammys, the Eagles were presented with their 1977 Grammy for Album of the Year during a commercial break, after they and Jackson Browne performed a tribute to Glenn Frey.

What it's about

Don Henley has said the song is about the excesses of American culture and certain girls the band knew, as well as the uneasy balance between art and commerce.

Fun facts

• Sampled in 32 other songs, like “South Dakota by Afroman”.
• Covered 34 times, including “Hotel California by Jorn”.
• Written by Don Henley, Don Felder and Glenn Frey.
• Produced by Bill Szymczyk.
• Recorded at Criteria Studios.