Hotel California

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Hotel California was an album released by Eagles in 1976 (see 1976 in music).

1 History
2 Track listing
3 Personnel
4 Production
5 Singles
6 Charts
7 Awards

History

Using Hotel California as a metaphor for the nation, The Eagles touched on many themes, including innocence (and the loss thereof), the dangers, temptations, and transient nature of fame, shallow relationships, divorce and loss of love, the end results of manifest destiny, and the "American Dream".

Members of the Eagles have described the album as a metaphor for the perceived decline of America into materialism and decadence. In an interview with Dutch magazine ZigZag shortly before the album's release, Don Henley said:

This is a concept album, there's no way to hide it, but it's not set in the old West, the cowboy thing, you know. It's more urban this time (. . . ) It's our bicentennial year, you know, the country is 200 years old, so we figured since we are the Eagles and the Eagle is our national symbol, that we were obliged to make some kind of a little bicentennial statement using California as a microcosm of the whole United States, or the whole world, if you will, and to try to wake people up and say 'We've been okay so far, for 200 years, but we're gonna have to change if we're gonna continue to be around'.

Several tracks on the album were #1 hits in Billboard: "New Kid in Town", on February 26, 1977, and "Hotel California" on May 7, 1977.

In 2003 the TV network VH1 named Hotel California the 38th greatest album of all time. Hotel California was ranked 39th in a 2005 survey held by British television's Channel 4 to determine the 100 greatest albums of all time.

Hotel California is the Eagles' best selling studio album. Since its release in late 1976, it has sold over 16 million copies in the U.S. alone.

The cover image is of the Beverly Hills Hotel. However, claims have been made by various hotels around the world to be the actual inspiration for the song, most notably the Hotel California in Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, Mexico. However Don Henley has refuted this claim.

Rumors of a Satanic aspect to the album appeared during the height of paranoia about rock and heavy metal music being a tool of evil. Evidence provided were a supposedly horned figure peering down from a balcony in the album cover and the dark theme and references to a "spirit" and "the beast" in the title song. The band have refuted such claims.

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Track listing

"Hotel California" (Felder, Henley, Frey) - 6:30
- Lead vocal by Don Henley
"New Kid in Town" (J.D. Souther, Henley, Frey) - 5:04
- Lead vocal by Glenn Frey
"Life in the Fast Lane" (Walsh, Henley, Frey) - 4:46
- Lead vocal by Don Henley
"Wasted Time" (Henley, Frey) - 4:55
- Lead vocal by Don Henley
"Wasted Time (Reprise)" (instrumental) (Henley, Frey, Jim Ed Norman) - 1:22
"Victim of Love" (Felder, Souther, Henley, Frey) - 4:11
- Lead vocal by Don Henley
"Pretty Maids All in a Row" (Walsh, Joe Vitale) - 4:05
- Lead vocal by Joe Walsh
"Try and Love Again" (Meisner) - 5:10
- Lead vocal by Randy Meisner
"The Last Resort" (Henley, Frey) - 7:25
- Lead vocal by Don Henley

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Personnel

Don Felder - guitar, pedal steel, electric guitar, steel guitar, vocals, slide guitar
Glenn Frey - synthesizer, guitar, piano, keyboard, vocals, clavinet
Don Henley - synthesizer, percussion, drums, vocals
Randy Meisner - bass, guitar, vocals, guitarron
Joe Walsh - organ, synthesizer, guitar, piano, keyboard, electric piano, vocals, slide guitar

Additional personnel

Jim Ed Norman - conductor
Sid Sharp - concert master

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Production

Producer: Bill Szymczyk
Engineers: Allan Blazek, Bruce Hensal, Ed Marshall, Bill Szymczyk
Mixing: Bill Szymczyk
String arrangements: Jim Ed Norman
Art direction: Don Henley, John Kosh
Design: John Kosh
Photography: David Alexander
Artwork: Kosh
Poster design: Norman Seeff
CD preparation: Kevin Gray
Mastering and Remastering: Ted Jensen

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Singles

"New Kid in Town"/"Victim Of Love" - Asylum 45373; released December 7, 1976
"Hotel California"/"Pretty Maids All In A Row" - Asylum 45286; released February 22, 1977
"Life in the Fast Lane"/"The Last Resort" - Asylum 45403; released May 3, 1977

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Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1977	Country Albums	10
1977	Pop Albums	1

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1977	"New Kid in Town"	Adult Contemporary	2
1977	"New Kid In Town"	Country Singles	43
1977	"New Kid In Town"	Pop Singles	1
1977	"Hotel California"	Pop Singles	1
1977	"Life In The Fast Lane"	Pop Singles	11