Hotel California Song True Story
As the story unfolds the speaker is driving on a dark desert highway late at night.
Hotel california song true story. He feels the wind in his hair and smells some desert flowers. Eagles released hotel california on december 8 1976 two weeks after the sex pistols anarchy in the uk on the surface you couldn t get two records more diametrically opposed or could you. It s about the jaded and hedonistic lifestyle that characterizes southern california. Don henley said it s a song about a journey from innocence to experience when the eagles were interviewed they said it is about the jaded blasé hedonistic lifestyle that characterizes california and indeed.
Alone and was on the billboard hot 100. It s the hotel california. The summery classic rock track from 1976 still sounds fresh over 40 years later but what is it all actually about and is it based on a real hotel. The hit tune was a billboard chart topper.
Don henley had been playing with the phrase hotel california for some time but to become a song it had to go through the regimented process the band had adopted by the mid 1970s. Before long he starts to feel drowsy and stops at a hotel for the night. The record company vetoed the publication of hotel california as a single at least in its full length claiming that seven minutes were too much for radio broadcasting the eagles fought against that and finally got what they wanted. It sold over 16 million copies in the u s.
The song became number one an almost unique event for a. Hotel california is arguably the eagles most iconic song. But closer inspection of their fifth studio album the era s leading. The california referred to on this track is both the famous west coast state specifically los angeles and a symbolism of american materialism.
Writing credits for the song are shared by don felder music don henley and glenn frey lyrics. The eagles original recording of the song features henley singing the lead vocals and concludes with an extended section of electric guitar interplay between felder and. Hotel california by the eagles is one of the most iconic songs ever recorded and helped the band s greatest hits become the biggest selling album in united states chart history. If the song was shortened they would have blocked the release so warner records had to surrender.
According to the eagles this iconic song of theirs has various interpretations. Hotel california is the title track from the eagles album of the same name and was released as a single in february 1977.