Nearly 50 years ago (Feb. 22, 1977), the Eagles released “Hotel California,” the second single and title track from their fifth studio album. Lead guitarist Don Felder knew right away they had something special, but even he couldn’t have predicted the cultural reverberations. The song’s backbone is its 2-minute, 12-second guitar solo, which sees Felder and Joe Walsh trading riffs before joining forces in an ethereal harmony. Its lyrics, written by co-lead vocalists Glenn Frey and Don Henley, are still the subject of heated debates a half century later. Today, we’re exploring the impact and true meaning of “Hotel California.”
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The Eagles’ Don Felder Wanted to “Shred” With Joe Walsh
While Frey and Henley are responsible for the lyrics, Don Felder was the man behind the music on “Hotel California.” The Eagles brought him aboard in early 1974 as part of their plan to move their early country-rock sound into a more rock-and-roll direction.
Felder cut the earliest demo of “Hotel California” while sitting on a rented porch in Malibu. When it came time to gather songs for the band’s next album, he began fleshing it out.
The now 78-year-old guitarist had played with Joe Walsh prior to them both joining the Eagles, and he wanted “Hotel California” to showcase their talent in full.
“I had left spaces at the end so that I would play something kind of like this for a solo and Joe would answer kind of like this, because Joe and I had been playing together before he joined the Eagles,” Felder, now 78, told the Arizona Republic last May. “That’s what that song was really aimed at doing, was trying to get a track that Joe and I could play on. And it worked out.”
[RELATED: Joe Walsh and Don Felder Rewrote and Rerecorded This Part of “Hotel California” for Days]
OK, But Really—What Does It Mean?
“Hotel California” catapulted the Eagles into rock history, peaking atop the Hot 100 and selling 1 million copies within three months. It’s not an understatement to say the song changed rock music forever. With that said—what does it mean?
Don Henley has offered a number of explanations throughout the years—sometimes branding “Hotel California” as a sociopolitical statement; others insisting it’s “a journey from innocence to experience … that’s all.”
Regardless of intentions, one thing remains true: You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.
Featured image by Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns
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