On This Day in 1977, the Eagles Went to No. 1 with a Song That Don Felder Argued Against Releasing

On this day (May 7) in 1977, the Eagles’ “Hotel California” went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. More than being a major hit for the band, it became their signature song, won a Grammy Award, and became one of the most discussed songs in rock history.

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Don Felder wrote the music for “Hotel California,” and Don Henley and Glenn Frey penned the lyrics for “Hotel California.” The band released it on February 22, 1977, as the second single and title track from their fifth studio album. It received extensive airplay upon its initial release, and it popularity hasn’t faded much over the years. Today, nearly fifty years after hitting the airwaves for the first time, the track has garnered more than a billion streams on Spotify.

[RELATED: The Eagles Did Challenge ‘Rolling Stone’ Magazine to a Softball Game To Settle a Grudge in 1977]

“Hotel California” Remains a Mystery

Part of the song’s popularity comes from its ambiguous lyrics. Over the years, listeners have debated the meaning of “Hotel California” and have posited theories ranging from the titular hotel being a metaphor for hell or purgatory to the song being about the pitfalls of fame. Interestingly, the band has given several answers to this burning question. Henley once said it was about the loss of innocence. Frey, on the other hand, insisted that the band wanted to do something strange just to see if it would work.

Joe Walsh gave yet another answer in a Dutch documentary. “There were all these places to play, and all these people would come. Jackson Browne, John David Souther, Buffalo Springfield, Joni Mitchell, David Crosby, and all these people,” he recalled. “Nobody was from California. Everybody was from Ohio, Michigan, or Texas. California, at that time, was this big hotel, this big melting pot of people with talent trying to fit in. And that’s what we meant about California, at the time,” he explained.

The Eagles Took a Gamble with “Hotel California”

Today, “Hotel California” is the Eagles’ best-known song. It’s a classic that has received triple Platinum certification from the RIAA. It has also earned Platinum certification in several other countries. However, when they released the song, it was a gamble. By all rights, it shouldn’t have been a hit.

“In 1975. AM radio had a specific formula for what it would play,” Don Felder recalled in an interview. “It had to be three to three minutes and thirty seconds long, from needle drop to the singer singing could not be longer than thirty seconds, it had to be an uptempo, like, rock or something, or kind of a wet, mushy ballad. That was pretty much the formula,” he explained.

“If you look at ‘Hotel California,’ it’s six-and-a-half minutes long. It’s almost a minute before Don starts singing. That introduction is long. It stops in the middle. The drums and bass stop in the middle. Then, it’s got a two-minute solo on the very end. It’s just the absolute wrong format for the radio,” he said.

Henley was adamant about “Hotel California” being a single, but Felder tried to convince him otherwise. “I’m so happy that he didn’t listen to my suggestion that we not put that song out as a single,” he said with a laugh.

Felder opined that the song’s length may have actually helped it gain popularity. “Disc jockeys loved it because they could put it on and go smoke a cigarette or go to the bathroom. They had a six-and-a-half-minute break. So they loved it,” he explained. “I don’t know if that was part of the reason it got played so much or not, but it worked out well.”

Featured Image by Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns