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"Hotel California" was the title song from Eagles ' Album Of The Same Name , and was released as a single at the end of 1976 . It is one of the best-known songs of the Album Oriented Rock era. The lyrics of the song describe the title establishment, a hotel where "you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave". On the surface, the song is a tale of a weary traveler who becomes trapped in a nightmarish hotel that at first appeared tempting; as a metaphor the song may be commenting on Drug Addiction or simply the decadent lifestyle the hugely successful band had been caught up in. The original version of the song is performed in slow rock style, opening with a long, repeated Electric Guitar motif. During the verses, guitar and bass provide melodic Counterpoint to the vocal. The end section of the song consists of a series of guitar solos building to a multi-layered variation on the opening theme with multiple guitars in chorus. The song is also well known for its guitar solos, which are performed by both Joe Walsh and Don Felder . Writing credits for the song are shared by the group's three main songwriters: Don Henley , Glenn Frey and Don Felder . "Hotel California" won the Grammy Award For Record Of The Year in 1978 . It is rated by many polls to be one of the greatest songs of all time: '' Rolling Stone '' magazine, for example, states it is the 49th greatest song of all time. As one of the group's most popular and well-known songs, "Hotel California" has been a concert staple for the band since its release; performances of the song appear on the Eagles' 1980 live album and, in an acoustic version, on the 1994 '' Hell Freezes Over '' reunion concert CD and video release. A few Cover Version s of "Hotel California" have been released, notably by Flamenco band the Gipsy Kings . In 2004 , it was recorded by '' American Idol '' reject William Hung . Australia n band The Cat Empire recorded a version of the song in French (''L'Hotel Californie''), for Triple J 's Like A Version segment and subsequent CD compilation. The song may have been influenced by the 1969 Jethro Tull song "We Used to Know", from the album '' Stand Up ''. The chord progressions are nearly identical, and the bands toured together prior to the release of the song. Additionally, fans have noticed thematic similarities with Don Henley's solo single "Sunset Grill". SATANIC QUESTION Some people believe that the song contains elements of Satanism and that the band members themselves were responsible for it; they point out song references to stabbing "The Beast" ("They stab it with their steely knives/but they just can't kill the beast"). The band has denied references to Satanism or the Occult . CULTURAL REFERENCES At Camp Nama , a secret detention and interrogation facility outside of Baghdad International Airport operated between mid-2003 and mid-2004 by shadowy U.S. Army unit known (then) as Task Force 6-26 , high-value detainees were housed in a separate area of 6-by-8-foot cubicles known as Hotel California, suggesting a new sense of poignancy to the some of the song's darker lyrics. EXTERNAL LINK |
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