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- For the song of the same name see Hotel California.
Hotel California is an album released by American rock band the Eagles in late 1976 (see 1976 in music).
History
Hotel California was the Eagles' fifth album of original material and became a major commercial hit; since its release in late 1976, it has sold over 16 million copies in the U.S. alone, and is their best-selling album of original material. The album was at #1 for eight weeks between late 1976 and early 1977 (non-consecutively), and included two tracks which became #1 hits as singles on the Billboard Hot 100: "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.
Themes
Hotel California touched on many themes, including innocence (and the loss thereof), addiction to drugs, death, 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 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.'"
The album's final track, the epic "The Last Resort", was about the demise of society. Glenn Frey on the Hotel California episode of In the Studio with Redbeard explained about the track:
"It was the first time that Don took it upon himself to write an epic story and we were already starting to worry about the environment...we're constantly screwing up paradise and that was the point of the song and that at somepoint there is going to be no more new frontiers. I mean we're putting junk, er, garbage into space now".
Album cover
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 denied such claims.
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
Album pressing
The vinyl record pressings had custom picture labels of a blue Hotel California logo with a yellow background. They also had text engraved in the carry-out groove on each side:
- "Is It 6 OClock Yet?"
- "V.O.L. Is Five-Piece Live" (i.e. "Victim of Love" was recorded live in the studio without overdubs)
Personnel
- Don Felder - guitars, pedal steel, electric guitar, steel guitar, vocals, slide guitar
- Joe Walsh - guitars, piano, keyboard, electric piano, organ, synthesizer, slide guitar, vocals.
- Glenn Frey - synthesizer, guitar, piano, keyboard, vocals, clavinet
- Don Henley - synthesizer, percussion, drums, vocals
- Randy Meisner - bass, guitar, vocals, guitarron
Additional personnel
- Jim Ed Norman - conductor
- Sid Sharp - concert master
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
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
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 |
Awards
Grammy Awards
| Year | Winner | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | "Hotel California" | Record Of The Year |
| 1977 | "New Kid in Town" | Best Arrangement For Voices |
Grammy Award nominations
| Year | Nominee | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | "Hotel California" | Song of the Year |
| 1977 | Hotel California | Album of the Year |
| 1977 | Bill Szymczyk | Producer of the Year |
Eagles albums | 1976 albums | Fictional hotels
Hotel California | Hotel California (Eagles) | ホテル・カリフォルニア | Hotel California (альбом) | Hotel California
"Hotel California"