Hotel California
 | An {{Infobox song}} has been requested for this article. Please select the appropriate infobox and format it according to the guidelines. |
"Hotel California" was the title song from The Eagles' 1976 album of the same name, and was released as a single in the spring of 1977. 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. A reference to drugs is found in the line "Warm smell of colitas rising up through the air." Colitas is the name of the buds found on Marijuana plants. The psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol, is abbreviated THC, suggesting another link with "The Hotel California", which is never mentioned in the song without the "The".
Another possible interpretation of the song is that the Hotel California is a symbol of California itself, which becomes a metaphor for the 'rock and roll' lifestyle led by Hollywood denizens and musicians alike. The song takes upon a different reading with this interpretation in mind.
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 Walsh and 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 versions of "Hotel California" have been released, notably by flamenco band the Gipsy Kings, as well as Bob Marley. In 2004, it was recorded by American Idol reject William Hung. Australian 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?
Some people believe that the song contains elements of Satanism and that the band members themselves were responsible for it; some say the album cover includes an image of Anton LaVey in one of the windows of the hotel. They point out song references to stabbing "The Beast" ("They stab it with their steely knives/but they just cant kill the beast"). The band has denied references to Satanism or the Occult, and the theory has been debunked.