Introduction:
“Hotel California” is a song by the American rock band Eagles, released as the second single of their album of the same name on February 22, 1977. The song was written by Don Felder (music), Don Henley, and Glenn Frey (lyrics), featuring Henley on lead vocals and concluding with an iconic 2 minute and 12 seconds long electric guitar solo performed by Felder with a Gibson Les Paul Gibson EDS-1275 double neck and Joe Walsh with a Fender Telecaster, in which they take turns playing the lead before harmonizing and playing arpeggios together towards the fade-out.
The song was awarded the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1978. The meaning of the lyrics of the song has been discussed by fans and critics ever since its release. The Eagles themselves described the song as their “interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles”. In the 2013 documentary History of the Eagles, Henley said that the song was about “a journey from innocence to experience … that’s all.” Since its release, “Hotel California” has been widely regarded as one of the greatest rock songs of all time, and has been covered by many artists.