"Hotel California" is the title song from the Eagles' album of the same name and was released as a single in early 1977.It is one of the best-known songs of the album-oriented rock era.Writing credits for the song are shared by Don Felder,Don Henley and Glenn Frey.The Eagles' original recording of the song features Henley singing the lead vocals and concludes with an extended section of electric guitar interplay between Felder and Joe Walsh.
History and recognition
"Hotel California" topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for one week in May 1977.Three months after its release,the single was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America representing 1,000,000 records shipped.The Eagles also won the 1977 Grammy Award for Record of the Year for "Hotel California" at the 20th Annual Grammy Awards in 1978.[1]
In 2009,the song "Hotel California" was certified Platinum (Digital Sales Award) by the RIAA for sales of 1,000,000 digital downloads.[2]
The song is rated highly in many rock music lists and polls.Rolling Stone magazine,for example,placed it as the 49th greatest song of all time.[3] It is also one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.The song's guitar solo is ranked 8th on Guitar Magazine's Top 100 Guitar Solos.
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.The "Hell Freezes Over" version is performed using eight guitars in total,and has a decidedly Spanish feel to it - with Don Felder playing a flamenco-inspired intro.During the band's Farewell 1 Tour-Live from Melbourne the song was performed in a manner closer to the original album version,but with a trumpet interlude in the beginning.
The song is a playable track on the video game Guitar Hero World Tour.[4]
