EAGLES (Band) - Hotel California (1976-1978)

Hotel California released on December 8, 1976 as the band's fifth studio album and the first album to feature Joe Walsh, who replaced Leadon after One of These Nights. The album took a year and a half to make, a process which along with touring, drained the band. Hotel California is also the last album to feature founding member Randy Meisner, who would leave the band after the album to return to his native Nebraska and be with his family. He would eventually launch a solo career. His biggest contribution to the album would be the track "Try and Love Again", which he wrote and sang lead vocals on. He would be replaced by the same man who replaced him in Poco, Timothy B. Schmit. The album's first single was "New Kid in Town," which became the Eagles' third No. 1 single. 


The second single was the title track, which also topped the charts in February 1977. The song became the Eagles' signature song. It featured Henley on lead vocals, and the guitar duet at the end of the song was performed by Don Felder and Joe Walsh. The song was written by Felder, Henley and Frey. Felder wrote all the music to the song. The song is also known for its mysterious lyrics and has been interpreted in many ways in the past, some often controversial. Told during a 60 Minutes interview (November 25, 2007) that "everyone wants to know what this song [Hotel California] means," Don Henley replied, "I know, it's so boring... It's basically a song about the dark underbelly of the American Dream, and about excess in America, which was something we knew about. 


Life in the Fast Lane" was also a major success, establishing Joe Walsh's position in the band with its more hard rock sound. It would be the third and final single from Hotel California and reached No. 11 on the charts. The ballad "Wasted Time" closed the first side of the album, while an instrumental reprise of it opened the second side. The album concluded with "The Last Resort", the song Frey, to this day, refers to as Don Henley's greatest work. 


The run-out groove on side two has the words "V.O.L. Is Five-Piece Live"; this means that the song "Victim of Love" was recorded live, with just the band and no overdubbing. Don Henley confirms this on the inner booklet of The Very Best of Eagles. Hotel California has appeared on several lists of the best albums of all time. It is also their best-selling studio album, with over 16 million copies sold to date in the U.S. The album would also win the band two more Grammys for "Record of the year" (Hotel California) and "Best arrangement for voices" (New Kid in Town). Hotel California topped the charts and was nominated for Album of the Year in the 1977 Grammys, but lost to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours. Nonetheless, the album further established the Eagles as America's number one band and made the Eagles household names. To support the album, the Eagles would go on another huge worldwide tour that further drained the band members and strained their personal and creative relationships. 


In 1977, the group, minus Don Felder, performed some instrumental work and backing vocals for Randy Newman's album Little Criminals, including the controversial surprise hit "Short People", which has backing vocals by Frey and Schmit.

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