The best-selling American band of all time is the Eagles. And their best-selling, non-greatest-hits LP is Hotel California. Released in 1976, that album has racked up sales of over 30 million certified copies and ranks #3 on the worldwide list of best-selling albums of all time (right behind their own Greatest Hits LP at #2).
The title song is one of the reasons for its enduring popularity. But what was the inspiration for the song and what do its cryptic lyrics mean?
Well, like most great rock songs, the composers have been very vague, allowing each listener to define the song’s meaning for themselves. Glen Frey said that he and co-authors Don Henley and Don Felder wanted to create a song that was like a Twilight Zone episode. Weird when you think that the Twilight Zone attraction at Disney theme parks is also based on a hotel where guests check in but “never leave.” But as to its exact meaning, Frey says he doesn’t really know himself.
For his part, Henley says the song is about “a journey from innocence to experience…that’s all.”
Whatever it means to you, “Hotel California” was released as the second single from the album and went straight to #1 in the U.S. and Canada, also reaching the Top 10 in the U.K. and several other countries. It remains a staple of classic rock radio stations and is in the rotation here at Boomtown America. Plenty of room and any time of year, you can find it here.
