Maps of Music

Hotel California (1976)

Where the lyrics of Hotel California take you, and where it was really made.

The cover hotel threatened legal action over the image once the photo's subject was identified.

Key places

Recording at Criteria Studios in Miami (1976)

Recording site Criteria Studios — The album was recorded between March and October 1976 at Criteria Studios in Miami and Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles. The band favored Los Angeles, so the recording was split between both places. Black Sabbath were recording in an adjacent studio at Criteria. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles (1976)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — The album was recorded between March and October 1976 at Criteria Studios in Miami and Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles. The band favored Los Angeles, and a compromise split the recording between both places. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

The hotel on the front cover (1976)

Album cover The Beverly Hills Hotel — The album cover is a photograph of the Beverly Hills Hotel, taken by David Alexander. The hotel was chosen from three photographed hotels, and it threatened legal action over the image once its identity was revealed. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Hotel California: fifth studio album by the American rock band the Eagles
• Released 8 December 1976 by Asylum Records
• Produced by Bill Szymczyk
• Topped the US Billboard 200 chart
• Presented as a concept album that uses California as a microcosm of the United States
• Sold over 42 million units worldwide

Background

• First album with guitarist Joe Walsh, who replaced founding member Bernie Leadon
• Last album to feature founding bassist and vocalist Randy Meisner
• Leadon was the band's principal country influence and left after One of These Nights (1975)
• The band moved away from country rock and wrote more straightforward rock and roll songs such as "Victim of Love" and "Life in the Fast Lane"
• The title track was the first song written for the album and became its theme

Recording

• Recorded March to October 1976 at Criteria Studios in Miami and Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles
• The band favored Los Angeles, and a compromise split the recording between both cities
• Black Sabbath recorded Technical Ecstasy in an adjacent studio at Criteria
• "The Last Resort" was re-recorded several times because of noise from the next studio
• The title track was built from several complete takes, spliced together in 33 edits on the two-inch master

Cover

• Front cover: photograph of the Beverly Hills Hotel, shot just before sunset by David Alexander
• Design and art direction by Kosh
• Three hotels were photographed before the Beverly Hills Hotel was chosen

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971.
• Founding members were Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner, all first recruited as musicians for Linda Ronstadt.
• They signed to David Geffen's Asylum Records in September 1971.
• The name was reportedly suggested by Leadon, though accounts vary.

Members

• Founding members: Glenn Frey (guitar, vocals), Don Henley (drums, vocals), Bernie Leadon (guitar, vocals), Randy Meisner (bass, vocals).
• Don Felder joined in 1974 as guitarist; Joe Walsh replaced Leadon in 1975; Timothy B. Schmit replaced Meisner in 1977.
• Frey died in January 2016; Meisner died in July 2023.

Career

• The band has five number-one singles and six number-one albums in the US, and six Grammy Awards.
• Estimated sales exceed 200 million records worldwide; inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
• Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) and Hotel California are among their best-selling albums.
• The band broke up in 1980, reunited in 1994 for Hell Freezes Over, and released Long Road Out of Eden in 2007.
• The band announced a farewell tour in 2023 and held a Sphere residency in Las Vegas from 2024.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Village Voice critic Robert Christgau called it the band's most substantial if not most enjoyable LP
• Rolling Stone critic Charley Walters said it showed both the best and worst tendencies of Los Angeles-situated rock
• Billboard gave the album high praise, calling its vocal harmonies and original songs back in full force
• Record World called the album lush, even-tempered, and smoothly controlled throughout

Reappraisal

• Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times called the album a legitimate rock masterpiece
• AllMusic's William Ruhlmann said the album unveiled what seemed almost like a whole new band

Records

• Entered the US Billboard 200 at number four and reached number one in its fourth week in January 1977
• Topped the US Billboard 200 for eight weeks, non-consecutively
• "New Kid in Town" and "Hotel California" each reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977
• At the 20th Grammy Awards, the title track won Record of the Year and "New Kid in Town" won Best Arrangement for Voices
• Nominated for Album of the Year but lost to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours
• Certified 16× platinum in the US in 2001 and 28× platinum by the RIAA on 22 January 2026

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Black Sabbath were recording Technical Ecstasy in an adjacent studio at Criteria, and their noise forced the Eagles to stop recording several times
• Three hotels were photographed for the cover, and the Beverly Hills Hotel was selected
• The cover photo was taken from a cherry picker about 60 feet above Sunset Boulevard
• The hotel threatened legal action over the image after the photo's subject was identified
• Lyric sheets for songs from the album were the subject of a 2022 indictment over allegedly stolen documents

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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