“Hotel California” is the title track from the Eagles’ album of the same name and was released as a single in February 1977. Writing credits for the song are shared by Don Felder (music), Don Henley, and Glenn Frey (lyrics). Joe Walsh came up with the dual-guitar descending arpeggio part that ends the song: he did not, however, get writing credits. The Eagles’ original recording of the song features Henley singing the lead vocals, and concludes with an electric guitar solo performed by both Walsh and Felder, in which they both take turns of playing lead before harmonising and playing the aforementioned arpeggio towards the fade out at the end. The song is considered the best known recording by the band, and in 1998 its long guitar coda was voted the best guitar solo of all time by readers of Guitarist. The song was awarded the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1978. The lyrics of the song have been interpreted by fans and critics alike, the Eagles themselves describing 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”.
In 1990 The Gipsy Kings recorded a flamenco version sung in Spanish, and the version was used as a theme tune for a character in the Coen Brothers film The Big Lebowski (1998). Their version was an example of fast flamenco guitar leads and rhythmic strumming.
The Romanian band Vama Veche recorded its version with different lyrics entitled “Hotel Cişmigiu“, sung in its native language. Hotel Cișmigiu, originally called Palace Hotel, is a building built in 1912, located on Regina Elisabeta Boulevard in Bucharest. The building is declared a historical monument. During the communist era, the hotel was neglected by the authorities, gradually deteriorating. After 1990, the building was transformed into a dormitory for the students of the Academy of Theater and Film. During this period, a young Bessarabian student Neli Bejan lost her life falling from the second floor in the elevator house. The tragedy inspired actor Cristi Iacob to write a few lyrics about the sinister-looking building where the students lived, lyrics that were later sung by Vama Veche, on the melodic line of the Eagles’ song Hotel California.
The Cat Empire recorded a version sung in French by band member Angus, titled “L’hotel de Californie” for Triple J.’s Like A Version segment featuring cover versions of songs performed by artists on Mel Bampton’s show, Mel in the Morning, and it is included in its 2005 compilation album as well as the band’s 2003 live album On The Attack.
The Killers and Rhythms Del Mundo collaborated their version with Afro-Cuban music for the 2009 Artists’ Project Earth charity, and it appeared on the album Rhythms Del Mundo Classics. Some of the biggest stars in the music industry joined forces with the sublime talent of Cuba’s finest musicians to raise their voices and create the latest Rhythms Del Mundo album, ‘Classics’, produced to raise awareness and funds for climate crisis projects and natural disaster relief.
And finally, just to provide a female take on the song here is Allie Sherlock the Irish busker and her friends playing on the streets of Dublin.
