Don Felder had concerns about the Eagles’ iconic song ‘Hotel California’
When becoming an Eagle, Don Felder quickly emerged as one of his generation’s most important guitar players. Combining forces with the songwriting prowess of Glenn Frey and Don Henley, Felder was named ‘Fingers’ for his prowess behind the fretboard, which turned into magic working alongside fellow guitar legend Joe Walsh. While he may have joined on the album On the Border, some of the more legendary tracks were still to come.
After having a massive amount of success on the album One of These Nights, Frey remembered feeling immense pressure for what their next album would bring, saying in History of the Eagles, “Since we had such a great success, me and Don were looking at each other like, ‘Man, this better be good.'”
When it came time to put down a new batch of songs, one of Felder’s demos jumped out at them. Recorded at one of Felder’s houses in Malibu, what blossomed became the foundational chord sequence of what is now ‘Hotel California‘. As Henley would later recall, “The music to me reminded me of something between Spanish music and reggae music. And that one really jumped out at me, so I said to Glenn that we should probably work on that.”
Though the rest of the band saw something in it, Felder was never that thrilled with what he had created, saying, “Truthfully, at the time, ‘Hotel California’ was just another song on the cassette. I didn’t necessarily think it was the best song.”
Despite Felder’s feelings about it, the band started crafting a bold tale of what fame can do to someone in the music industry, draping the narrative in a Wizard of Oz-like scenario where no one can leave the hotel. After the verses wrap up, the stage is set for one of the greatest guitar solos of all time as Felder and Walsh trade lines between each other.
Walsh remembered both him and Felder getting into a bit of competition in the studio, remembering, “Felder and I were always trying to one-up each other. And that’s real healthy for creative people. Where you’re both going, ‘Oh yeah, well, listen to this.'”
Once the song was slated to be released as a single, Felder was still not convinced of the song’s potential, claiming, “To be honest, I thought the song was too long. In the ’70s AM radio wouldn’t play songs longer than three minutes and thirty seconds. It was just the wrong format. But Henley insisted the record company put it out as a single. And I’ve never been so delighted to have been proved so wrong.”
Although the song may not have fit within the confines of traditional rock radio, it would become the defining soundtrack of the 1970s, with each part adding its own distinct flavour to the scenario. As much as Eagles songs are about going down the road with the wind running through one’s air, ‘Hotel California’ is a musical journey through the dark side of Hollywood within the span of seven minutes.
