“Hotel California” takes some inspiration from the Mother Road

It seems obvious when you think about it, but one of The Eagles‘ biggest hit singles, “Hotel California,” took part of its inspiration from the band members’ westward journeys on Route 66.

That’s according to one of the band’s previous members, Don Felder, who was interviewed by Music Radar about the 1977 million-seller.

Felder said part of the song’s imagry came from shared experiences:

“Nobody in the band was from California. […] So everybody had driven into Los Angeles on what used to be Route 66. And as you drive in through the desert at night, you can see the glow of Los Angeles from a hundred miles away. The closer and closer you get, you start seeing all of these images, and these things pounded into our heads: the stars on Hollywood Boulevard, movie stars, palm trees, beaches and girls in bikinis.”

The pertinent part is the opening lines:

On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night

The whole interview is fascinating, including the part about singer / drummer Don Henley insisting very early that “Hotel California” was a single, despite the song clocking in at over six minutes long.

 

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