In truth, “Hotel California” is neither written in praise of Satan nor America. “Hotel California” has been so closely identified with American culture that “when a US spy plane made an emergency landing in China in 2001,” Mark Savage notes at the BBC, “the crew members were asked to recite the lyrics to prove their nationality.” had no trouble identifying with a band that sang like angels and partied like devils,” writes Marc Eliot. “They reflected the emerging musical style of a 70s post-war America, and the first truly sexually liberated generation…. For the Eagles, hell was the other people in the band, the constant touring, and the incredible amounts of money thrown their way, more curse than blessing, apparently.ĭespite these internal tensions, the Eagles produced a perfect soundtrack for the 70s. By the time they made their last album of the 70s, The Long Run, they felt trapped in a celebrity hell, one that would have to freeze over before they reunited, as Don Henley remarked (hence the title of 1994’s Hell Freezes Over). Hotel California, the album, rocketed the Eagles beyond “success on a frightening level” and into total burnout.

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