Hotel California

RockCountry Rock 6:31 Iconic Disco, Punk & Funk

AlbumHotel California

LabelAsylum

Don Felder wrote the song's guitar part before the lyrics existed; Don Henley wrote the words in a cocaine-fueled all-night session. The twin guitar outro by Felder and Joe Walsh is considered one of rock's great guitar moments.

Musical Significance

An allegory of California excess and the death of the 1960s dream. Its ambiguous imagery — 'you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave' — has been interpreted as commentary on addiction, fame, capitalism, and the American Dream.

Historical Context

Released in 1977, three years after the Watergate resignation and the fall of Saigon. America was entering the Me Decade: the idealism of the 1960s visibly curdling into cynicism and hedonism.