Hotel California is the 5th studio album by the rock group, the Eagles and was released on December 8th of 1976. The album itself is one of the best selling albums of all time.
Three of the singles were released from the album and all reached high in the Billboard Hot 100 – Two of the singles got No. 1; “New Kid in Town” and “Hotel California” while “Life in the Fast Lane” got No. 11.
The album was ranked No. 37 and sold over 32 million copies worldwide with over 16 million copies sold in the US alone.
The front cover artwork was taken of The Beverly Hills Hotel right before the sunset. Henley wanted a photograph that made it look the hotel was portrayed slightly sinister. Three of the hotels were photographed, and the one with The Beverly Hills Hotel was selected as the cover. The rear album cover was shot inside of the Lido Hotel in Hollywood. The gatefold images shows the same inside photo but surrounded by the friends and members of the band.
In 1978 the album itself had 5 total Grammy nominations including Album of the Year and Producer of the Year, although they might of not won those two awards they did win two nominations for Record of the Year and Best Arrangement for Voices for “New Kid in Town”.
Side One:
- Hotel California – Felder/Henley/Frey
- New Kid in Town – Henley/Frey/Souther
- Life in the Fast Lane – Henley/Frey/Walsh
- Wasted Time – Henley/Frey
Side Two:
- Wasted Time (Reprise) – Henley/Frey/Norman
- Victim of Love – Henley/Frey/Henley/Felder/Souther
- Pretty Maids All in Walsh Row – Vitale
- Try and Love Again – Meisner
- The Last Resort – Henley/Frey
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Sources: www.wikipedia.org