Lecture 107B. Rumours in The Hotel California (PT 2)

The Eagles formed out of Linda Ronstadt’s backing band, blending country harmonies with rock swagger to soundtrack the 1970s. Early hits like “Take It Easy” and “Best of My Love” painted a golden California horizon. By 1976, they were the biggest band in America, cemented by Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) — a compilation that somehow outsold almost everything, despite no new material.

Then came Hotel California. The title track sounded like freedom — twin guitars, soaring harmonies — but its lyrics revealed a trap. Songs like “Life in the Fast Lane” and “New Kid in Town” captured fame’s seductions and its rot. The album won them Record of the Year, but it also mirrored their unraveling: clashes on tour, Randy Meisner’s departure, Don Felder’s feud with Glenn Frey, and the endless grind of The Long Run sessions (nicknamed “The Long One”). By 1980, the dream collapsed in lawsuits and acrimony.

And yet, survival reshaped them. The 1994 Hell Freezes Over reunion turned bitterness into an empire, and Hotel California became less a cautionary tale than a monument. Today, the song haunts because it feels eternal — a mirage of sunshine with shadows built in.

The Eagles’ legacy isn’t harmony — it’s myth. They showed that California wasn’t just a place, but an illusion: alluring, exhausting, and impossible to escape.