User talk:Malwade8

“Hotel California” Artist: The Eagles Year: February 1977 Genre: Country and Southern Rock 1.	Provide a short biography of the artist. (Where do they come from? What is the race/gender? What are they best known for?) The Eagles were formed by lead singer, Glenn Frey. Frey was inspired by the Beatles to play guitar. Frey was born in Detroit, Michigan and his parents were average white American factory workers for General Motors. He originally was learning to play the piano, but quickly abandoned it when he caught the Beatles fever and picked up a guitar. He eventually found his way into the music scene, and actually played on one of Bob Seger’s early recordings. He found Don Henley, the drummer, Bernie Leadon, a guitarist, and Randy Meisner, a bassist, and they formed the group The Eagles. When they first formed in the 1970’s they were spitting out a series of hits left and right. Some of those being, “Take It Easy, Lyin’ Eyes”, “Already Gone”, and “Peaceful Easy Feeling”, and they all captured the ear of FM listeners. They are best known for the song, “Hotel California”, which earned them a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1978. 2.	What is the subject of the song? (What people, places, and/or events does it refer?) Henley and Glenn wrote most of the words for this song and I actually found an interview on what they wanted to create when they wanted to write a song that represented how the Beverly Hills Hotel had become a literal and symbolic place that represented their lives at that time. Regardless of how much they had learned to that point in their lives whether it be in love, education, or business, they still could not figure this place out and saw it as a mythical and fascinating place. When writing this, Glenn Frey created this scene in his head of a traveler coming to a bizarre hotel with crazy people—he wanted it to seem like something out of the Twilight Zone.

3.	How does this song relate to the historical climate of the time it was written? (What events may have prompted the artist to write this piece? What was the cultural/social context of the period it was written?) This year saw many disasters. Elvis Presley died, there was a New York city blackout, and Star Wars premiered. Also, Vietnam ended in 1975 so many people were excited so they were celebrating the end of this era of anti-establishment and backlash. When I hear this song, I really think of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, which is about this creepy hotel where weird things happened. The members of the Eagles would have seen this movie because of how big of deal when it was first released. 4.	What specific lyrics provide support for your responses in answers 2 and 3? Explain. In addition to the lyrics mentioned in the next question about the “colitas”, which refers to smoking weed, there is one line that states, “this could be Heaven or this could be Hell.” I really think speaks true to the time period because of the amount of uncertainty that was going on in the world. Especially when a legend like Elvis Presley passes away, there is a lot of distress within in the nation. Also the line that says “Some dance to remember, and some dance to forget” really test true to the assumption I have made previously. There were many things these people were trying to forget. Also, the late 1970’s was a time of heavy drug use, and this song really represents that mind set. 5.	As you listen to this song are there any assumptions you can make about the audience to whom it is directed? (Think about things like race, gender, social class or a specific person for whom the song was created.) Listening to the song, I really feel like it was written for people who were doing drugs, honestly. Since it talks about going to this strange hotel and smelling the “warm smell of colitis”, which translates to “little tails.” This is slang for the burning of little marijuana buds or “tails.” I think that attests to the time period in which this song was popular. There were so many drugs being used by the teenagers and young adults. 6.	How was the song received when it was released? (How successful was it with fans, on the billboard charts, etc.) It reached the number one spot on the Billboard hot 100 in 1977, and reached the top ten in several international charts. This was their fourth song to reach the number one spot. This song was well received by the audience of the 1970’s and still on to this day. This song has sold millions of copies only second to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”. 7.	What is the song’s legacy? (What influence has the song had on other music, films, popular culture, etc. since it was originally released?) Since its release, it has been covered by many people both domestically and internationally. It was actually proposed by Julia Phillips, to make this song into a film, but the members of the Eagles did not really like that idea. This song has sold over three million copies, only second to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” It is ranked 49 on the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and was named into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. It was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. 8.	How might this song be useful to historians? This song, in conjunction with other songs that came out during this time, could be useful in tracking the explicit mention of drug use in songs. As well as study the evolution of country music and how different variations of Country/Southern rock have evolved over the years. People like Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Alabama, and others that were on this playlist could really be used together to show changes of this genre over time. Also, in my opinion, the Eagles are one of the greatest, if not the greatest bands of all time. There is so many top hits and uniqueness to their sound that really captivated audiences, so historians could study the different cords and receptions of this song versus other country rock artist and see how they were perceived over each other. As well as what led to the song term success of the Eagles, themselves. 9.	List all the sources (both web and print) that you consulted for your answers. Use Chicago Manual of Style/Turabian format. "Eagles – Hotel California." Genius. December 08, 1976. Accessed October 01, 2018. https://genius.com/Eagles-hotel-california-lyrics.

"Hotel California." Wikipedia. September 27, 2018. Accessed October 01, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_California.

"HOTEL CALIFORNIA | THE EAGLES LYRICS." YouTube. March 15, 2018. Accessed October 01, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNyK6EcHlzM.

Aldrich, Ian. "Glenn Frey." Biography.com. December 05, 2016. Accessed October 01, 2018. https://www.biography.com/people/glenn-frey-052516.

Wilkins, Vanessa. "5 Things You Might Not Know About The Eagles' 'Hotel California'." ABC News. January 19, 2016. Accessed October 01, 2018. https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/things-eagles-hotel-california/story?id=36375155.

Pearson, Steve. "What Happened in 1977 Important News and Events, Key Technology and Popular Culture." What Happened in 2006 Inc. Pop Culture, Prices and Events. Accessed October 01, 2018. http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1977.html.

10.	Cut and paste the song’s lyrics here.

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. There she stood in the doorway; I heard the mission bell And I was thinking to myself 'This could be heaven or this could be Hell' Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way There were voices down the corridor, I thought I heard them say Welcome to the Hotel California Such a lovely place (such a lovely place) Such a lovely face. Plenty of room at the Hotel California Any time of year (any time of year) you can find it here Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes bends She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat Some dance to remember, some dance to forget So I called up the Captain, 'Please bring me my wine' He said, 'we haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty-nine' And still those voices are calling from far away, Wake you up in the middle of the night Just to hear them say" Welcome to the Hotel California Such a lovely place (such a lovely place) Such a lovely face. They livin' it up at the Hotel California What a nice surprise (what a nice surprise), bring your alibis Mirrors on the ceiling, The pink champagne on ice And she said, 'we are all just prisoners here, of our own device' And in the master's chambers, They gathered for the feast They stab it with their steely knives, But they just can't kill the beast Last thing I remember, I was Running for the door I had to find the passage back to the place I was before 'Relax' said the night man, 'We are programmed to receive. You can check out any time you like, But you can never leave!'