For a song to be considered a “classic” isn’t an exact science.
It’s an arbitrary measure that makes it really hard for us to say with any real certainty.
While people can spend hours debating on whether something is a “real classic” or not, there are a few songs that are TOTALLY undisputed.
Among the legends is, of course, Hotel California.
Hotel California, written by the Eagles in 1976, has been gracing our ears for decades.
It combines the best of the era with magnificent storytelling and superb musicianship.
As a result, nobody debates the song and its status as a rock classic.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame recently started releasing their induction ceremony videos for famous rock bands.
If you can’t see a foreshadow happening, here it is plainly – they have released the original video of the Eagles induction into the hall of fame where they performed Hotel California.
Obviously, we’re going to go over it here since it is so legendary.
The video opens up with the classic picking that tells us the song is starting.
The opening to Hotel California is pretty ubiquitous.
It’s incredibly well known and without a single word, everyone is preparing themselves to sing along wherever they might find themselves.
As the drums hit, Don Henley sings and somehow keeps up the beat at the same time.
The magic starts to happen as the band kicks into their groove.
Like a well-oiled machine, they all come together and keep the pounding song move forward with hat classic rock beat and twinkling guitar picking.
It’s like a magical concoction of style and skill that makes this song so easy and fun to listen to.
The video was released recently, but it was filmed in 1998.
When a new band is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, they often have them include a performance to celebrate.
When the Eagles were back in 1998, this is the song they chose to perform with!
It makes sense, too. The song is by and away their most popular and has sold millions over the years.
According to Nielsen Soundscan Hotel California is played on American radio once every 11 minutes — that’s about 131 times a day. And the average classic rock radio listener will hear it over 1500 times in their life—assuming they were born after the song came out. – SCPR
When they finally get to “the part” it’s just as awesome as you would hope.
The last solo is known as one of the best guitar pieces ever written.
It’s long and duetted with another player, resulting in an ending to a song that makes you perk up and unconsciously nod your head – you just can’t help it.
Don Felder wrote most of the actual music parts behind the song and you see his style shining through impeccably.
With a final four hits, the guitar and drums signal the end of the song.
It’s a beautiful thing to see and listen to, even as the performers clearly showed their age in the video. Good music never dies!
Check out their classic performance in the video below!
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