How Eagles’ classic was recorded in S. Florida
Iconic band penned ‘Hotel California,’ other hits, albums in Miami.
Welcome to the hotel … Florida? 40 years ago today, one of the iconic albums of the rock era, the Eagles’ “Hotel California,” was released.
Iconic, yes. But also ironic. That’s because the album and its landmark title song were written and recorded in South Florida.
The band so closely associated with California rock of the ’70s recorded three of its albums — “One of These Nights,” “Hotel California” and “The Long Run” — in Miami.
“We spent more time in Miami, in Florida, than in California,” Don Felder, the group’s former lead guitarist, told The Palm Beach Post in a 1994 interview. “It should really be, ‘Welcome to the Hotel Miami or Coconut Grove,’ ” he says of the opening line of the chorus of “Hotel California.”
I n 1 9 9 4 , wh e n t h e E a g l e s reunited for the “Hell Freezes Over” tour, former Post music writer Scott Benarde talked to band members backstage at the Omni arena in Atlanta and through numerous interviews traced the creation of the Eagles’ signature song and album. Here is his story:
*** It was a typical afternoon early in 1976 in Miami’s Criteria Studios. The Eagles had recorded two versions of “Hotel California” in L.A. But the first was in the wrong key and the second was in the wrong tempo, too fast.
“The ac tual track used was born in Miami at about 4 p.m. in Criteria’s Studio C. When we got all the sounds right, tempo right, key right, it was magic,” recalls producer Bill Sz ymczyk, who coached the band from “On the Border” through “Eagles Live.”
Henley, an English literature major and voracious reader, was the band’s “Vice President in Charge of Lyrics.” He and Frey were still wrestling with the words to “Hotel California” after most of the music had been recorded.
The t wo locked themselves in what they called the “Hollywood Room” of their rented 1934 art deco mansion at 5242 N. Bay Road in Miami Beach to try to finish the song.
“They stayed in there for three
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