Don Henley Compared The Eagles’ ‘Hotel California’ to 1 Led Zeppelin Song
The Eagles don’t sound much like Led Zeppelin. Despite this, Don Henley compared The Eagles’ “Hotel California” to one Led Zeppelin song. The similarities aren’t obvious, but they are profound.
Don Henley compared The Eagles’ ‘Hotel California’ to Led Zeppelin’s signature song
During a 2017 interview with Rolling Stone, Henley discussed the record Hotel California. “It had the most impact of our studio albums,” the “Boys of Summer” singer said. “The song itself has become one of those songs like ‘Stairway to Heaven’ [laughs]. The album came out in December 1976. But it didn’t really make an impact on the radio until February of ’77.”
Henley discussed what went into “Hotel California.” “Rather than perfectionism, I like to refer to it as craftsmanship,” he said. “Songwriting and recording are an art, but they are also a craft. Don [Felder] and Joe [Walsh] sat down and worked on those solos for days. Then [producer] Bill Szymczyk and I did some editing on those solos. Then they relearned the parts after we edited them together.”
Why The Eagles’ ‘Hotel California’ and Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’ are similar
Henley didn’t elaborate much on the idea that “Hotel California” is similar to “Stairway to Heaven.” However, the two have quite a bit in common. They’re each their respective band’s signature song, they’re both a lot longer than most rock hits, and they have cryptic lyrics. It’s also hard to find a list of the greatest songs of all time that doesn’t include both of these tracks.
Furthermore, both songs inspired Satanic conspiracy theories. Some fans believe that “Hotel California” is about Black House, the old headquarters of the Church of Satan, which happened to be in California. During a 2019 interview with Rob Rush Radio, The Eagles’ Don Felder dismissed such speculation. “There’s no Satanic factor or devil-worshipping, or any weird stuff like that,” he said. “It has nothing to do with any of that. Really, it’s just the song about the underbelly industry in Los Angeles, how it can be less than beautiful.”
Fans also say that there’s a Satanic backward message in “Stairway to Heaven.” Paranoid people have made many similar claims. Any song, book, or movie has a malevolent secret message if you search hard enough.
How the songs performed compared to each other
“Hotel California” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for a week. It stayed on the chart for 19 weeks. The track appeared on the album Hotel California. That record topped the Billboard 200 for eight weeks, lasting on the chart for 158 weeks in total. Hotel California remains The Eagles’ most popular studio album in the United States.
“Stairway to Heaven” was not a single and it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. That might shock some Led Zeppelin fans, but it’s true. Led Zeppelin was not a singles band, and very few of their songs reached the Billboard Hot 100 despite the group’s massive popularity and influence. “Stairway to Heaven” appeared on the album Led Zeppelin IV, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and lasted on the chart for 287 weeks. It remains the group’s most prominent studio album in the United States.
Even if “Hotel California” and “Stairway to Heaven” don’t sound similar, they hold similar places in the pantheon of great rock songs.
