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TL;DR:

  • Some fans felt The Eagles’ “Hotel California” was about Satanism.
  • Lyrics of the track supposedly refer to the Church of Satan and The Satanic Bible.
  • A member of the band reacted to this interpretation.
The Eagles sitting during the "Hotel California" era
The Eagles | RB/Redferns

One of the spookiest classic rock songs to become a big hit in the United States is The Eagles’ “Hotel California.” Some fans felt the song is about Satanism. During an interview, a member of The Eagles discussed this interpretation of the song.

Some fans felt The Eagles’ ‘Hotel California’ includes a backward message promoting Satanism

According to the book The Eagles FAQ, one interpretation of “Hotel California” is that it is about Satanism. Supposedly, a line of the song played backward contains the message “Yes Satan, he organized his own religion.” 

Supposedly, the captain mentioned in the song is Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan. Some listeners thought the wine in the song references the wine used in Satanic rites. The track mentions the year 1969, which is the year LaVey released The Satanic Bible. The Satanic Bible is the most famous Satanic text. 

The Eagles’ Don Felder said the song is not about Satanism but it had references to Steely Dan

During a 2019 interview with Rob Rush Radio, The Eagles’ Don Felder discussed the song. “I’ve probably heard four or five hundred explanations about what the song’s about, all of which are wrong,” he said. “There’s no Satanic factor or devil-worshipping, or any weird stuff like that. 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.” 

Felder said part of the song references Steely Dan. “There are some important lines in that song, a little salute to Steely Dan,” he said. “They have this line in one of their songs that says, ‘Turn up The Eagles, the neighbors are listening’ — or fighting or something so we gave them back a salute in response to that lyric by writing something about Steely Dan. We had ‘steely knives,’ which is kind of the same thing.”

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How ‘Hotel California’ and its parent album performed on the pop charts in the United States

“Hotel California” was a huge hit. For one week, it topped the Billboard Hot 100. The tune spent a total of 19 weeks on the chart.

“Hotel California” appeared on the album Hotel California. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for eight weeks, tying on the chart for a total of 158 weeks. It performed better on the chart than any of the band’s other studio albums.

Even though it has nothing to do with Satanism, “Hotel California” continues to cast a spell on listeners.

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