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Thread: Felder's Role in Writing Hotel California

  1. #11
    Administrator sodascouts's Avatar
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    Default Re: Press on Felder's New Album

    Amen, chaim!

    You know, it's only right that Felder take his deserved credit for jump-starting and co-writing the song. It just irks me when he happily takes credit for the song in its entirety.

    He has every right to be very proud of his significant contribution; why isn't that enough for him? Why does he have to act as if he wrote it himself?

    Note: To be fair, he does share credit in his book. It's only in interviews and press where he presents himself as "Don Felder, the Man Who Wrote Hotel California." I daresay we can expect this from press on his new album, although one can always hope he "sees the light" so to speak and puts the brakes on that misrepresentation.

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  2. #12
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    Default Re: Press on Felder's New Album

    Quote Originally Posted by chaim View Post
    For some reason in rock music the vocal melody is often not considered "music". When rock people talk about writing "the music", they often mean the chord progressions, riffs and sometimes full arrangements. As far as I know, Don Felder's demo was an instrumental, on top of which Don Henley and Glenn wrote the vocal melodies and lyrics. Is there someone who thinks that the chorus melody (supposedly written by Glenn or/and Don Henley), for example, doesn't have anything to do with the song's appeal?
    The chorus melody, as others have said about THIO, is what gets the crowd going & singing along. It's unusual in that it only occurs twice in the song. Without that chorus, the song would be very similar to a rambling epic by Dylan like Desolation Row (which I love).

  3. #13
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    Default Re: Press on Felder's New Album

    It is possible of course that in the demo Don (Felder) had guitars playing the melodies that later became vocal melodies. But he doesn't mention writing any vocal melodies in his book. On the other hand he says that he had some ideas for vocal melodies for Victim of Love.
    As for Don shouting around that he wrote Hotel California...Here's my theory: As we know, when the Hell Freezes Over came out, Hotel California was suddenly credited to Henley/Frey/Felder, and this naturally irritated him. So he wants people to remember that he did originate the song. This I would perfectly understand. Having said that, Glenn could go around reminding people that he composed and played the guitar solos in ICTYW.

  4. #14
    Administrator sodascouts's Avatar
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    Default Re: Press on Felder's New Album

    I thought about that motivation, too, chaim. I think he believed "the gods" were being petty by doing that as well as diminishing his role, and perhaps he feels that justifies him being petty in return and exaggerating his role.

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    Stuck on the Border Henley Honey's Avatar
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    Default Re: Press on Felder's New Album

    Nah. I just think he likes to winge and whine.

  6. #16
    Administrator sodascouts's Avatar
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    Default Re: Felder's Role in Writing Hotel California

    Note: I moved these posts from the thread about Felder's new album because these don't really talk about that topic and you know how I like to keep things straight. Hope no one minds!

    Always in our hearts, Never forgotten

  7. #17
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    Default Re: Felder's Role in Writing Hotel California

    Quote Originally Posted by sodascouts View Post
    Note: I moved these posts from the thread about Felder's new album because these don't really talk about that topic and you know how I like to keep things straight. Hope no one minds!
    I think it's great that you did that. I was a bit worried anyway of taking that thread even further from the actual topic!

  8. #18
    Stuck on the Border WalshFan88's Avatar
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    Default Re: Felder's Role in Writing Hotel California

    I do believe Felder did write the music for Hotel California, with the exception of Joe's guitar solo, which Joe added some things to. Also it was Joe's idea for the ending triads at the tail end of the song. You know the part I'm talking about, both guitars are playing that 3 note outro at the same time. Joe came up with that, according to Don Felder in a guitar DVD I have. He said that was Joe's idea to put that on the end to kind of bring the song to a close.

    So other than Joe's solo (which he took from Felder's demo and kind of added things to it and played it in his own style) and the ending triads, Felder did write the music from the intro to the verses to the chorus parts, etc.

    Now, as far as lyrics... I've been flamed (somewhat) by saying I think Don Henley wrote most of the lyrics for Hotel. I will always believe that. I realize both Don and Glenn have songwriting credits on the song but I can hear and tell a difference between their writing styles. Don has a special way of making a song like a story or like a movie in your head and very much to where it's like you see photographs in your head of what's happening as the song goes along and his songs are very photographic in a way. Frey came up IMO with the concept of driving into LA, seeing the strip, etc. I think he came up with the concept of the song, but Don has a special way of laying out the lyrics to where it plays out like a movie in your head. He's a brilliant lyricist. EVERY Don Henley song has that to where you can visualize what's happening and it's like he's throwing snapshots out at you of what it's suppose to mean and you form your own interpretation of what it's about. Glenn's writing style is great as well but doesn't have that story/movie-playing-in-your-head aspect to it at all and those songs don't have that visual story to it like Henley's songs do.

    I think they all contributed to Hotel California (song), but I'm not afraid to say I think the bulk of the music was written by Felder, and the bulk of the lyrics were written by Henley. Joe did have his parts he added in the music, and Frey had his parts he added in the concept and perhaps idea for the lyrics, but to me Hotel is a Felder/Henley song to me.

    The solo in Hotel California is quite frankly the best of all time and I don't think it will ever be topped. It just has such an amazing tone to it and the notes in that solo just grab you. Plus you have two amazing players, from different styles, one being a schooled technical player (Felder) to a more loose blues based old school player (Walsh, which I personally prefer for my own playing) and when you put them together on that solo it just becomes amazing. It's so iconic and when you hear it you know instantly what it is, if you hadn't heard the song before it. Then at the end with the outro of the twin leads at the end, it just really "sums" up the song and there couldn't be any better way to end the song off than to have Joe and Don (Felder) play it out like that.

    Hotel to this day still gives me chills when I hear it. It was on the radio yesterday going to the doctor and when it came on I got chills and a huge smile on my face. It to this day inspires me and gives me happiness and motivation and always can bring me out of a slump. It's such a moving song and to me is the soundtrack of my life and is my life theme song. Even though I didn't partake in excess in the 70s, I still can relate to that song and it feels like it was written for me as I can connect with it and even the lyrics of the song are like it's about me - which is strange because again, I wasn't in that "scene". It inspires me in general as well as on guitar and as you all know, is the reason I started in the first place. If I hadn't heard Hotel California on that special day, I would not be talking to you all today. I wouldn't be talking to anyone... I truly have unbelievable amounts of admiration and respect for this band as a whole and especially Joe Walsh as I really felt a "connection" to him as a person with his personality as well as his style of guitar playing. If it weren't for Joe and the Eagles, I'd hate to say what would have happened. I hope to meet them all one day and tell them how much it means to me. I'd also like to meet Felder and tell him the same. They all are the reason I'm here.

    At the end of the day, I don't care about the little details of who wrote what, all I know is that Hotel California to me is the best song and album ever recorded and is truly the song of my life. The album is the soundtrack of my life and is the one I want played at my funeral. It truly continues to give me endless motivation, inspiration, and happiness and that's all that matters. Not who wrote this little bit at 2 minutes in. The song as a whole is what makes me happy. And the whole album is one of the only ones where I never skip one track. It's a timeless masterpiece and is truly the best one I've heard.
    -Austin-
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    RIP Glenn Frey and Randy Meisner

    "So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains and we never even know we have the key..."


  9. #19
    Border Rebel Scarlet Sun's Avatar
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    Default Re: Felder's Role in Writing Hotel California

    Conceptualization aside, in terms of specifics, Glenn has specifically stated he helped write the chorus, and nothing else.

  10. #20
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    Default Re: Felder's Role in Writing Hotel California

    Quote Originally Posted by Scarlet Sun View Post
    Conceptualization aside, in terms of specifics, Glenn has specifically stated he helped write the chorus, and nothing else.
    When did he say that?

    I don't have a problem with the idea that Henley wrote most of the lyrics but I think it's unfair to dismiss Glenn's role in the composition of the song so completely. As has been stated by others, he & Don Henley probably composed the chorus/vocal melody.

    The fact is only the three songwriters know for sure who wrote what.

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