Dear trellis-ga,
It would appear that Hotel California may have been inspired by a
Jethro Tull record, although I cannot find any admittance to that by
Don Henley of the Eagles.
According to the Official Jethro Tull site, a ?Stand Up? album trivia question:
"Q "We Used to Know" was the inspiration for what late '70's classic song?
A The Eagles' "Hotel California" derived from Henley hearing the song
while touring with Tull"
http://www.j-tull.com/discography/standup/
According to Wikipedia
"The song "Hotel California" may have been inspired by the 1969 Jethro
Tull song "We Used to Know", from the album "Stand up". The chord
progressions are nearly identical, and the bands toured together prior
to the release of "Hotel"."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_California
From a review of a Jethro Tull concert
"That band was The Eagles, who, according to Anderson, "have moved on
to become bigger than we did." We Used to Know and Hotel California
both have the same chords (information courtesy of Martin Barre) and
Anderson claimed that The Eagles should share with them the royalties
from Hotel California, so we could all go out to a big dinner. While
there is a resemblance between the two songs (particularly when Barre
played the solo parts, which sounded somewhat like the Hotel
California solo at the end), I don't think it's an infringement of any
sort."
http://www.ram.org/music/reviews/tull_concert1.html
From a site on the ?Words of Wisdom by Ian Anderson?
"..the Eagles used to be the opening act for Jethro Tull back in
around 1970, when we used to play this. And a year or so later they
came out with Hotel California. Martin noticed the fact that they were
very similar. So, if the Eagles decide to give me the royalties from
Hotel California, I want you to know I'm going to take you all out to
dinner!"
http://www.bungi.com/sigi/quotes.htm
From an interview with Ian Anderson
"IAN ANDERSON: We hadn't played this song live since the Isle of Wight
festival in 1970, but have started playing it again recently. When we
were in the studio recording it, and I strummed up my acoustic guitar
and Martin added his bit, it never occurred to me that what we were
playing would eventually form the basis of 'Hotel California'. The
melody is not anything like 'Hotel California', of course, but when
you actually get to the chord sequence, the way in which the thing
progresses harmonically, it is actually the verse of 'Hotel
California'. The Eagles were opening up for Jethro Tull around that
time. However, 'Hotel California' is a very, very popular song and 'We
Used to Know' remains an obscure album track."
http://www.tullpress.com/gljun97.htm
I hope this answers your question. If it does not, or the answer is
unclear, then please ask for clarification of this research before
rating the answer. I shall respond to the clarification request as
soon as I receive it.
Thank you
answerfinder
"hotel california" eagles "inspired"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22hotel+california%22+eagles+%22inspired%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
"hotel california" eagles "We Used to Know"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22hotel+california%22+eagles+%22We+Used+to+Know%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&start=0&sa=N
"hotel california" henley "the eagles" tull
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22hotel+california%22++henley+%22the+eagles%22+tull
"hotel california" "don henley" "jethro tull"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22hotel+california%22+%22don+henley%22+%22jethro+tull%22 |
