"I would write track ideas introductions, verses, choruses, solos and I'd put them on a cassette and

On 9 October, former Eagles guitarist Don Felder will release Road To Forever, his first solo album since 1983's Airborne. MusicRadar sat down with Felder recently to discuss his new disc, a conversation which we will present shortly, but during our discussion we talked at length about the Eagles' classic Hotel California, a song which Felder wrote the music to.
The title track to the Eagles' landmark 1976 album, the track is, quite simply, iconic. Released as a single in February 1977, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in May of that year and went on to sell over one million copies. (In 2009, the track received napa limousine wine tours the Platinum Digital Sales Award by the RIAA, representing sales of over one million downloads.)
More than anything, the two-minute guitar solo, performed by Felder and Joe Walsh, has become a must-learn for axe enthusiasts across the world, with dozens of YouTube wannabe stars earnestly attempting to master its every legato lick and nuance.
"No, actually, for every project we worked on, every album, I submitted song ideas, and in the case of Hotel California, the album, I'd say I turned in 15 or 16 ideas. I had a little Teac four-track tape recorder, and I'd go in and make these tracks. Sometimes I'd sing a melody, and other times I'd just give them the track.
"The one thing about Don Henley is, he's a great singer, great lyricist and a great songwriter, but he doesn't play anything. He plays drums. He can't pick up a guitar and write chord progressions; he can't sit at a piano and write music underneath him. Bernie Leadon, who had been an original founding member of the band, and I were in a high school band together in Gainesville, Florida.
"That's how I met the Eagles, through Bernie. But he told me when I first joined the band, if you want to write songs with Henley, just give him music pads. Just write progressions and put them on a cassette. If he hears something, he'll write a melody or he might work with you on finishing it.
"I would write track ideas introductions, verses, choruses, solos and I'd put them on a cassette and give them to Don and Glenn. I did this with the songs for Hotel California, and I said, 'If there's anything you like on these cassettes and you want to finish writing, let's do that.' Henley said, 'I like that song that sounds like a Mexican reggae or Bolero.' So he liked the one that became Hotel California, and he also liked Victim Of Love. We finished them up in the studio. With Hotel California, I wrote all the music underneath it, and Don, Glenn and I would talk about concepts for the lyrics.