This year, Every Sunday Evening, Album Rock WXYG, The GOAT will be featuring a full album at 8:00 PM from the halcyon musical days of 1976. 1976 was one of the top Years in Album Rock history. Another year of tough choices every week. So many great ones to choose from. After 52 Weeks of featuring so many of the great albums that debuted in 1975, next Sunday we will be moving on to another amazing year of ALBUM ROCK EXCELLENCE, 1976.
This year, on Sunday Evenings, Album Rock WXYG, The GOAT will be featuring a full album at 8:00 PM from the halcyon musical days of 1976. 1976 was one of the top Years in Album Rock history. Another year of tough choices every week. So many great ones to choose from.
Tune in at 8:00 PM, Next Sunday Evening, September 20th for
“Hotel California”, the fifth studio album by Eagles, released on December 8, 1976, by Asylum Records. Recorded by the band and produced by Bill Szymczyk at the Criteria and Record Plant studios between March and October 1976, it was the band's first album with guitarist Joe Walsh, who had replaced founding member Bernie Leadon, and the last to feature founding bassist/vocalist Randy Meisner. The album cover is a photograph of the Beverly Hills Hotel, taken by David Alexander.
Hotel California was an immediate critical and commercial success, topping the US Billboard 200 chart. At the 20th Grammy Awards, the title track won Record of the Year, and "New Kid in Town" won Best Arrangement for Voices. The album was also nominated for Album of the Year but lost to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours (1977). Three singles were released from the album, with the title track and "New Kid in Town" topping the Billboard Hot 100 and "Life in the Fast Lane" reaching No. 11.
Hotel California is one of the best-selling albums of all time. It has been certified 28× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the US, and has sold over 42 million units worldwide, making it the band's second best-selling album after Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) (1976). Ranked by various publications as one of the greatest albums of all time, it was placed at number 37 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" in both 2003 and 2012.
In addition to earning accolades from critics, 'Hotel California' also was a massive commercial success that notably held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 for 8 weeks. As impressive as that is, remaining on the chart for 158 weeks total could be seen as an even bigger achievement.
When the Eagles recorded 'Hotel California,' they accomplished something that feels nearly impossible. They created a musical work of art that somehow feels like the epitome of its era and timeless at the same time.
Lyrically, the album chronicles the hedonism and materialism that came with fame and fortune in a way that feels specific to the era. However, its themes are so expertly woven into songs that appeal to the ear no matter when they are heard that it has aged like fine wine.
One thing seems virtually certain: no matter how many times Rolling Stone updates its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, 'Hotel California' will continue to make the cut.
Tune In and Turn On the evening of Sunday, September 20th at 8:00 PM for The GOAT'S "The Long Play with Al Neff”.
