HOTEL CALIFORNIA Backing Track

If you are a guitarist there’s no better song to have in your setlist. This is simply a must-have. Released in 1976, Hotel California became an instant worldwide smash hit. With it’s haunting intro and creepy lyrics “you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave” – it’s instantly recognised and loved by audiences of all ages. The song won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year. If they had such an award, it would probably have won ‘record of the decade’ too! The song is not only a hit with audiences, it will really hone your skills as a guitarist to practice this and get it right.

Backing Track Notes: This is a long song! The original song goes through the intro twice, we have taken the liberty of reducing this to one pass. This is because, as always, our tracks are designed with ‘live performance’ in mind. When you’re working with live audiences you need to get to the fun part fast or you risk losing them. The purists may object, but play this in front of any regular audience and you’ll soon see the shortened intro works really well. The REAL track (demo above) includes backing harmonies, not real guitars. But when you buy any track on Tempoetic, you are entitled to a free update when it is updated or released.

Hotel California

The Eagles

On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night

There she stood in the doorway, I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself
“This could be Heaven or this could be Hell”
Then she lit up a candle, and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor
I thought I heard them say

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year (any time of year)
You can find it here

Her mind is Tiffany twisted, she got the Mercedes Benz
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget
So I called up the Captain, “please bring me my wine”
He said, ‘We haven’t had that spirit here since 1969″
And still those voices are calling from far away
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
They livin’ it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise (what a nice surprise)
Bring your alibis

Mirrors on the ceiling, the pink champagne on ice
And she said, “We are all just prisoners here, of our own device”
And in the master’s chambers, they gathered for the feast
They stab it with their steely knives
But they just can’t kill the beast

Last thing I remember, I was running for the door
I had to find the passage back, to the place I was before
Relax said the night man, we are programmed to receive
You can check out any time you like
But you can never leave