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MPR News Staff

The Eagles' Henley says 'Hotel California' isn't about a real place

The Eagles' 'Hotel California,' and the Hotel California in Mexico
The Eagles' "Hotel California" album cover, left, and the Hotel California Todos Santos in Mexico.
Asylum/Hotel California Todos Santos

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Today's Morning Edition music is from "Hotel California" by the Eagles, which was No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart 40 years ago.

Last week the Eagles filed suit against the owners of a Mexican establishment called Hotel California. The suit alleges that guests are "actively encouraged" to believe that the hotel inspired the song by piping it though their sound system and selling T-shirts which describe the hotel as "legendary."

Don Henley of the Eagles has said the song is not about a real place. He says it's "about the dark underbelly of the American dream and about excess in America."