1976 Soft-Rock Classic, Loved by Bob Dylan, Was Hailed as ‘One of the Best Songs Ever’

In 1976, The Eagleshad already made a name for themselves, but their album Hotel California seemed to truly seal the deal for the California rockers. The band’s fifth studio album included tracks like “Hotel California,” “New Kid in Town,” and of course “Life in the Fast Lane,” but it also has some underrated hits on it as well.

In fact, one was so beloved by prolific ’60s folk artist Bob Dylan, he told The New York Times “that could be one of the best songs ever,” which was the melancholic tune “Pretty Maids All in a Row.”

Hotel California was the first album Joe Walsh recorded with the band after replacing founding member Bernie Leadon. On the tune, Walsh ditches his familiar guitar and works the keys and synthesizer.

Songfacts reports in a 1981 interview with the BBC, Walsh said:

“To make the Eagles really valid as a band, it was important that we co-write things and share things. ‘Pretty Maids’ is kind of a melancholy reflection on my life so far, and I think we tried to represent it as a statement that would be valid for people from our generation on life so far. Heroes, they come and go… Henley and Frey really thought that it was a good song, and meaningful, and helped me a lot in putting it together. I think the best thing to say is that it’s a kind of melancholy observation on life that we hoped would be a valid statement for people from our generation.”

Related: Folk Rock Icon Bob Dylan Plays Controversial 1963 Hit for the First Time in Nearly a Decade

It was one of the few songs on the album where Don Henley and Glenn Frey received no writing credit, as it was co-written by Walsh and drummer Joe Vitale.

Vitale beautifully recalled the songwriting process in a 2018 interview with The College Crowd Digs Me:

“They were making Hotel California and Joe Walsh was writing this song,” he said. “And he didn’t quite have a title for it yet. He had a couple verses of lyrics and he had verse music. He had a beautiful start. And Joe called and asked if I’d help him finish writing this song. So I went over to his house. I heard what he had and I sat down at his piano and I threw a few things at him. We were there for two or three hours, until we finally arrived at it. I wrote the chorus and added changes in the chorus. And then he added the words. And in a matter of two or three hours, we finished it.”

The song itself features a truly beautiful story of love lost, and the importance of vulnerability and reflection. In doing so, the band really showed how going to that raw place could produce some of their best work.

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