Hotel California : the true-life adventures of Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young, Mitchell, Taylor, Browne, Ronstadt, Geffen, the Eagles, and their many friends

"Hoskyns brings a genuine love as well as an outsider's keen eye to the rise and fall of the California scene. . . . This is a riveting story, sensitively told." --**Anthony DeCurtis, Contributing Editor, __Rolling Stone__**From enduring musical achievements to drug-fueled chaos and bed-hopping antics, the L.A. pop music scene in the sixties and seventies was like no other, and journalist Barney Hoskyns re-creates all the excitement and mayhem. __Hotel California__ brings to life the genesis of Crosby, Stills, and Nash at Joni Mitchell's house; the Eagles' backstage fistfights after the success of "Hotel California"; the drama of David Geffen and the other money men who transformed the L.A. music scene; and more. This book is a remarkable look at one of the most dramatic, creative, and revolutionary settings in American popular culture: the Los Angeles popular music scene from the late 1960s to the late 1970s. Drawing on extraordinarily candid firsthand interviews Barney Hoskyns has conducted over more than three decades, Hotel California takes you on an intimate tourfrom the Sunset Strip to Laurel Canyonof the creative and personal lives of the legendary songwriters, superstars, and producers who made the music that everyone listened to. You'll read things you've never read before about such fascinating, complex people as Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Jackson Browne, Glenn Frey, Mama Cass Elliot, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, David Geffen, and many others. Packed with riveting anecdotes and sharp musical insights, Hotel California captures the amazing results of brilliant creative collaboration and the dark side of fame,wealth, and unbridled ambition. It is a story of rise and fall like none other, and you won't be able to put it down. In the late sixties and early seventies, Los Angeles was a hotbed of musical creativity--the home base of Joni Mitchell, the Eagles, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, among many others. Now, drawing on exclusive interviews with many of the leading players, music journalist Hoskyns recreates the excitement, ferment, and energy of those years. We see the genesis of Crosby, Stills, and Nash at Joni Mitchell's house in Laurel Canyon. We see the Eagles implode in backstage fistfights after the success of their huge hit album Hotel California. And we get the real story on David Geffen and the other money men who nurtured, bankrolled--and some say corrupted--the L.A. music scene. Filled with revealing anecdotes that chronicle the drug-fueled chaos, bed-hopping antics, and enduring musical achievements of the era, this book for classic rock fans everywhere.--From publisher description "Hoskyns brings a genuine love as well as an outsider's keen eye to the rise and fall of the California scene. . . . This is a riveting story, sensitively told."
—Anthony DeCurtis, Contributing Editor, Rolling Stone

From enduring musical achievements to drug-fueled chaos and bed-hopping antics, the L.A. pop music scene in the sixties and seventies was like no other, and journalist Barney Hoskyns re-creates all the excitement and mayhem. Hotel California brings to life the genesis of Crosby, Stills, and Nash at Joni Mitchell’s house; the Eagles’ backstage fistfights after the success of "Hotel California"; the drama of David Geffen and the other money men who transformed the L.A. music scene; and more. "Hoskyns brings a genuine love as well as an outsider's keen eye to the rise and fall of the California scene. . . . This is a riveting story, sensitively told." -- Anthony DeCurtis, Contributing Editor, Rolling Stone From enduring musical achievements to drug-fueled chaos and bed-hopping antics, the L.A. pop music scene in the sixties and seventies was like no other, and journalist Barney Hoskyns re-creates all the excitement and mayhem. Hotel California brings to life the genesis of Crosby, Stills, and Nash at Joni Mitchell's house; the Eagles' backstage fistfights after the success of "Hotel California"; the drama of David Geffen and the other money men who transformed the L.A. music scene; and more. "Comprehensive and lively, Hotel California offers a front-row seat on the wild ride--fueled by drugs, sex, and lots of cash--that took Southern California singer-songwriters from hot tubs and local bars to sold-out stadiums, private jets, and the bestselling album of all time."--Alan Light, author of The Skills to Pay the Bills: The Story of the Beastie Boys"Through hundreds of interviews conducted over the last dozen years, Hoskyns methodically chips away at the era's artifice and ego-driven mythologizing, revealing a creative landscape that was less stardust and golden than it was green with gr An epic tale of songs and sunshine, drugs and denim, genius and greed, Hotel California is about the myriad relationships - professional and personal - between a remarkable group of artists and the songs that issued from them. Tracing the incredible journey from the dawn of the singer-songwriter era in the mid-60s to the peak of the Eagles' success in the late 70s - taking in the flighty talent of Joni Mitchell, the Janus-like changes of Neil Young, the drugged disintegration of David Crosby and Gram Parsons, as well as the stories of many other artists Expecting To Fly -- Back To The Garden -- New Kids In Town -- Horses, Kids, And Forgotten Women -- Escape From Sin City -- A Case Of Me -- With A Little Help From Our Friends -- The Machinery Vs. The Popular Song -- After The Thrill Is Gone -- Go Your Own Way -- Coda : Like A Setting Sun. Barney Hoskyns. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 273-306) And Index. Expecting to fly : Byrdsong and the California dream Back to the garden : getting it together in the "country" New kids in town Horses, kids and forgotten women : country rock Escape from sin city A case of me With a little help from our friends The machinery vs. the popular song After the thrill is gone Coda : Los Angeles in the long run.