Unusual Criminal Trial Begins Over Stolen ‘Hotel California’ Lyrics
In the mid-1970s, the Eagles were in the process of creating a mysterious and enigmatic song that would go on to become one of rock’s most iconic singles. Don Henley, along with band co-founder Glenn Frey, penned the lyrics to “Hotel California” on a lined yellow pad, capturing the essence of a dark desert highway and a luxurious yet foreboding place. Now, nearly 50 years later, those handwritten pages have become the center of an extraordinary criminal trial set to open in New York.
Charged with conspiring to own and sell manuscripts of “Hotel California” and other Eagles hits without the proper rights are rare-book dealer Glenn Horowitz, former Rock & Roll Hall of Fame curator Craig Inciardi, and memorabilia seller Edward Kosinski. While the defendants have pleaded not guilty, the Manhattan district attorney’s office alleges that they deliberately concealed the disputed ownership of the documents, despite knowing that Henley had stated they were stolen.
Criminal trials over valuable collectibles are uncommon, as most disputes are resolved privately or through legal agreements. According to Travis McDade, a law professor at the University of Illinois who specializes in rare document disputes, people usually hand over the disputed items to avoid prosecution. However, the case of the Eagles manuscripts is unique in several ways.
The star witness for the prosecution is none other than Don Henley himself. Expected to testify between Eagles tour stops, Henley’s involvement in the trial offers a glimpse into the band’s creative process and their fast-paced life during the ’70s. At stake are over 80 pages of draft lyrics from the Eagles’ blockbuster 1976 album “Hotel California,” including the words to the chart-topping title track. This song features one of classic rock’s most recognizable riffs and is known for its oft-quoted line, “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.”
Henley has described the song as an exploration of “the dark underbelly of the American dream.” Despite its age, “Hotel California” continues to be popular, with over 220 million streams and 136,000 radio spins in the U.S. alone last year. The album itself has sold 26 million copies nationwide, making it the third best-selling Eagles album after their greatest hits compilation and Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” The stolen pages also contain lyrics from other songs on the album, such as “Life in the Fast Lane” and “New Kid in Town.” Eagles manager Irving Azoff has referred to the documents as “irreplaceable pieces of musical history.”
While Horowitz, Inciardi, and Kosinski are charged with conspiracy to possess stolen property and other offenses, they are not accused of actually stealing the documents. The prosecution will need to establish that the pages were indeed stolen. The defense argues that the papers were obtained through writer Ed Sanders, who had worked with the Eagles. Sanders, a former member of the counterculture rock band the Fugs, collaborated on an authorized Eagles biography in the late ’70s and early ’80s, although it was never published. Sanders sold the pages to Horowitz, who then sold them to Inciardi and Kosinski.
Glenn Horowitz has been involved in significant rare book and archive deals in the past and has faced ownership disputes before. One such dispute involved papers related to “Gone With the Wind” author Margaret Mitchell. Inciardi, on the other hand, has worked on notable exhibitions for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Kosinski is known for his involvement with Gotta Have It! Collectibles, a company that auctions off personal possessions of celebrities. In fact, Madonna once sued unsuccessfully to prevent the sale of her latex briefs through the company.
The defense claims that Henley voluntarily provided the lyrics to Sanders, contrary to his grand jury testimony. They argue that Henley’s memory of the events may be flawed and plan to explore this during the trial. According to the indictment, Sanders offered various explanations for how he obtained the pages, including finding them discarded in a dressing room or receiving them from a stage assistant. Horowitz suggested that Sanders obtain an explanation from Frey, but Frey had passed away by then.
The case took a turn when Henley’s lawyers approached Horowitz about the pages being auctioned in 2012. Horowitz, Inciardi, and Sanders then began discussing different versions of the manuscripts’ provenance. Sanders approved some of these explanations, while others were forwarded to Henley’s lawyer. Kosinski assured auction house Sotheby’s that Henley had no claim to the documents and requested that potential bidders be kept in the dark about Henley’s complaints. Sotheby’s eventually withdrew the “Hotel California” song lyrics from an auction in 2016 upon learning about the ownership dispute.
Henley purchased some draft lyrics