49 Years Ago Today, The 'Best Guitar Solo of All Time' Was Released

On February 22, 1977, American rock band Eagles released the lead single from their now-classic album Hotel California.

The six-minute song has since become a staple of classic rock around the world, with Guitarist Magazine even crowning Don Felder and Joe Walsh's technical guitar solo the best ever recorded.

Hotel California's Release Changed Eagles' Career Forever

'Hotel California' had already been available on physical copies of Eagles' album for some weeks, but the single release pushed the band's career to new heights and introduced a whole new audience to the iconic rock group.

Felder reportedly wrote the instrumentals for Hotel California on a four-track recorder in his beach house in Malibu, before Don Henley and Glenn Frey contributed the song's iconic lyrics, which discuss the grimy truth of the American dream in the '70s.

Hotel California shot to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May, where it remained for one week before being dethroned by 'When I Need You' be Leo Sayer. Songs such as 'Life in the Fast Lane' and 'New Kid in Town', also from Hotel California, made additional appearances on the charts.

The album was a huge success, but much more important than any commercial achievement was the iconic status that Felder & Walsh's guitar solo went on to develop among rock fans. It's two minutes and twelve seconds of sharp, technical playing that jumps between the two artists and propels the song to a thrilling conclusion.

Even today, Hotel California remains an unstoppable piece of rock history that critics and audiences continue to rally around. Rolling Stone placed the song at position 49 on their 500 Best Songs of All Time list, while the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame mentioned it in their 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.

The last (and only) time Hotel California was performed live by all members of Eagles—both past and present—was at the 1998 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Watch the moment below: