Posted on 02/21/2024 10:53:56 AM PST by Red Badger
NEW YORK (AP) — A criminal case involving handwritten lyrics to the classic rock megahit “Hotel California” and other Eagles favorites went to trial Wednesday in New York, with three men accused of scheming to thwart band co-founder Don Henley’s efforts to reclaim the allegedly ill-gotten documents.
The trial concerns about 100 pages of drafts of the words to songs from the 1976 release “Hotel California," which is the third-biggest selling album ever in the U.S.
Rare-books dealer Glenn Horowitz, former Rock & Roll Hall of Fame curator Craig Inciardi, and memorabilia seller Edward Kosinski face charges including conspiracy to possess stolen property.
“The defendants were not businessmen acting in good faith, but criminal actors,” Manhattan District Attorney Nicholas Penfold said in his opening. He said they “deceived and manipulated to try to frustrate” Henley's efforts to recover manuscripts that were rightfully his.
The men, all well established in the collectibles world, have pleaded not guilty. Their lawyers have said the case “alleges criminality where none exists and unfairly tarnishes the reputations of well-respected professionals.”
The documents include lyrics-in-development for the songs “Life in the Fast Lane,” “New Kid in Town” and, of course, “Hotel California,” the more than six-minute-long, somewhat mysterious musical tale of the goings-on at an inviting, decadent but ultimately dark place where “you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.”
If scorned by some as an overexposed artifact of the '70s, the Grammy-winning song is still a touchstone on classic rock radio and many personal playlists. The entertainment data company Luminate counted more than 220 million streams and 136,000 radio plays of “Hotel California” in the U.S. last year.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I have always hated The Eagles almost as much as I hate Fleetwood Mac.
L
I don’t care for them either, but these original lyrics were stolen from Henley and Frye....................
I read that Don Henley scours the internet, threatening with legal action music reactors who react to Eagles songs.
Way to ensure that future generations experience your music…NOT.
For the defendant, this could be heaven or this could be hell...
I’m sure they don’t have a peaceful easy feeling.................
Gov Newsome’s tax policy to Californians: you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave
What is a “music reactor”?...............
“I read that Don Henley scours the internet, threatening with legal action music reactors who react to Eagles songs.”
####################
True. God forbid you try to cover an Eagles song on YouTube, or react to any of their songs. They won’t just make you take it down, they will seek to shut your site down and punish you.
Contrast that with the Grateful Dead/Dead & Co., who welcome people to tape their shows and trade them on the internet.
Their [defendants'] lawyers have said the case “alleges criminality where none exists...
What, a New York prosecutor asserting criminality where none exists? Who ever heard of such a thing?
Henley is a pure asshole. Just listen to Rick Beato.
“Henley is a pure asshole.”
He definitely is, and it seems he always has been. B but if he truly is being screwed over regarding the rights to his lyrics, I hope he wins. In spite of Henley’s left-wing jerkiness, The Eagles is my favorite rock group.
Not sure if they’re considered rock, but I also love The Carpenters and The Four Seasons.
There are a lot of YouTube “reaction” videos where, for example, someone will watch a famous movie like Airplane for the first time. Or listen to Bohemian Rhapsody for the first time. We get to see their reactions. If you get a certain number of subscribers your channel will be monetized.
It’s kind of lame, but it can be fun to watch a Gen Z-er view Blazing Saddles for the first time.
True story. My friend ran into Henley at LAX about a decade ago. He was standing near the entrance to a bar with a couple of body guards. My friend approached him to say hello and that he was a big fan. Henley’s reaction was “Oh yeah? Name 3 of my songs, non Eagles” then promptly walked sneering. Yep, a total asshole.
“They won’t just make you take it down, they will seek to shut your site down and punish you.”
Who is the “they” here? Is it just Henley, him plus others who were in the group over time, the estate (Glenn Frey), a corporation? Henley seems like a major stirrer-upper in general, while the others don’t seem so much so. (Of course, I don’t know them.)
I cancel your hatred with love for those two bands. Great memories. Especially with FM and having met Stevie Nicks when I was a little guy. She smelled good.
**If scorned by some as an overexposed artifact of the ‘70s,**
Overexposed would be an understatement. Back then a buddy of mine would call into the local fm station and complain about its abundance of airtime. And he was a pretty easy going guy.
It’s a thing... You can get really cought up in them too. Just people making comments on YouTube as they listen to songs.
You win!!!
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