In court, Don Henley recounts the making of the Eagles’ megahit ‘Hotel California’
NEW YORK — Seated in a courtroom witness box, Don Henley opened a large brown envelope Tuesday and paged through the aging yellow sheets of a legal pad.
“Well, it’s got two song titles written on the top,” he explained when asked what it contained. “ ‘After the Thrill is Gone’ and ‘One of These Nights.’”
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Then came another envelope and pad, and another, and one more. They bore 1970s drafts of lyrics to two other Eagles hits, “The Long Run” and “The Sad Cafe.” The four pads were in what Henley identified as his handwriting and occasionally that of band co-founder Glenn Frey.
It was the first glimpse in court of some of the physical pages at the heart of a trial involving Henley’s decade-long effort to reclaim handwritten drafts of lyrics to songs, including the megahit “Hotel California.”
After spending Monday telling the New York court about topics ranging from Eagles songwriting to his past personal troubles, the Eagles co-founder underwent further questioning Tuesday from lawyers for three collectibles experts who are on trial.
Henley was asked about the writing of “Hotel California” and how he didn’t notice for decades that the handwritten pages were missing. He was also queried about his past cocaine use — retorting that he was no “drug-filled zombie” — and even about a $96 limousine bill from 1973.
He continued to insist that he never voluntarily parted with handwritten sheets from work, including the Eagles’ 1976 release “Hotel California,” the third-best-selling album ever in the U.S.
“I believed that my property was stolen,” Henley said.
The album produced one of rock’s most enduring hits, the song “Hotel California,” credited to Frey, Henley and guitarist Don Felder. Henley recalled that Felder provided a “very basic” tape with guitar chords and a drum-machine beat. Frey and Henley worked from that to craft the lyrics, and three guitarists — “four, if you count the bass” — contributed to the recording, Henley said.
A prosecutor objected that the questions weren’t relevant, but Judge Curtis Farber let them continue.
“I don’t know the relevance, but it’s interesting,” the judge said to laughter from the courtroom audience. Farber will decide the verdict, as the defendants chose not to have a jury.
The defendants — Edward Kosinski, Craig Inciardi and Glenn Horowitz — are charged with scheming to conceal the lyrics pages’ disputed ownership and sell them despite knowing that Henley claimed they had no right. The defendants have pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy to criminally possess stolen property.
