'Hotel California' trial: What to know criminal case over handwritten Eagles lyrics

A curious criminal case involving handwritten lyrics to the classic rock megahit "Hotel California" and other favorites from rock band the Eagles is going to trial in a New York courtroom, with opening statements set for Wednesday.

The three defendants, all well-established in the collectibles world, are accused of scheming to thwart Eagles co-founder Don Henley's efforts to reclaim the allegedly ill-gotten documents.

The trial concerns more than 80 pages of drafts of the words to songs from the "Hotel California" album, the 1976 release that stands today as the third-biggest selling disc ever in the U.S.

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The documents include lyrics-in-development for "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 over 220 million streams and 136,000 radio plays of "Hotel California" in the U.S. last year.

Who stole 'Hotel California' lyrics documents?

Rare-book dealer Glenn Horowitz, former Rock & Roll Hall of Fame curator Craig Inciardi and memorabilia seller Edward Kosinski are accused of stealing the handwritten lyrics and have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and various other charges. Their lawyers have said the case "alleges criminality where none exists and unfairly tarnishes the reputations of well-respected professionals."

The case was brought in 2022, a decade after some of the pages began popping up for auction and Henley took notice — and took umbrage. He bought back a bit of the material for $8,500 but also reported the documents stolen, according to court filings.

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At the time, the lyrics sheets were in the hands of Kosinski and Inciardi, who had bought them from Horowitz. He had purchased them in 2005 from Ed Sanders, a writer and 1960s counterculture figure who worked with the Eagles on a band biography that was shelved in the early '80s.

Sanders, who also co-founded the avant-garde rock group the Fugs, isn't charged in the case and hasn't responded to a message seeking comment about it.

Sanders told Horowitz in 2005 that Henley's assistant had mailed along any documents he wanted for the biography, though the writer worried that Henley "might conceivably be upset" if they were sold, according to emails recounted in the indictment.

But once Henley's lawyers began asking questions, Horowitz, Inciardi and Kosinski started maneuvering to gin up and disseminate a legally viable ownership history for the manuscripts, Manhattan prosecutors say.

Why are the 'Hotel California' lyrics on trial?

According to the indictment, Inciardi and Horowitz floated evolving accounts of how Sanders obtained the documents. The explanations ranged over the next five years from Sanders finding them abandoned in a backstage dressing room to the writer getting them from Eagles co-founder Glenn Frey, who died in 2016.

Emails show some input and assent from Sanders, but he also apparently objected at least to the backstage-salvage story. In messages that didn't include him, Horowitz wrote about getting Sanders' "'explanation' shaped into a communication" and giving him "gentle handling" and assurances "that he's not going to the can," the indictment says.

The defendants' lawyers have said that Sanders had legal possession of the documents, and so did the men who bought them from him. Defense attorneys have indicated they plan to question how clearly Henley remembers his dealings with Sanders and the lyric sheets at a time when the rock star was living life in the fast lane himself.

The defendants decided last week to forgo a jury trial, so Judge Curtis Farber will decide the verdict.

What are the 'Hotel California' lyrics?

On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hairWarm smell of colitas, rising up through the airUp ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering lightMy head grew heavy and my sight grew dimI had to stop for the nightThere she stood in the doorwayI heard the mission bellAnd I was thinking to myself"This could be Heaven or this could be Hell"Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the wayThere were voices down the corridorI thought I heard them say

Welcome to the Hotel CaliforniaSuch a lovely place (Such a lovely place)Such a lovely facePlenty of room at the Hotel CaliforniaAny time of year (Any time of year)You can find it here

Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes bendsShe got a lot of pretty, pretty boys she calls friendsHow they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweatSome dance to remember, some dance to forget

So I called up the Captain"Please bring me my wine."He said, "We haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine."And still those voices are calling from far awayWake you up in the middle of the nightJust to hear them say

Welcome to the Hotel CaliforniaSuch a lovely place (Such a lovely place)Such a lovely faceThey livin' it up at the Hotel CaliforniaWhat a nice surprise (what a nice surprise)Bring your alibis

Mirrors on the ceilingThe pink champagne on iceAnd she said "We are all just prisoners here, of our own device"And in the master's chambersThey gathered for the feastThey stab it with their steely knivesBut they just can't kill the beast

Last thing I rememberI was running for the doorI had to find the passage back to the place I was before"Relax," said the night man"We are programmed to receiveYou can check-out any time you likeBut you can never leave!"