Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Hotel California (1977)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

 

1) In this song, Don Henley called the hotel's front desk and asked, "Please bring me my wine." He was told they haven't had wine since 1969. When did you last have a glass of wine?

A. I last had a drink of wine in 2012. My professor in my creative writing class I was in for my master's degree brought a bottle of blackberry wine to our final class, and I had a little then. I normally do not drink alcohol.

2) The lyrics refer to wine as a "spirit." That is incorrect. Wines are fermented, not distilled, and have a lower alcohol content than spirits. When "Hotel California" was popular, listeners who were into wine called radio stations to let them know about the mistake. Are you a wine aficionado? Are any of your friends or family knowledgeable about wine?

A. I am not a wine aficionado. However, I will tell a tale on myself. My father made wine when I was a teenager. I had a difficult time then, and I would take half of one of his bottles to drink and fill the rest back up with water. I remember waiting until he thought the wine was ready and wondering if he'd realize what I'd done. He pronounced his creation to be really "sweet tasting" and good. I suppose watered-down wine would taste sweet. I stopped drinking alcohol when I was 19.

3) In the song, Henley sings about looking for the door that will take him "back to the place I was before." Don says that refers to a loss of innocence and a longing for a simpler time. When you think about "the good old days," where does your mind wander to?

A. I don't really have any "good old days" to think back on, to be perfectly honest. I might consider my time playing in the Top 40 band I was in during high school to be a highlight, or my time at Hollins College (now Hollins University) to be "the good old days," I suppose.

 

4) With five #1 singles, six #1 albums, and six Grammy awards, it's generally agreed that the Eagles were one of the most popular groups of the 1970s. Which decade produced most of your favorite songs?

A. I listen to mostly 1970s songs, with Melissa Etheridge and Sheryl Crow from the early 1990s thrown in for good measure.

 

5) The Eagles were formed in 1971 when four of them happened to find themselves hired to play back up for Linda Ronstadt. The men found they really hit off and wanted to keep working together when the gig with Linda was up. Tell us about how you met someone important in your life.

A. I think everyone knows I met my husband at a football game. I will tell you how I met my friend Brenda, who is no longer with us. We worked together at the historic museum for a while, but we were not friends. I was trying to get things on the computer and the museum director wanted the inventory done by hand. I tried to get Brenda to back me up, but she wanted no part of any confrontation, and did not. I ended up leaving the job. Later, Brenda and I were in a historic society together, and she took over as president after I did. I stepped down because my mother was ill. Then Brenda's mother unexpectedly passed away that same year. That created a bond between us, and we became friends.

 

6) The Eagles are still on the road, filling big arenas for their Long Goodbye tour. One explanation for their enduring popularity is that their music spans genres. They scored hits on the rock, pop and country charts. Other popular categories of music include classical, gospel, jazz, Latin, reggae, New Age, and rap. Which do you listen to most often? Which did you listen to most recently?

A. I was listening to soft pop from the 1970s.

 

7) In 1976, when "Hotel California" was topping the charts, the trend in home decor was vibrant. Intense copper, bright pink and vivid avocado were among the popular colors for bath towels, mats and shower curtains that year. If we were to peek into your 2024 bathroom(s), what colors would we find?

A. Gray and white.

 

8) Handbags were big in 1976. Not just in popularity but in size. Purses routinely had compartments on the inside and pockets on the outside. When you leave the house, do you travel light? Or do you prefer to carry a lot with you?

A. I have a handbag that is spacious but not full. I have to have room for an asthma inhaler and those small clutches generally aren't big enough to handle one of those.

9) Random question -- How different is your life today than it was a year ago: (a) a lot; (b) a little); (c) not at all?

A. (b) A little.

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I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in Saturday 9 and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.