In the 1970s, Miami was a rising hub for some of the greatest names in music. The Eagles’ career, arguably, wouldn’t have been the same without their time in the city.
One afternoon, Don Henley, Joe Walsh, and Glenn Frey sat together listening to a cassette demo recorded by Don Felder at his Malibu home. The melody, with its Spanish-infused tones, immediately caught their attention. Initially dubbed Bolero Mexicano, the song was poised to become the lead single for their upcoming album. They envisioned lyrics that would capture the romanticized dream of California—convertibles cruising down the highway, hair whipping in the wind, palm trees, and twinkling lights flickering like fireflies against the horizon. But there was a problem: the demo was too long for a radio-friendly single—over six minutes—and needed refining.
Under pressure from their record label to finish the album, the band secluded themselves at a ranch in Calabasas, on the outskirts of Los Angeles, hoping to perfect the song’s Spanish-inspired chords. Draft after draft followed, but none fully satisfied them. That’s when an idea emerged: they would take the song east—to Miami, where a relatively new yet thriving music scene was taking shape at Criteria Studios.
Founded in 1958 by Mack Emerman, an avid musician, Criteria Studios was a passion project that seemed almost quixotic at the time—perhaps, even today, any artistic or cultural venture in Miami still carries that same sense of defiant ambition. There were no major recording studios in the city; most were concentrated in California or New York. To keep his studio afloat in the early days, Emerman even worked as a candy deliveryman. But over time, Criteria made a name for itself, first by recording music for The Jackie Gleason Show, then cementing its reputation in the ’70s with the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack and a strategic partnership with Atlantic Records. This alliance attracted an impressive roster of artists, including Bob Marley, David Bowie, and Fleetwood Mac.
The Eagles arrived in Miami in 1975,
staying at 461 Ocean Boulevard—the rustic beachfront house where Eric Clapton had once retreated to recover from heroin addiction. The house had since become an unofficial haven for musicians spending extended periods in Miami, among them Liza Minnelli, Barry Manilow, and the Bee Gees, who were also working at Criteria at the time. Though the band’s main goal was to refine their demo, Don Felder later described their seven-month stay in Miami, in his memoir Heaven and Hell, as something closer to an extended seaside vacation. They became diehard Miami Dolphins fans, thanks to their producer Bill Szymczyk, who secured them VIP seats at the stadium every weekend.
But Miami wasn’t just about music and football. The city also became the backdrop for their long, intoxicated nights—defying DUI stops, stretching parties until sunrise, and indulging in substances that blurred the line between night and day. Yet, from that haze, something extraordinary emerged. What began as a simple demo, pulling them from one end of the country to the other, evolved into a defining moment in their career. That song—born in Malibu, perfected in Miami—would go on to become one of the most iconic tracks in rock history: Hotel California.
