What would the late Glenn Frey have thought of 'Hotel Keralafonia'?
The guitarist and songwriter of The Eagles's greatest hit ever may not have heard this combined tribute to his group and to Kerala before his death.
If there's one song that every rock-music fan in India knows the words of, if there's one guitar riff that every air-guitarist in the country can play, it's The Eagles anthem Hotel California.
There'll be a lot of Hotel California played today in response to the death of Glenn Frey, a founding member of the band, guitarist, and Rock and Roll Hall of fame inductee. He died on Monday, aged 67.
So deeply are the lyrics entrenched in our hearts that it was only a matter of time before local versions were written. Welcome, then, to Hotel Keralafornia – "up ahead in the distance / I saw a pink tube light" (video above). There's also a Hotel Karnalofonia ("badi changi place, badi changi place").
In an interview Frey once said, "We were the underdogs" (in the American 1970s music scene) and that if they wanted to be with the big players they'd better "write some f*****g good songs". He co-wrote some of the band's most successful tracks – Take it Easy, Tequila Sunrise, Lyin' Eyes, Desperado, Life in the Fast lane.
The band's easy country style rock came from Frey's midwestern origins. He was born in Detroit, playing with many local bands before moving to California. A statement put out by The Eagles read, "It is with the heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of our comrade, Eagles founder, Glenn Frey, in New York City on Monday, January 18th, 2016. Glenn fought a courageous battle for the past several weeks but, sadly, succumbed to complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis and pneumonia."
Here's another favourite track by The Eagles that Frey co-wrote.
And before we say goodbye, here's a very, very Indian version of the original hit.