Opinion Tequila sunset

FILE – In this June 30, 2009, file photo, Glenn Frey, of the the Eagles, performs at Belfast’s Odyssey Arena in Northern Ireland. Frey, who co-founded the Eagles and with Don Henley became one of history’s most successful songwriting teams with such hits as “Hotel California” and “Life in the Fast Lane,” has died at age 67. He died Monday, Jan. 18, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison, File)

In rock music, an era is ending. Tributes to David Bowie are still appearing in the press, right next to obituaries of Glenn Frey, trail boss of the Eagles and the writer of their most enduring classics, including “Hotel California”. Four decades after its release in 1976, the number remains a radio favourite the world over. It still stands for the bizarre hedonism of its time, and perhaps even for the idea of America. Indeed, it’s said that when a US spy plane made an emergency landing on Hainan in 2001, Chinese officials asked crew members to sing “Hotel California” to prove their nationality.

Apart from writing and playing the guitar for the group, Frey also lent his voice to classics like “Tequila Sunrise”, “Heartache Tonight” and “Peaceful Easy Feeling”. The group has credited his attention to detail for its success, which repeatedly drove it to the top of the charts — they are the highest-selling US band ever — and into the hall of fame the very year they were nominated. That did not go down well with the critics and the Eagles, who had a laid-back folksy feel, were excoriated for doing better in the marketplace than edgier talents like Bowie.

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Both Bowie and Frey have gone to the great gig in the sky. Ziggy is stardust and the Eagles’ website opens to the goodbye song of The Long Road Out of Eden album, written by Frey: “It’s Your World Now”. But he will always be remembered best for “Hotel California”, whose tantalising lyrics sound like a palimpsest onto which the listener can score hopes, fears, even epiphanies. Now, the last lines take on new meaning, reaffirming Glenn Frey’s permanent place in the rock and roll firmament: “You can check out any time you like,/ But you can never leave.”