The Theft Of The Original Hotel California Lyrics Explained

Ordinarily, "100 pages of scribbles, notes and lyrics," as they're described by the Washington Post, wouldn't be a hard-sought collectors' item. But in this particular case, these notes document the history of some of the biggest songs in rock 'n roll, written in real time (so to speak) by the man who birthed those songs. As a pop-culture artifact, that book would have been priceless (or more accurately, worth about a million, as that's what someone eventually tried to sell them for).

Perhaps seeing an opportunity to make some quick cash, an unidentified writer, who was in town to research the band and write a book about them, stole the notebook all the way back in the 1970s. In 2005, the writer sold the notebook to rare book dealer Glenn Horowitz, who in turn sold them to rock auctioneer Edward Kosinski and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame director of acquisitions Craig Inciardi.

Henley, on learning who had his book, tried to get the documents back, but the men refused, and according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, they "made up stories about the origin of the documents and their right to possess them so they could turn a profit." Indeed, the book was this close to going up to auction at Sotheby's and Christie's, even as Henley insisted it was his and not to be sold.

Beginning in 2016, authorities began executing search warrants in order to retrieve the book.

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