This piece originally aired December 8, 2016. 
 
 The Eagles are among the 2016 Kennedy Center honorees. The band formed in the early 1970s and helped define classic rock on the radio, becoming one of the world’s most successful bands. 
 
 But when drummer Don Henley hears one of their songs on the radio now, he usually turns it down. 
 
 “After 44 years, you just really don’t want to hear ‘em when you’re off,” Henley said. “When I’m off duty, I’d rather listen to somebody else, or just silence. Silence is good. You don’t get much of it these days anywhere. So I’m a big fan of silence.” 
 
 He may be a fan of silence, but with the Eagles, Don Henley created some of the most popular sounds in American music. 
 
 
 
 Like their hit song, the Eagles seemed really to live “Life in the Fast Lane.” 
 
 
 
 “You really were sex, drug, and rock n’ roll at one point,” King said. “Did you feel like that? Did you like that?” 
 
 “Yeah… Everybody was doing it. It was the ‘70s,” Henley said. 
 
 “It was what everybody was doing, which doesn’t make it right necessarily. And you know, looking back on it, there’s some regrets about that. We probably could have been more productive … although we were pretty productive, considering.” 
 
 And they sure were. The Eagles have sold more than $150 million records worldwide. And they remain the best-selling American band of all time. 
 
 
 
 It all began in 1970 at the Los Angeles nightclub, where Don Henley met Glenn Frey. 
 
 
 
 “He walked up to me one night in the Troubadour and handed me a beer, and he just started to talking to me. You know, the Troubadour Bar was the center of the universe at that point in time,” Henley recalled. 
 
 After playing backup for Linda Ronstadt, Frey convinced Henley to form a band of their own. One of their classic hits is “Hotel California.” 
 
 “I have no clue what it means, but I like it,” King said. 
 
 “Yeah, well, me neither,” Henley said, laughing. “But radio was different in those days.” 
 
 “You don’t know what it means?” King asked. “You know what it means, you wrote it!” 
 
 “I have some idea,” Henley said. 
 
 “Can you just give me two sentences, what the hell it means?” King asked. 
 
 “Not in two sentences, no,” Henley said, laughing. 
 
 
 
 “Okay three,” King said. 
 
 “Well, I always say, it’s a journey from innocence to experience. It’s not really about California; it’s about America,” Henley said. “It’s about the dark underbelly of the American dream. It’s about excess, it’s about narcissism. It’s about the music business. It’s about a lot of different…. It can have a million interpretations.” 
 
 
 
 King asked Henley what comes to mind when he thinks about the Eagles members, beginning with guitarist Bernie Leadon. 
 
 “Really great. Really great musicianship. A guy who did not like fame at all,” Henley said. 
 
 “Randy Meisner?” King asked. 
 
 “Very sensitive guy, very talented, a farm boy like me,” Henley said. “He was the only guy who could sing that high.” 
 
 “Don Felder?” King asked. 
 
 “Incredible guitar player, yeah,” Henley said. “One of the best in the business.” 
 
 
 
 And Joe Walsh, Henley said, was also an amazing guitar player. 
 
 “And a very funny guy. You know, he bought a lot of good humor and he was sort of the wild card,” Henley said. 
 
 King saved Glenn Frey for last, who died in January. 
 
 “What you would have to say about him?” King asked. 
 
 “He was a very dynamic individual. He came up like I did, playing in rock and roll bands starting in high school,” Henley said. “We understood each other. We both loved cars. He had an old ‘55 Chevy named Gladys that we used to ride around in. And we were just – we were a good fit, you know. I had strengths that made up for his weaknesses, and he had strengths that made up for my weaknesses.” 
 
 Henley and Frey co-wrote most of the band’s music -- their success leading one DJ to call them “America’s McCartney and Lennon.” 
 
 The Eagles broke up in 1980. 
 
 “The way the group broke up was, Glenn called me up and he said, ‘I need to go and do my own thing for a while,’ you know. And – and that was it,” Henley recalled. 
 
 
 
 “And you said okay?” King asked. 
 
 “I said, ‘Okay,’” Henley said, laughing. “Whatever.” 
 
 “Were you mad about that?” King asked. 
 
 “No, no, I knew it was coming. You know, we all knew it was coming. It couldn’t continue the way it was going.” 
 
 After what Henley calls a 14-year hiatus, the Eagles enjoyed two more decades of making music and filling arenas. It came to an end last year, after Glenn Frey became ill. 
 
 
 
 “It was unexpected, and sudden, and tragic,” Henley said about his Frey’s death. “And you know, it was basically the end of the band, I think.” 
 
 Last Sunday, Don Henley went to the Kennedy Center to accept the prestigious award with bandmates Joe Walsh and Timothy B Schmit. They also watched a tribute to Glenn Frey. 
 
 “Do you miss him?” King asked. 
 
 “Yeah, sure. In these past several years we haven’t been around each other that much. I miss him and I miss knowing that he’s just on the planet,” Henley said. 
 
 “Can you imagine the Eagles continuing in any form?” King asked. “Is that something you even think about?” 
 
 “Not at this point in time. No, no, it doesn’t seem feasible to me. Glenn was such a pivotal part, I mean he was the leader of the band. And it would be pretty strange going forward without him,” Henley said. 
 
 ||||| History 
 
 The Hotel California was founded in, 1947, by a Chinese immigrant named Mr. Wong. After three years of construction, it opened on February 5, 1950,. Mr. Wong lived in the 16 room hotel with his wife and seven daughters. Wanting the locals to believe he was Mexican, Mr. Wong changed his name to Don Antonio Tabasco which didn’t work as well as he had planned since he soon became known as "El Chino," meaning "The Chinese Man" rather than Don Antonio Tabasco. 
 
 In the 1950's, "El Chino' brought ice from La Paz to Todos Santos for the first time ever, and the Hotel California's restaurant and bar served the only cold beer in town. This of course made him quite popular and ironically he opened a general store named "La Popular." He then opened the first gas station in Todos Santos directly next door to the hotel further establishing his reputation as a visionary. This was just the beginning of the hotel's colorful story. It's future was to become even more intriguing. 
 
 During the 1980's and 1990's, the picture became much more clear again. The hotel had become neglected and in 2001, a Canadian couple John and Debbie Stewart purchased the hotel. After completing a masterful renovation, which would later win numerous awards for design and décor, the original 16 rooms were transformed into the eclectic 11 suite hotel it is today. The restaurant, La Coronela and bar were added and the area of the original gas station became the tienda Emporio, the hotel's boutique gallery/bazaar. 
 
 "A little jewel in the middle of the desert." 
 
 -John Stewart, creator of the modern era Hotel California 
 
 Today the "legendary" Hotel California is an icon, shining brighter than ever. It continues to evolve, changing with the times as it has since its birth in 1947. 
 
 The song “Hotel California” by the Eagles was not in any way inspired by the Hotel California in Todos Santos. The hotel wishes to inform its guests that there is no past or present connection between the hotel and the Eagles, any of its members, or their song. Any rumors or innuendo suggesting that the song is associated with or inspired by the hotel are untrue. ||||| (Reuters) - The Eagles have filed a lawsuit accusing the owners of a Mexico hotel of using the name “Hotel California,” arguably the band’s most famous song, without permission. 
 
 In a complaint filed late Monday, the Eagles said owners of the 11-room Todos Santos hotel in Baja California Sur “actively encourage” guests to believe the hotel is associated with the band, in order to sell t-shirts and other merchandise, and make guests feel welcome. 
 
 This allegedly included piping “Hotel California” and other Eagles songs through the hotel sound system, and selling t-shirts in that refer to the hotel as “legendary,” resulting in apparent confusion among many guests who posted online reviews. 
 
 The Eagles also noted that the defendant Hotel California Baja LLC has applied with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to register the Hotel California name. 
 
 “Defendants lead U.S. consumers to believe that the Todos Santos Hotel is associated with the Eagles and, among other things, served as the inspiration for the lyrics in ‘Hotel California,’ which is false,” the complaint said. 
 
 The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court seeks a variety of damages and a halt to any infringement. 
 
 Neither the hotel nor the lawyer who filed its trademark application immediately responded on Tuesday to requests for comment. 
 
 The Todos Santos hotel was named Hotel California when it opened in 1950, but went through a series of name changes before a Canadian couple, John and Debbie Stewart, bought it in 2001, and according to the Eagles began using the original name in marketing. Its website is ((hotelcaliforniabaja.com/)). 
 
 “Hotel California” is the title track from the 1976 Eagles album of the same name, and won the 1977 Grammy award for record of the year. 
 
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 It is known for its long guitar outro featuring Don Felder and Joe Walsh, and complex lyrics sung by Don Henley. 
 
 In an interview with CBS News last year, Henley said the song is about “a journey from innocence to experience. It’s not really about California; it’s about America.” 
 
 The case is Eagles Ltd v Hotel California Baja LLC et al, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 17-03276. ||||| La Coronela Restaurant & Bar 
 
 Partake in the pleasures and delights of renowned Belgian executive chef Dany Lamote. Focusing on organic locally grown and raised ingredients, prepare to be dazzled by the strikingly unconventional menu featuring exotic dishes as well as classic Mexican favorites and even some basics such as omelets and hamburgers. ||||| The Hotel California in Baja may indeed be a lovely place, but the Eagles are not amused by its name. 
 
 The band is suing the establishment for trademark infringement, claiming it's trying to capitalize on the name of the famous song. 
 
 "Through advertising targeted to U.S. consumers, and in-person communications, Defendants lead U.S. consumers to believe that the Todos Santos Hotel is associated with the Eagles and, among other things, served as the inspiration for the lyrics in 'Hotel California,' which is false," writes attorney Laura Wytsma. 
 
 "Hotel California" isn't just a hit song or the title of the Eagles' most successful album, it's the "essence of the band itself," Wytsma argues. Since the late '70s, the band has sold merchandise bearing the mark — everything from guitar picks to bathrobes to posters. (An application to register the trademark for merchandise is pending.) 
 
 The small hotel originally opened under the name Hotel California in 1950 but went through subsequent ownership and name changes, according to the complaint. The Eagles' song was released in 1976. 
 
 When Debbie and John Stewart bought the hotel in 2001, the complaint states, they sought to revitalize it by creating a reputation "based at least partially on the hotel's reputed, but false, connection to the Eagles." 
 
 Wytsma says the hotel also plays the Eagles' music and sells T-shirts that refer to the hotel as "legendary," which leave consumers with the impression that "they have visited 'the' Hotel California made famous by the Eagles." 
 
 The Eagles are seeking an injunction to ban the hotel from using the name Hotel California or doing anything else to imply it is connected to or approved by the band, and are asking for all related profits plus actual and exemplary damages. 
 
 An attorney for the hotel has not yet replied to a request for comment on the complaint.
– It's not located on a dark desert highway, and guests are presumably allowed to leave, but the Eagles still feel that a real-life Hotel California is ripping off their biggest hit. The band filed a lawsuit against the Mexican hotel this week, accusing the owners of encouraging guests to believe that it's associated with the band, Reuters reports. According to the lawsuit, the hotel pumps "Hotel California" and other hits through its sound system, as well as sells merchandise describing itself as "legendary." The hotel in Baja California Sur actually opened under the name Hotel California in 1950, more than 25 years before the Eagles released the song of the same name, the Hollywood Reporter notes. Its name changed several times before new owners took over in 2001 and allegedly sought to boost business with what the lawsuit calls a "reputed, but false, connection to the Eagles." Though the hotel's website states the owners have no connection with the band "nor do they promote any association," it says its guests "are mesmerized by the 'coincidences'" between the song and hotel itself (yes, you can hear mission bells). The lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles, seeks damages and an injunction preventing the hotel from using the name. Reuters quotes a 2016 CBS News interview with Don Henley in which he explained the song wasn't really about California—or Mexico, apparently—but rather "a journey ... it's about America." (This music suit involves Eminem and New Zealand's ruling party.)