The Eagles’ album “Hotel California” spent eight weeks at number one on the Billboard 200. It reached the top of the chart in January 1977 and held the position for eight non-consecutive weeks.
Released on December 8, 1976, the album entered the Billboard 200 at number four before climbing to the summit in its fourth week. Its chart performance reflected the band’s rapidly expanding audience after the success of “One of These Nights” and the compilation “Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975).”
The album’s title track and “New Kid in Town” also topped the Billboard Hot 100, while “Life in the Fast Lane” became another major hit. The album eventually became one of the best-selling records in American music history. A common mistake is to confuse its eight weeks at number one with the much longer total period it remained on the album chart.