Backstory of disputed 'Hotel California' lyrics pages 'just felt thin,' ex-auction exec tells court
A former auction house executive says the explanation he was given for the source of 13 pages of drafts of lyrics to the Eagles’ “Hotel California” raised red flags
NEW YORK (AP) — The explanation given for the source of 13 pages of drafts of lyrics to the Eagles' “Hotel California” raised red flags to a prominent auction house, a former executive testified Friday at a criminal trial surrounding the handwritten pages.
Former Christie's manuscripts chief Tom Lecky was initially excited by the 2015 opportunity to sell pieces of the development of one of classic rock's biggest hits. But, he said, he developed qualms after the would-be seller said he got them from a writer who worked with the band decades earlier on a never-published biography.
“It just felt thin, to me,” Lecky said. “It felt like there was potential risk."
Lecky testified for prosecutors at the trial of Craig Inciardi, Glenn Horowitz and Edward Kosinski, three collectibles professionals who at various points had pages from “Hotel California” and other songs from its eponymous album. The 1976 disc is the third-biggest seller in U.S. history.
