Eagle
Glenn Horowitz, Craig Inciardi and Edward Kosinski are accused of conspiring to possess and sell Eagles manuscripts
Associated Press in New York
Tuesday, February 20, 2024, 10:51 a.m. GMT
In the mid-1970s, the Eagles were working on a spooky, cryptic new song.
On a lined yellow pad, Don Henley, assisted by his band co-founder Glenn Frey, jotted down thoughts about “a dark desert highway” and “a beautiful place” with a luxurious surface and menacing undertones. And something on ice, maybe caviar or Taittinger – or pink champagne?
The song “Hotel California” became one of rock’s most unforgettable singles. And nearly 50 years later, those handwritten pages of texts in the making have become the focus of an unusual criminal trial set to open Wednesday.
Glenn Horowitz, a rare book dealer; Craig Inciardi, a former curator of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and Edward Kosinski, a memorabilia seller, are accused of conspiring to possess and sell manuscripts of “Hotel California” and other Eagles hits without doing so to have the right.
The three pleaded not guilty and their lawyers said the men did not commit a crime with the papers, which they obtained through a writer who worked with the Eagles. Manhattan prosecutors say the defendants tried to conceal the disputed ownership of the documents even though they knew Henley said the pages had been stolen.
(From left) Glenn Horowitz, Craig Inciardi and Edward Kosinski in court after being arraigned in 2022. Photo: John Minchillo/AP
There are many disputes over valuable collectibles, but criminal cases like these are rare. Many disputes are resolved privately, through litigation, or with agreements to return the items.
“If you can avoid prosecution by turning it over, most people will just turn it over,” said Travis McDade, a law professor at the University of Illinois who deals with rare document disputes.
Of course, the case of the Eagles manuscripts is unique in other ways as well.
The prosecution's star witness is indeed: Henley is expected to testify between the Eagles' tour stops. The non-jury trial could offer a glimpse into the band's creative process and life on the fast track to '70s stardom.
It's more than 80 pages of draft lyrics from the 1976 blockbuster album Hotel California, including lyrics to the chart-topper and Grammy-winning title song. It contains one of classic rock's most iconic riffs, its most iconic solos, and its most quoted – arguably overquoted – lines: “You can check out any time, but you can never leave.”
Henley said the song was about “the dark underbelly of the American dream.”
The pages also contain lyrics to songs like “Life in the Fast Lane” and “New Kid in Town.” Eagles manager Irving Azoff called the documents “irreplaceable pieces of music history.”
Horowitz, Inciardi and Kosinki are charged with conspiracy to commit stolen property and various other crimes.
They are not accused of actually stealing documents. Neither does anyone else, but the prosecution still has to prove that the documents were stolen. The defense claims this is not true.
Much revolves around the Eagles' interactions with Ed Sanders, a writer who also co-founded the 1960s counterculture rock band The Fugs. He worked on an authorized Eagles biography in the late '70s and early '80s that was never published.
Sanders is not charged in the case. A telephone message was left seeking comment.
He sold the pages to Horowitz, who then sold them to Inciardi and Kosinski.
Horowitz has handled large deals in rare books and archives and has previously been involved in ownership disputes. One of these involved articles related to Margaret Mitchell, the author of “Gone With the Wind.” It was done.
Sanders told Horowitz in 2005 that while he was working on the Eagles book, he was sent all the papers he wanted from Henley's home in Malibu, California, the indictment says.
Kosinski's company then offered some sites at auction in 2012. Henley's lawyers knocked on the door. Horowitz, Inciardi and Sanders, in various combinations, began arguing about alternative versions of the manuscripts' origins, the indictment says.
In one story, Sanders found the discarded pages in a dressing room backstage. In other cases, he got it from a stage assistant or by “gathering a lot of material about the Eagles from different people.” In another case, he received it from Frey — a report that would “put this behind us once and for all,” Horowitz suggested in 2017. Frey had died the year before.
According to the indictment, Sanders delivered or signed some of the different statements, and it is unclear what he may have expressed verbally. But he apparently rejected at least the locker room story.
Kosinki forwarded a statement approved by Sanders to Henley's attorney. Kosinski also assured Sotheby's auction house that the musician had “no claim” to the documents and asked that potential bidders be kept in the dark about Henley's complaints, the indictment says.
Sotheby's had listed the Hotel California lyrics in an auction in 2016, but withdrew them after it was revealed that the ownership was in question. Sotheby's is not charged in the case and declined to comment.
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