Eagles' Hotel California Manuscripts at Center of Unusual Criminal Trial

In the mid-1970s, the Eagles worked on the hit song "Hotel California." A rare-book dealer and others are charged with trying to sell the handwritten lyrics without permission. The trial is rare, and involves testimony from Eagles' founder Don Henley. The lyrics have a disputed ownership and are considered irreplaceable pieces of musical history. The defense maintains that the documents were not stolen. The case hinges on the Eagles' interactions with the writer Ed Sanders, who worked on an authorized Eagles biography. The trial involves large figures in the rare book and archive industry and has drawn attention from both Henley and prosecutors.