Frank Ocean has been stirring controversy with one of the best’s song off his debut album “Nostalgia, Ultra.” “American Wedding” reworks the 1977 Eagles‘ hit single, “Hotel California.” According to Ocean, Eagles founder Don Henley has reportedly threatened him with legal action if he continues to perform the song. The sample was never cleared and the song was never commercially released.
“Don Henley(‘s label-Rhino) is apparently intimidated by my rendition of Hotel California,” Ocean posted on his blog earlier this week, “He (They) threatened to sure if I perform it again. I think that’s fuckin awesome.”
“Frank Ocean did not merely ‘sample’ a portion of the Eagles’ ‘Hotel California’; he took the whole master track, plus the song’s existing melody, and replaced the lyrics with his own,” Henley’s spokesperson Larry Solters told MTV News, “This is not creative. It’s illegal.”
During his live performances, Ocean closes “American Wedding” with his back turned to the crowd, guitar in hand, rocking out to graphics from the popular video game, “Guitar Hero.”
“For the record, Don Henley has not threatened or instituted any legal action against Frank Ocean, although the Eagles are not considering whether they should.”