Hotel
Here a few links to the most recent Hotel activity
- Hotel Facebook Page
- First recording collaboration in approximately 40 years
- An old track found by Lee Bargeron. It was cut during a 1980 session. It did not make the album.
About Hotel
Hotel was a power pop group formed in Birmingham, Alabama in 1973. Various personnel changes marked their early formative years; however, the group solidified their lineup in 1976 with original members Marc Phillips on lead vocals/piano and Tommy Calton on guitar/vocals. Rounding out the most popular formation of this group were Lee Bargeron on keyboards/acoustic guitar/vocals, Mike Reid on guitar/vocals, George Creasman on bass/vocals, and Michael Cadenhead on drums/vocals, which is the lineup that recorded their 2 MCA studio albums.
Hotel was a power pop group formed in Birmingham, Alabama in 1973. Various personnel changes marked their early formative years; however, the group solidified their lineup in 1976 with original members Marc Phillips on lead vocals/piano and Tommy Calton on guitar/vocals. Rounding out the most popular formation of this group were Lee Bargeron on keyboards/acoustic guitar/vocals, Mike Reid on guitar/vocals, George Creasman on bass/vocals, and Michael Cadenhead on drums/vocals, which is the lineup that recorded their 2 MCA studio albums.
Hotel was a power pop group formed in Birmingham, Alabama in 1973. Various personnel changes marked their early formative years; however, the group solidified their lineup in 1976 with original members Marc Phillips on lead vocals/piano and Tommy Calton on guitar/vocals. Rounding out the most popular formation of this group were Lee Bargeron on keyboards/acoustic guitar/vocals, Mike Reid on guitar/vocals, George Creasman on bass/vocals, and Michael Cadenhead on drums/vocals, which is the lineup that recorded their 2 MCA studio albums.
Mikal, Reid, Michael Cadenhead, Lee Bargeron, George Creasmon, Tommy Calton, and Marc Phillips
In 1977, Hotel composed music for the Birmingham Ballet--take a listen to here. In 1978, Hotel released a single for Mercury Records, "You'll Love Again." Although it only reached #71 on the Billboard Hot 100, it was very popular in its regional area where the band toured constantly and built a solid following. In a foreboding sign of things to come, Mercury failed to provide the support needed to push the record, and the group and label mutually agreed to part ways.
In 1979, they signed with MCA Records and released their debut album. Simply entitled "Hotel," the album was a collection of power pop tunes. MCA released the songs "You've Got Another Thing Coming" which reached #54, becoming the band's highest charting single, and "Hold On To The Night", penned by Phillips and prolific 1960s songwriter Barry Mann (co-writer of "On Broadway," "You've Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’" and many more).
In 1979, they signed with MCA Records and released their debut album. Simply entitled "Hotel," the album was a collection of power pop tunes. MCA released the songs "You've Got Another Thing Coming" which reached #54, becoming the band's highest charting single, and "Hold On To The Night", penned by Phillips and prolific 1960s songwriter Barry Mann (co-writer of "On Broadway," "You've Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’" and many more).
Tommy Calton, Mikal Reid, Michael Cadenhead, Marc Phillips, George Creasman, and Lee Bargeron
It appeared that by 1980, popular music moved away from power pop to new wave. New wave combined elements of progressive rock, punk, and disco and had a combination synthesizer and guitar-based sound. Rock purists saw new wave as a soulless and fleeting style; nevertheless, it became the new marketable formula for pop radio success during that time. This style was first captured by acts such as Elvis Costello, The Cars and Blondie in the late 1970s and was the norm for pop-rock artists by the 1980s who were weren't hardcore enough to slip into the post punk genre or the few true rock artists who followed Van Halen into hair band pop metal a few years later.
Seeing this change in the music environment taking place, Hotel began work on their second album, "Half-Moon Silver", which was released by MCA in 1980. Though this 2nd album contained some strong power pop tunes and was quite a bit edgier than the debut album, it lacked proper promotion and sold even less than the debut album, which led MCA to drop the act. While Hotel had a strong regional following and the group was loaded top to bottom with highly-talented musicians, the group disbanded in 1982.
Seeing this change in the music environment taking place, Hotel began work on their second album, "Half-Moon Silver", which was released by MCA in 1980. Though this 2nd album contained some strong power pop tunes and was quite a bit edgier than the debut album, it lacked proper promotion and sold even less than the debut album, which led MCA to drop the act. While Hotel had a strong regional following and the group was loaded top to bottom with highly-talented musicians, the group disbanded in 1982.
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