"Desperado" is a

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. C ...

by the American rock band the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

. The track was written by

Glenn Frey Glenn Lewis Frey (; November 6, 1948 – January 18, 2016) was an American singer, guitarist and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. Frey was the co-lead singer and frontman for the Eagles, roles he came to share with fellow member Don ...

and

Don Henley Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. He is the drummer and one of the lead singers for the Eagles. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles hits such as "Witchy Woman", "Despe ...

and appeared on the 1973 album ''

Desperado Desperado may refer to: * Outlaw, particularly in the American Old West Books * ''Desperadoes'' (comics), a comic book series * ''Desperadoes'' (novel), a 1979 novel by Ron Hansen * Desperado Publishing, an American independent comic book publ ...

'' as well as numerous

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

s. Although it was never released as a single, it became one of Eagles' best-known songs. It ranked No. 494 on ''Rolling Stone''s 2004 list of "

The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

Composition

According to Henley, "Desperado" was based on a song he started in 1968, written in the style of old songs by

Stephen Foster Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826January 13, 1864), known also as "the father of American music", was an American composer known primarily for his parlour music, parlour and Minstrel show, minstrel music during the Romantic music, Romantic ...

. The song was originally about a friend named Leo and with the opening line "Leo, my God, why don't you come to your senses..." In 1972, after they had recorded their first album, ''

'', in London,

and Henley decided that they should write songs together, and within a day or two after returning from London they wrote "Desperado". They also wrote " Tequila Sunrise" in the first week of their collaboration. In their first songwriting session at Henley's home in

Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles Laurel Canyon is a mountainous neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills region of the Santa Monica Mountains, within the Hollywood Hills West district of Los Angeles, California. The main thoroughfare of Laurel Canyon Boulevard connects the neighb ...

, Henley played Frey the unfinished version of the song, and said: "When I play it and sing it, I think of

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

and Stephen Foster. It's really a

Southern Gothic Southern Gothic is an artistic subgenre of fiction, country music, film and television that are heavily influenced by Gothic elements and the American South. Common themes of Southern Gothic include storytelling of deeply flawed, disturbing or ...

thing, but we can easily make it more Western." According to Henley, Frey "leapt right on it – filled in the blanks and brought structure", and the song became "Desperado". Henley added: "And that was the beginning of our songwriting partnership ... that's when we became a team."

Recording

The song was recorded at

Island Studios An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in London, with musicians from the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

. The orchestra was conducted by

Jim Ed Norman Jim Ed Norman is an American musician, multi-platinum record producer, arranger and label-head. As an arranger and producer, he was one of the principal architects of the distinctive sound of West Coast 1970s pop and country rock. He was Preside ...

, Henley's friend from his former band Shiloh, who also wrote and arranged the strings for the song. According to Henley, he was given only four or five takes to record the song by the producer Glyn Johns who wanted to record the album quickly and economically. Henley felt intimidated by the large orchestra, and would later express regret that he did not sing as well as he could. He said: "I didn't sing my best ... I wish I could have done that song again."

Reception

"Desperado" is one of Eagles' most famous songs, and it was ranked No. 494 on the ''Rolling Stone''s list of "

" in 2004. It was voted the second-most-favorite Eagles song in a poll of ''Rolling Stone'' readers. In 2000, the song was included in ''

MOJO Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...

'' magazine's list of greatest songs, nominated by songwriters such as

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

Hal David Harold Lane David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He grew up in New York City. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick. Early life David ...

, and

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

. Members of the

Western Writers of America Western Writers of America (WWA), founded 1953, promotes literature, both fictional and nonfictional, pertaining to the American West. Although its founders wrote traditional Western fiction, the more than 600 current members also include historian ...

included it in their list of the Top 100 Western songs of all time. In 2017, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' ranked the song number two on their list of the 15 greatest Eagles songs, and in 2019, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' ranked the song number three on their list of the 40 greatest Eagles songs. According to an interview with Don Henley, "Desperado" was not a hit for the Eagles until Linda Ronstadt recorded it. William Ruhlmann of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

considered it one of Eagles' major compositions.

Paul Gambaccini Paul Matthew Gambaccini (born April 2, 1949) is an American-British radio and television presenter and author in the United Kingdom. He has dual United States and British nationality, having become a British citizen in 2005. Known as "The Grea ...

of ''

'' felt it was Henley's rough voice that made the song memorable. The Eagles' recording never charted on ''Billboard'' until the death of Glenn Frey, when it reached No. 20 on the Rock Digital Songs chart. After the antagonist of the film ''

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ''Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2'' is a 2017 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team Guardians of the Galaxy, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to ' ...

'' claimed that "

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

" by Looking Glass was "Earth's finest composition", that band's lead guitarist and songwriter

Elliot Lurie Elliot Lurie (born August 19, 1948) is an American musician who was the lead guitarist, songwriter, and co-lead vocalist for the band Looking Glass from 1969 to 1974. He wrote and sang lead on their 1972 #1 hit single " Brandy (You're a Fine Gi ...

countered that "Desperado" should have that title.

Personnel

– lead vocals, drums *

– piano, backing vocals *

Bernie Leadon Bernie Leadon (pronounced ''led-un''; born July 19, 1947) is an American singer, musician, songwriter and founding member of the Eagles, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Prior to the Eagles, he was a member ...

– electric guitar, backing vocals *

Randy Meisner Randall Herman Meisner (born March 8, 1946) is a retired American musician, singer, songwriter and founding member of the Eagles. Throughout his professional musical career, Meisner's main role was that of bassist and backing high-harmony vocal ...

– bass, backing vocals *

– string arrangement

Certifications and sales

Cover versions

Charted versions

Johnny Rodriguez Juan Raoul Davis "Johnny" Rodriguez (born December 10, 1951) is an American country music singer. He is a Tejano and Texas country music singer, infusing his music with Latin sounds, and even singing verses of songs in Spanish. In the 1970s an ...

's version on his 1976 album Reflecting was released as a single, and reached No. 5 on both the Country Singles charts of ''

'' in the United States and ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' in Canada. *

Clint Black Clint Patrick Black (born February 4, 1962) is an American country music singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Signed to RCA Nashville in 1989, Black's debut album '' Killin' Time'' produced four straight number one singles on the ...

on Eagles' tribute album '' Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles''. His rendition peaked at No. 54 on

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

in 1993 in the US, and No. 52 on the Country chart in Canada. *

Diana Krall Diana Jean Krall (born November 16, 1964) is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, including over six million in the US. On December 11, 2009, '' Billboard'' maga ...

covered the song on her 2015 album ''

Wallflower ''Erysimum'', or wallflower, is a genus of flowering plants in the cabbage family, Brassicaceae. It includes more than 150 species, both popular garden plants and many wild forms. The genus ''Cheiranthus'' is sometimes included here in whole o ...

'' and released as a single in September 2014. The song debuted on ''Billboard''s Jazz Digital Songs chart at No. 3. *

Alisan Porter Alisan Leigh Porter (born June 20, 1981) is an American pop, rock & country singer, actress, and dancer. As a child, Porter made acting appearances in '' Parenthood'', '' Stella'' and ''I Love You to Death''. Her breakout role came in 1991, when ...

performed the song as a competitor in the tenth season of ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

'' TV series. Her version of the song charted on Bubbling Under Hot 100 at No. 9, and No. 24 on Digital Songs.

Other versions

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

on her 1973 album ''

Don't Cry Now ''Don't Cry Now'' is the fourth solo studio album by Linda Ronstadt and the first of her studio releases for Asylum Records, following six albums recorded for and released on Capitol Records including three she recorded as a member of The Stone Po ...

''. Henley credited Ronstadt for popularizing the song with this early cover of the song, and described her version as "poignant, and beautiful". *

Carpenters Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters t ...

on their 1975 album ''

Horizon The horizon is the apparent line that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This line divides all viewing directions based on whether i ...

''. *

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

on his 1977 album ''

Daytime Friends ''Daytime Friends'' is the third studio album by Kenny Rogers for United Artists Records, released worldwide in 1977. It was his second major success following the break-up of The First Edition in 1976 (his first album '' Love Lifted Me'' was a mi ...

''. *

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ec ...

on her 1979 album ''

Hard Times for Lovers ''Hard Times for Lovers'' is the twelfth studio album by American singer and songwriter Judy Collins, released by Elektra Records in 1979. This was Collins' first new recording since ''Bread and Roses'' in 1976; it earned some extra publicity ...

'' * Chris LeDoux on his 1982 album ''Used to Want to Be a Cowboy''. *

Emi Fujita is a Japanese singer. She debuted as a singer with her husband Ryuji Fujita as the duo Le Couple. Their first album was released in 1994. Fujita made her solo debut in 2001. Her series of ''Camomile'' CDs are covers of popular western songs. ''R ...

Vamp The VaMP driverless car was one of the first truly autonomous cars Dynamic Vision for Perc ...

on ''Camomile'' (2001). *

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

on his 2002 album '' American IV: The Man Comes Around''. Henley sings backup on the track. * Superfly on their 2010 album ''Wildflower and Cover Songs: Complete Best''. *

Miranda Lambert Miranda Leigh Lambert (born November 10, 1983) is an American country singer and guitarist. Born in Longview, Texas, she started out in early 2001 when she released her self-titled debut album independently. In 2003, she finished in third place o ...

performed the song at the 2015

Kennedy Center Honors The Kennedy Center Honors are annual honors given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. They have been presented annually since 1978, culminating each December in a gala celebrating five hono ...

as a tribute to Eagles. *

Kristin Chenoweth Kristin Dawn Chenoweth (; born Kristi Dawn Chenoweth; July 24, 1968)Kristin Cheno ...

covered the song on her 2019 album ''For The Girls''. * The Langley Schools Music Project on the 1977 album.

In popular culture

The original song, along with "

Witchy Woman "Witchy Woman" is a song written by Don Henley and Bernie Leadon, and recorded by the American rock band Eagles. Released as the second single from the band's debut album ''Eagles'', it reached No. 9 on the ''Billboard'' pop singles chart. Backg ...

", were both featured in the ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

'' episode "

The Checks "The Checks" is the 141st episode of the sitcom '' Seinfeld''. This was the seventh episode for the eighth season, originally airing on NBC on November 7, 1996. In this episode, the last to feature the writing team of Tom Gammill and Max Pross, E ...

". In the episode, the song's impact is poked fun at, as various characters have to pause whatever they are doing and listen to the song, often becoming somber and withdrawn when they do so. The song inspired the title of the 1987

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

, ''

'', written by

Elmore Leonard Elmore John Leonard Jr. (October 11, 1925August 20, 2013) was an American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. His earliest novels, published in the 1950s, were Westerns, but he went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thri ...

.Walter Mirisch, ''I Thought We Were Making Movies, Not History'' (2008), p. 372.

References

{{Authority control 1973 songs 1970s ballads Andy Williams songs Clint Black songs Country ballads Eagles (band) songs Johnny Rodriguez songs Kenny Rogers songs Linda Ronstadt songs Johnny Cash songs Kokia (singer) songs The Carpenters songs Rock ballads Song recordings produced by Glyn Johns Songs written by Don Henley Songs written by Glenn Frey