The Eagles song inspired by Ray Charles
There are several iconic Eagles tunes that have made the American band one of the best-selling rock outfits of all time. Amongst them are ‘Take It Easy’, ‘Life in the Fast Lane’ and of course, who could forget the timeless ‘Hotel California’.
Yet one of the Eagles’ most popular tunes is ‘Desperado’, the telling of a cowboy who is reluctant to fall in love. Others have claimed that the song is about a young man discovering the wonders of the guitar and joining a band, only for it to cause him great stress.
Discussing the song, Don Henley said that it paid homage to one of the rock and roll greats, Ray Charles. He said, “Glenn [Frey] came over to write one day, and I showed him this unfinished tune that I had been holding for so many years. I said, ‘When I play it and sing it, I think of Ray Charles – Ray Charles and Stephen Foster. It’s really a Southern gothic thing, but we can easily make it more Western.’ Glenn leapt right on it – filled in the blanks, and brought structure. And that was the beginning of our songwriting partnership – that’s when we became a team.”
However, Henley also noted that he had been unhappy with his vocals on the track. He once said, “When we are in England, recording ‘Desperado,’ I was a nervous wreck. I was standing in this huge room, Island Studios, with a big orchestra right behind me, and they were bored to tears. Some older gentleman had brought chessboards, and they would play between takes.”
He added, “I would hear these remarks like, ‘Well, you know, I don’t feel much like a desperado.’ I was so intimidated that I didn’t sing my best. Our producer Glyn Johns, who is still a friend of mine, I think, wanted to get the album done quickly and economically, and he didn’t let me do many takes. I wish I could have done that song again.”
The Eagles tune was never released as a single, but singer Linda Ronstadt recorded a cover version of the tune. Both Don Henley and Glenn Frey had toured in her backing band in 1971, just before the Eagles formed. Henley said of the cover version, “I was extremely flattered that Linda recorded ‘Desperado’. It was really her that popularized the song. Her version was very poignant and beautiful.”
Ultimately though, despite it not actually being released as an Eagles single, ‘Desperado’ became a true fan favourite, and given the Western feel to the tune, it has been used in many popular Western films, including The Wild Bunch and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.
