1973 Country-Rock Album Released 53 Years Ago Today Produced Zero Hit Singles Before Becoming a Timeless Classic
The Eagles did not strike gold with every record.
On April 17, 1973, exactly 53 years ago today, the band released Desperado, their ambitious Old West concept album. It debuted at a lowly No. 145 on the Billboard 200 and peaked at No. 41 in its eighth week. Neither of the two singles, "Tequila Sunrise" nor "Outlaw Man," cracked the Top 50. To this day, Desperado remains the Eagles' lowest-charting studio album.
The Old West Concept
The idea for the album came to the band after a Tim Hardin concert. Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Jackson Browne, and J.D. Souther were sitting around jamming when Browne pulled out a book on Old West gunfighters given to him by Ned Doheny for his 21st birthday. That book sparked the album's anti-hero concept. The track "Doolin-Dalton" is a direct tribute to the real-life Doolin-Dalton Gang.
The Eagles recorded Desperado at Island Studios in London with producer Glyn Johns and released it on Asylum Records.
Not One Hit Single
The album's title track is one of the Eagles' most iconic songs. Yet "Desperado" was never released as a single. It was also the first co-write between Henley and Frey, who would go on to anchor the band's biggest hits. Their debut album had produced three hits, including "Take It Easy" and "Witchy Woman," but Desperado produced none.
How Linda Ronstadt Made 'Desperado' a Classic
The song's leap into the cultural canon owes a great deal to Linda Ronstadt. Ronstadt covered "Desperado" on her October 1973 album Don't Cry Now, just months after the Eagles released the original. Henley said in 2016 that the song "didn't get much attention until Linda Ronstadt recorded it." He called her version "poignant, and beautiful."
The Album's Legacy Today
Desperado eventually went double platinum. The album, once a commercial disappointment, is now considered an essential chapter of the Eagles' catalog and one of the defining country-rock records of the 1970s.
Fifty-three years later, "Desperado" still anchors Eagles tribute performances and Henley's solo shows. Not bad for a flop.
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This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 11:04 AM.