In a new interview with Guitar World, Vince Gill talked about his career with Eagles and recalled calling one of the songs lame.
During the chat, the rocker recalled his conversation with his bandmate Don Henley and which ‘lame’ song started his Eagles career. Gill said:
“Don Henley told me the first song he wrote for the Eagles was ‘Desperado,’ and I said, ‘Oh, come on, man! You started with the lame stuff!’ He started laughing and said, ‘No, that was the first one,’ which, jokes aside, is a great example of the catalogue.”
Henley Is Not Happy With ‘Desperado’
The song was released back in 1973, the first years of Eagles. However, Henley actually wrote it back in the ’60s.
Once Linda Ronstadt covered it, the song blew up globally and earned a reputation as one of the band’s best-known songs. But as it appears, Henley was never fully satisfied with the vocals. Since they didn’t have any big hits back then, Henley had to work with what he had. The rocker told Mojo in 2015:
“When we are in England, recording ‘Desperado,’ I was a nervous wreck. I was standing in this huge room, Island Studios, a big orchestra right behind me, and they were bored to tears. Some older gentleman had brought chessboard, and they would play between takes. 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.”
He also wishes he could have re-recorded the song:
“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.”
You can hear ‘Desperado’ below.
