[4] 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..."[5] In 1972, after they had recorded their debut studio album, Eagles, in London, Glenn Frey and Henley decided that they should write songs together, and within a day or two after returning from London they wrote "Desperado".
"[5] According to Henley, Frey "leapt right on it – filled in the blanks and brought structure", and the song became "Desperado".
The orchestra was conducted by Jim Ed Norman, Henley's friend from his former band Shiloh, who also wrote and arranged the strings for the song.
[15] According to an interview with Don Henley, "Desperado" was not a hit for the Eagles until Linda Ronstadt recorded it.
[17][18] Paul Gambaccini of Rolling Stone felt it was Henley's rough voice that made the song memorable.
2 (2017) claimed that "Brandy" by Looking Glass was "Earth's finest composition", that band's lead guitarist and songwriter Elliot Lurie countered that "Desperado" should have that title.
The song inspired the title of the 1987 Western television film, Desperado, written by Elmore Leonard.