The Cover of ‘Desperado’ I Knew Better Than The Eagles’ Version

The song 'Desperado' is one of the Eagles' greatest hits and one of their best-known songs. But the version I first heard growing up wasn't done by the Eagles.

The version I first heard was actually a cover version of the song that Kenny Rogers sang on his album, 'Daytime Friends.' The Eagles' original version, written by Don Henley and Glen Frey, appeared as the title track of their second album, which was released in 1973.

Growing up, though, my and parents (and, thus, me) were big Kenny Rogers fans. And he was just hitting his stride when his 'Daytime Friends' album came out back in 1977. And on it, was his version of Desperado. So, having heard that album a lot as a kid, it was quite the surprise when I heard the original version by the Eagles. In fact, I was so familiar with Kenny's cover, I remember thinking that the original Eagles' version was actually a cover of the Kenny Rogers' version.

Desperado, of course, has been covered many times since then, by many different artists, including a cool version by Miranda Lambert at the Kennedy Center Honors last December. But I still remember this version better. Check it out...