In a candid new interview, Don Henley, co-founder and longtime frontman of The Eagles, shared that there’s one iconic song from the band’s catalog that he still finds hard to listen to — despite its soaring status among fans.
Henley, known for both his vocals and his meticulous studio standards, admitted during a recent CBS Sunday Morning interview that while he’s grateful for the band’s history, there’s a track from the classic Desperado LP he avoids because he hears flaws every time he plays it back.
That song is “Desperado,” one of The Eagles’ most beloved songs and a staple of rock radio. But despite its place in music history, Henley revealed he doesn’t listen to it now — and it’s not because he dislikes the song.
In his recollection of writing and recording it with bandmate Glenn Frey, Henley said the process was intense and intimidating, especially when the London Symphony Orchestra players were in the studio. He says he only managed a handful of takes on the lead vocal, but today he hears what he wishes he could revise. Because of that, he almost never revisits the finished recording.
“I think I got to do about four takes, maybe five and I still have a little trouble with the intonation on the lead vocal to this day,” Henley confessed — explaining that hearing those imperfections now makes it difficult for him to listen.
Henley’s reluctance to listen to “Desperado” isn’t just about that one track. He said it’s typical for him not to play his own music once it’s recorded and released — especially when he’s had to perform it live hundreds of times.
“Why would I, [when] I have to play it every night?” he asked rhetorically. Henley noted that he doesn’t listen to much music at all anymore — sometimes the radio, occasionally classical records, or even audiobooks — simply because after decades on the road, anything can “get old.” For someone who helped craft some of rock’s most enduring songs, that candid admission highlights the very personal relationship artists often have with their own art — where perfection and memory sometimes outweigh popularity.
