A recent Billboard "Chart Rewind" feature revisits how country legend Conway Twitty scored the 40th and final number one of his career in 1986 with "Desperado Love," a song shaped by its co-writer's own personal hardship. Sammy Johns, previously known for the pop hit "Chevy Van," wrote the track after nearly losing his home and turning to drink to cope with depression, channelling that despair into the song's title and theme. The single's chart-topping run made Twitty the first artist ever to reach 40 number ones on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, a milestone at the time surpassed only later by George Strait.

Twitty recorded "Desperado Love" with co-producers Dee Henry, who became his wife in 1987, and Ron Treat, with Vince Gill contributing backing vocals. Released as the lead single from his album "Fallin' for You for Years," it entered the country chart in June 1986 and hit number one that September. Although it was his last top ten hit on that particular chart ranking, his following eight singles all reached the top ten, including three number two hits in 1987. Twitty, born Harold Jenkins in Mississippi, died in June 1993 aged 59 and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999.