When the Eagles released their eponymous 1972 debut, their second single “Witchy Woman” was the sole track written by drummer Don Henley and guitarist Bernie Leadon. It gave the band their first Top 10 at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and even charted a few notches higher than their debut single “Take It Easy.”
As Henley and Glenn Frey began taking on more of the songwriting within the band, from the Eagles’ 1973 release Desperado and moving ahead, Headon still managed to squeeze in some of his contributions, including “I Wish You Peace,” the closing track on the band’s fourth album One of These Nights.
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Patti Davis
Written by Leadon with his then-girlfriend Patti Davis, daughter of former president Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan, the song was one Henley—who helped craft some of the band’s iconic tracks including “Hotel California” and “Heartache Tonight”—was not fond of from the start.
“Nobody else wanted it,” said Henley. “We didn’t feel it was up to the band’s standards, but we put it on anyway as a gesture to keep the band together.”
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Along with the song not reaching the band’s “standards,” there was also a political slant that left them uneasy. At the time, Davis’ father was the Republican governor of California, before being elected president five years later. Davis and Leadon were living together from 1974 through 1975, and he helped her complete the song after finding her writing it one day.
I wish you peace when the cold winds blow
Warmed by the fire’s glow
I wish you comfort in the, the lonely time
Arms to hold you when you ache inside
I wish you hope when things are going bad
Kind words when times are sad
I wish you shelter from the, the raging wind
Cooling waters at the fever’s end
Leadon was also convinced that his ballad would be perfect for the Eagles’ next album One of These Nights.
Frey and Henley — who co-penned hits “Take It to the Limit,” “Lyin’ Eyes,” and “One of These Nights,” which hit No. 1 for the album — had other thoughts about the guitarist’s song, and it created a divide within the band. Tired of the rigors of touring and heavy drug use, Leadon left the Eagles shortly before the One of These Nights tour after a backstage spat that led to the guitarist pouring beer over Frey’s head.
“I basically let it be known that if they didn’t record that song, that I was gonna break his arm, or something like that,” said Leadon, who also contributed the instrumental “Journey of the Sorcerer” on One of These Nights. “It’s absurd, right? The song is ‘I Wish You Peace,’ but I’m gonna break your fucking arm if you don’t record it.”
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At the time, the Eagles were also working with co-writers like Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Jack Tempchin, and Bob Seger, and Leadon’s song was not up to par, or “something the Eagles are proud of,” according to Henley.
Regardless of the band’s mixed opinions of the closing track, One of These Nights was the Eagles’ breakthrough album, topping the Billboard 200.
One of These Nights was also the final Eagles album to feature the classic lineup of Henley, Frey, Leadon, and Randy Meisner. Don Felder would take Leadon’s spot as the band moved forward on Hotel California.
Photo: Gie Knaeps/Getty Images
