The Eagles’ Don Henley and Glenn Frey became sole songwriters for the band, particularly since their 1973 release, Desperado. The band’s fourth album, One Of These Nights, featured contributions from guitarist Bernie Leadon, including “I Wish You Peace.”
Unfortunately, Henley, who joined Leadon to write the group’s second single, “Witchy Woman,” did not like “I Wish You Peace,” which Leadon wrote with his then-girlfriend, Patti Davis. “Nobody else wanted it,” Henley admitted. “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.”
Don Henley and Glenn Frey regretted recording “I Wish You Peace”
Frey and Henley thought “I Wish You Peace” was a bad idea. However, Leadon left the band due to tour stress and drug abuse after a messy backstage fight between himself and Frey. “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,” the guitarist recalled.
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According to Henley, Leadon’s song was not “something the Eagles are proud of,” seeing as they collaborated with the likes of Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Jack Tempchin, and Bob Seger. Joe Walsh took Leadon’s place before the release of Hotel California, however, One of These Nights — the album Leadon insisted his single be on —became the group’s hit topping the Billboard 200 charts.
Leadon’s ex-lover and co-writer was former president Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan’s daughter. While the song was in the works, former President Reagan was the Republican governor of California. Patti started the song, and Leadon helped her complete it to make the lyrics, “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.”
Fans believe Henley’s dislike for the song was more of a sentiment than an objective criticism of it, particularly due to the politically related discomfort it brought the band. He described “I Wish You Peace’ as some “swampy cocktail music” rather than something he wanted to be associated with.