TMS Muse of the Week: Patti Davis

(PA Images)

Only three weeks after proclaiming this an apolitical newsletter, I’m already treading bumpy water with my next MOTW. And it’s going to be hard to keep the focus outside of political controversy too as the lady of topic has her own experience there to boot. To many, she’s the youngest daughter of former US President Ronald Reagan. To classic rock fans, she might be the ex-girlfriend of musician Bernie Leadon, and inadvertently became the center of some drama with his band the Eagles in the mid-1970s. Born Patricia Ann Reagan, but better known as Patti Davis, this muse is a unique public figure who many ‘black sheep’ of families can probably relate to. Patti was very famously the original black sheep of the Reagans who detailed things may not have been the picturesque assumption Americans had about the movie star-turned-politician and his family. Born in Los Angeles, CA, in 1952, Patti was raised back-and-forth in Bel Air, CA and Mayer, AZ. In a New York Times op-ed she coined earlier this year, the brunette revealed she had a bad speed problem in high school and college, and sought help after a close call while driving under the influence. Known as the rebellious child because of her progressive opinions, Patti first turned heads by choosing her mother Nancy’s maiden name, Davis, when she started working professionally as an adult. From there, she quickly grew a reputation for supporting the anti-nuclear movement, marijuana legalization, animal rights and pro-choice laws, which was opposed by her conservative parents.

The most famous Reagan family conflict was when Patti chose to move in with her then boyfriend, guitarist and songwriter Bernie Leadon, in 1972. Bernie had previously been a member of the folk-rock band Hearts & Flowers in 1968 and the country-rock band the Flying Burrito Brothers in 1970-71, both with cult followings in southern California; but received a huge boost in popularity as a founding member of the legendary rock band the Eagles from 1971 to 1975. As the guitarist’s significant other, Patti was around to see the group become some of the future godfathers of soft rock and easy listening. But Patti and the Eagles would end up with some unflattering publicity after it was reported the daughter of Ronnie Reagan moved into Laurel Canyon, CA with Bernie when the former’s father was California Governor at the time. Planning to run for president in the near future, both Ronald and Nancy chose to distance themselves from Patti and publicly disapproved of her living out of wedlock.

(via facebook.com)

Three years later, the Eagles’ 1975 album ‘One of These Nights’ concluded with a ballad, ‘I Wish You Peace,’ co-written by Bernie and Patti. Known for sounding a bit out of place with the rest of the LP, Bernie claims the lyrics were primarily written by Patti, much to Eagles frontmen Don Henley and Glenn Frey’s chagrin. Rumors circulated that both men were against a woman collaborating on the record, but the pair later claimed they were only against the song being because of the group’s supposed ‘no outside songwriters’ rule. Yet Bernie insisted his girlfriend’s song be featured and everyone else should basically deal with it.

Not long after ‘One of These Nights’ was released, Patti and Bernie broke up around the same time Bernie left the band. Following stints with modeling and acting in her 20s, the socialite began her 30s writing fiction and non-fiction and later became a columnist for various newspapers and magazines. In the early 1980s, she had relationships with actors Timothy Hutton and Peter Strauss before marrying modern yoga pioneer Paul Grilley from 1984 to 1990. During various interviews and in her 1992 memoir, The Way I See It, Patti talks about how difficult it was dating when she was young because of both the secret service and paparazzi lurking nearby. Though her left-leaning opinions haven’t changed over the years, Patti and her family supposedly made up and put aside their differences before her father succumbed to Alzheimer’s in 2004. She also says regrets the tone of how she vented about her family’s dysfunctions in her memoir, although still maintains the content is true.

I personally don’t see Patti as someone who was looking to start controversy or grab attention. To me, it sounds like she just had the huge disadvantage of being at the center of the whole world while at odds with her parents, a situation anyone would be uncomfortable with. Sure, it’s easy to judge when you’re not there. But spectators never really know the full story either.