Randy, sick with a cold, celebrated his 35th birthday by giving a concert at the Agora Ballroom in Columbus.
Photos ©Ron Kaplan
Photo ©Steven Spring (below):
His backing band, The Silverados, marked the occasion by presenting him with a cake and leading the crowd in “Happy Birthday.” They also gave him a t-shirt, which he changed into during the show.
Randy’s cold and sore throat seriously hampered his singing. He apologized for it on several occasions. But the enthusiastic audience didn’t seem to mind.
Randy donning a cowboy hat that was thrown onstage by an audience member. Photos ©Ron Kaplan.
Below: Randy’s six-piece band was crammed onto the small Agora Ballroom stage.
L-R: Sterling Smith, Bryan Garofalo, Randy, Terese Heston, Craig Krampf, Craig Hull, Don Francisco
Note Randy’s shirt change from the photos above. You can see his sweater on top of Smith’s keyboard.
Photo ©Dale Briggs
The evening also marked the return of Columbus native, keyboardist Sterling Smith, to his hometown. In this interview with the Columbus Dispatch, Smith recalls that he met Randy in November 1979, and worked with him on a project that never came to pass. Nevertheless,he kept in touch and was eventually contacted to work on Randy’s 1980 album, One More Song. Sadly, Smith passed away the same week as Randy in July 2023.
The reviews do not mention all of the twelve songs that were played, however based on reviews and live recordings from this tour, Randy usually played the same selection of numbers in his hour-long set. Opening with “Bad Man” and closing with “Hearts On Fire.” Then, coming back with “Deep Inside My Heart” and “One More Song” as encores. His shows also included three of his Eagles songs: “Take It To The Limit,” “Try & Love Again” and “Too Many Hands.”
Setlist:
Bad Man
Gotta Get Away
Take It To The Limit
Try And Love Again
Come On Back To Me
Too Many Hands
I Need You Bad
Trouble Ahead
Lonesome Cowgirl
Hearts On Fire
Deep Inside My Heart
One More Song
The next night, Randy appeared at the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland, with Rosanne Cash as the opening act.
I attended the concert in Columbus. Very sad that Randy passed away and Sterling a day later. May they Rest in Peace.
I attended this concert at the Agora Columbus. Always a big fan after he left the Eagles. It was special because of Sterling Smith being a very well known Columbus musician. It was very sad to see they both passed a day apart. RIP