The Eagles were the main attraction at the all-star festival at Edgewater Raceway Park, located about 20 miles northwest of Cincinnati.1 Also on the bill were the Marshall Tucker Band, Fleetwood Mac, and New Riders Of The Purple Sage, among others.
This was one of Bernie Leadon’s last appearances with the band. His final show was a week later on September 28th in Anaheim.
Photos ©John Rockwood
When the Eagles took the stage in the late afternoon, it was a chilly 62 degrees. Randy wore a red shirt with another white shirt underneath, most likely as a nod to the Cincinnati Reds, who were at the top of their game in 1975. They would win the World Series three weeks later.
According to the Lexington Herald, the festival was a “moderate success” despite “several hundred gatecrashers, several drug overdoses, a potential drowning and about 20 arrests.” The Eagles were the headliners:
“The Eagles arrived about 2:30–guitarist Bernie Leadon said they were set to play at 3 p.m. (they came on about 3:45 p.m. and played a fine set which included all their big songs). Asked what they planned to do after their set, Leadon replied, ‘Go home.'” 2
Setlists.fm states that Randy sang “Take It To The Limit” at the festival. Since none of the contemporary newspaper reviews list the songs that were played, there’s no way to verify this information and Setlists.fm is a far from reliable source. However, according to the Los Angeles Times review of the Sunshine Festival in Anaheim on September 28th, Randy sang the song at that show, so it’s possible he sang it at this one as well. If this is true, these September shows may mark the first live performances of “Take It To the Limit.” 3 These September shows are also notable for being the last to feature the original four members of the Eagles. After a four-month hiatus, the band will reemerge in January 1976 for a tour of Australia and Japan, with Bernie Leadon’s replacement, Joe Walsh, in tow.
REVIEWS:
Lexington Herald, September 25, 1975
Cincinnati Enquirer, September 23, 1975 (This review was written by grumpy Cincinnati music critic, Cliff Radel, who disliked all of the acts who performed at the festival, except Kenny Rankin.)
NOTES:
1According to the Cleveland Scene, the Eagles were scheduled to perform at another music festival the day before MRMF. The Indian Summer Music Festival was supposed to be a big end-of-summer-wingding on Dragway 42 in Salem, OH, outside of Cleveland, featuring the Eagles, Pure Prairie League, Average White Band, and Ike & Tina Turner. But the event was announced, then cancelled, all within the space of 10 days.
2 Lexington Herald, September 25, 1975
3Setlists.fm also lists “Take It To The Limit” as being performed two months earlier at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on July 27th, 1975 and the Mississippi River Festival on July 29th, but the song is not listed among the songs played in any of the newspaper reviews for these shows.
It was sad to see Bernie leave, I think he like Randy just felt like hired hands and not a full founding members
I agree, and Randy himself has said the same.
AFAIK, neither Randy nor Bernie have ever said anything alluding to being hired hands – as I said, they were founding members along with Don and Glenn.
Randy and Bernie were never hired hands and in fact, they were always acknowledged by Don and Glenn as cofounding members of the group. The four original Eagles were full-fledged band members, but Don Felder was not a founding member.
Steuart Smith, the guitarist who unofficially replaced Felder when he got sacked, is a hired hand and he himself openly acknowledges that he is not a full member of The Eagles.
Here’s what Randy himself said in an interview in 1995:
“Don and Glenn were taking over at that point, and all of a sudden it was, `We don’t need you. You’re just a player in the group.’ I wasn’t feeling part of it anymore. So finally, I just left.” (Denver Westword, January 11, 1995)
Wouldn’t it be great if somebody who was at those earlier concerts reads this and can confirm, with proof, that Take It To The Limit was played in the July?
It would be. The Mississippi River Festival reviewer goes song by song practically. Unless he somehow didn’t recognize “Take It To The Limit” (One Of These Nights had only been out a month or so & it may not have been played on the radio yet). At many of those summer shows, Randy was singing “Too Many Hands.” Perhaps that was his song from OOTN they had rehearsed at the time. Nevertheless, I think it would have been cool to see TITTL performed with Bernie in the band.
I WAS THERE and the Eagles did indeed play Take it to the Limit. It was during that song that the “gate crashers” knocked down the gates, and then it became a free concert for the numerous people who were on the outside! They “took it to the limit” to get in!
That’s good to know. It seemed likely that he probably sang it. But good to have a witness. Great story! Thank you!
I was there also, I left a comment but it didn’t show up. I mainly went to see the Eagles, as mentioned in the comment I left the Marshall Tucker Band was awesome I thought, R.E.O. Speeedwagon was fantastic as always, don’t remember to much of Mac or others as I had two bottles of Jack D. with me. I partied hardy.
I was there as well i remember them playing one of these nights gate crashing went on for several minutes watching the rain of bottles and cans did you see the mound of bottles and cans before you start through the gates I stopped by and drank several bottles of beer before going through the gates first thing I saw was a sign that said pot 15 dollars a lid so i got me one best show ever seeing charlie Daniels and marshall tucker jaming together
I was there and all I remember is standing on the inside of track listening to one of these nights and watching it rain bottles and cans in where they were taking tickets between the finces people where crashing the finces the finces were torn down the people on the inside pulled it and people on out side pulled it down and the eagles we announcing it’s a free concert now
I was at this one I guess that makes me an old fart. I mainly went to see the Eagles, Marshall Tucker Band band was awesome though which did an excellent rendition of Jimi Hendrix Star Spangled Banner . I remember R.E.O. Speedwagon but not much of Fleetwood Mac or others. I had two bottles of Jack Daniels with which will explain it.