“Too Many Hands”

(Updated August 2025)

“One song I wrote…well, I wrote the lyrics, is called ‘Too Many Hands.’ It’s one…that I’m glad I was involved with and able to write because it’s almost coming true now. It’s about destroying our Mother Earth and what I don’t like about destroying it. So maybe that’ll be a classic someday–when there’s nobody here to play it. (laughs)” -Randy Meisner, interview on KBSG radio in Tacoma, WA, May 12, 1988.

“Too Many Hands” was the second track on the Eagles’ fourth album, One Of These Nights, released in June 1975. It was also the B-side to the hit, “Lyin’ Eyes.” The lyrics, written by Randy, featured a clever play on words about “too many hands” destroying the earth.

_{Credits for “Too Many Hands” from the One Of These Nights album inner sleeve.}

It’s no surprise that Randy wrote a song about ecology. His first wife Jennifer recalled that he hated the L.A. smog so much that he wore a gas mask when he drove his convertible green Austin-Healy Sprite around Los Angeles in the late 1960s:

Jennifer:

“Randy bought a gas mask to wear when he drove it, he hated and I mean hated the smog back then!! He would wear this big crazy gas mask, with the top down. He also despised buses. They would pull out and emit clouds of black crap.”¹

The L.A. smog was one of the reasons Randy and Jennifer bought a condo in Palm Springs in 1979.

Randy:

“There’s no smog out in the open [in Palm Springs], and it reminds me of an open space, like Nebraska. You can go up in the mountains, ride your Harley and have a good time.”²

One Of These Nights’ recording engineer Michael Braunstein had his own take on what “Too Many Hands” was about. In addition to being a song about the planet, he felt it was also a patriotic song.

Braunstein:

“1975-76 were not ordinary years in this country. America — the world, for that matter — was hyper-aware of the Bicentennial of our Declaration of Independence…Among the groups I engineered albums with over that period were Eagles, Frank Zappa, Grand Funk. All three released songs in reference to the Bicentennial year. This first is the Eagles ‘Too Many Hands,’ by far my favorite. (From the ‘One of These Nights’ album.)

“The context must include that the lyric is written and sung by fellow Nebraska native Randy Meisner, Eagles’ founding member and original bass player. Randy grew up on a farm in the Sandhills of Western Nebraska which informs his character and values…

“I’m not friends with Randy, haven’t seen him in 20 years or more. We have had some conversations in the past, both in the studio and sitting next to each other on plane flights. This song, of the three, is the most arcane; has double meanings as much good poetry does. View the lyric in context of 1976, of America struggling in certain theaters around the world and perhaps seeing Lady Liberty as being taken advantage of and in jeopardy. But never underestimate the Lady: Her fire is still burning. (Just put yourself in the mindset of, well, you know…)”
-Michael Braunstein, 2015

_{Randy photographed in Rotterdam, June 21st, 1975}

Recording

In his autobiography, Don Felder, who composed the music for “Too Many Hands” and played lead guitar on the track (along with Glenn Frey), described how recording the song literally made his fingers bleed:

“‘Too Many Hands’ [was] a raucous rock-and-roll number with a rhythm guitar riff that Don and Glenn had really liked and with toe-to-toe guitar solos by Glenn and me.

“That song actually made my hands bleed. The basic track was played on a twelve-string acoustic guitar, which you need the hands of a gorilla to play, because it just eats you up. During the recording at the Record Plant, I took a break and jumped into the ‘scum pond’ (hot tub) to relax a little. The hot water softened the callouses on my hands, and when I went back in to finish laying down the track, the skin on my fingers opened up and bled.”³

_{Randy with fan Kazumasa Matsuo at Criteria Studios in Miami during the recording of One Of These Nights.}

Banshee

During the recording of One Of These Nights, some working titles used the band member’s nicknames. Randy’s nickname was “Banshee” and the working title for “Too Many Hands” was “Banshee vs The Cave ******” (The last word is a derogatory term I will not publish here.)

Record Plant engineer Michael Braunstein kept a date book during the recording of One Of These Nights, plus other albums he was working on during the period. Below is a photo from the book showing the week of March 30th-April 5th, 1975.

Braunstein describes what’s on the pages:

“My Little Red Book, 1975, shows this was a busy week recording the Eagles in Studio B, RPLA. Got Zappa lacquers back for proofing on Tuesday. One of These Nights was the monster breakthrough album by the boys. Best display of their versatility of any LP, before or since. Those 3 singles charted 1,1 & 4 with vox by Henley, Frey & Meisner. I see we tracked drums Friday with Szymczyk’s fave OHs: PML DC73s. That booth was the deadest. Also recorded the dueling outro solos on ‘Too Many Hands’ (working title: Banshee versus the… etc) w. Frey & Felder. They both used the same Fender Twin in that tiny sound lock, played from the control room. Great licks on that.” ⁴

(RPLA = Record Plant Los Angeles. Lacquers = test acetates)

_{Photo ©Michael Braunstein}

Rehearsal

Below is a rehearsal of “Too Many Hands” from the 1975 recording sessions. We do not hear the “Banshee” in this recording. It is all instrumental.⁵

_{“Too Many Hands” 45 (B-side to “Lyin’ Eyes”)}

Album Version

The final version of “Too Many Hands” that appeared on One Of These Nights:

_{Lyrics for “Too Many Hands” from the One Of These Nights Songbook (published 1976).}

Live Performances

One Of These Nights was a turning point not only for the Eagles, but also for Randy Meisner.

Randy:

“I didn’t get to shine too often with the Eagles but One Of These Nights turned out to be a big album for me.” ⁶

The shining moment Randy alluded to was “Take It To The Limit.” Released in December 1975, it was the Eagles’ biggest-selling single up to that point. Randy’s performances of the song have become legendary. But, when the Eagles first toured in support of One Of These Nights in the Spring of 1975, “Take It To The Limit” was not yet part of the setlist.⁷ At that time, “Too Many Hands” was the song Randy chose to perform live. His message song. It became a staple at Eagles concerts throughout 1975 and early 1976.

One of the earliest live recordings of “Too Many Hands” was at Boston Music Hall on May 14th, 1975. It begins with an intro by Bernie Leadon. The band plays the song very close to the original, but with a few extra bass licks thrown in by Randy. The Boston Globe noted that the song was “a far cry from ‘Desperado’ with an “expanded blues sound.”⁸ As always, the recording sounds best with earbuds or headphones.

Below is a favorite Eagles-era performance from Osaka, Japan on February 3rd, 1976. Randy was very popular with Japanese fans. In this audience recording, you can hear yells for his name at the beginning and end of the song:

Randy continued to perform “Too Many Hands” after he left the Eagles. Here is a recording from August 25th, 1978 at the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach CA. This was his first solo concert after leaving the Eagles. The addition of flute at the end gives it a sound reminiscent of Firefall or Traffic. Two bands he admired.⁹

Find more live recordings below (all with the Eagles unless otherwise noted):
Spectrum, Philadelphia, May 17, 1975
Wembley Stadium, London, June 21, 1975
Japan, February 2-9, 1976 (multiple recordings)
Tampa Stadium, July 4, 1976
Rainbow Music Hall, Denver, CO, February 28, 1981 (solo)
Nick’s Uptown Theater, Dallas, TX, December 1, 1982 (solo)

_{Original Eagles press photo, 1975 (Photography: Norman Seeff)}

Critical Acclaim

“The acoustic guitar on Meisner and Felder’s ‘Too Many Hands’ easily outdistances anything (Stephen) Stills has managed in recent years, and Meisner’s vocal on the track is his most arresting since the band’s debut.” (Crawdaddy, September 1975)

“Meisner’s ‘Too Many Hands’ is one of the LP’s strongest songs. With Felder and Frey leading the attack, the number becomes a feast for guitar freaks: from high-voltage screaming electrics to the intriguing harmonic variation played on the acoustics.” (Daily Tar Heel, July 24, 1975)

“All the cuts are long, juicy with intricate string byplay and infectious rhythm patterns, and the Eagles make you wish almost every cut would go on forever, particularly the hard-driving ‘Too Many Hands,’ in which the lyrics and harmonies become a ‘sixth’ musician.” (Detroit Free Press, June 22, 1975)

“Songs such as ‘One Of These Nights,’ ‘Journey Of The Sorcerer,” and ‘Too Many Hands,” are what have really made One Of These Nights a top seller.” (Paris News, Paris, Texas, September 22, 1975)

_{Billboard chose “Too Many Hands and “Take It To The Limit” as 2 of the 4 “best cuts” from One Of These Nights:}

Becoming a Classic

Over the last nearly five decades, “Too Many Hands” has become an essential Eagles deep track. In 2003, the Palm Beach Post did a Top Ten list of such songs and “Too Many Hands” came in at number 8 (see more of the list here).

The following was written on March 17th, 2005 by Mark Wilson of the Evansville Press & Courier. It was a review of the Eagles Box which was a CD compilation of everything Eagles. I thought a fitting close to this piece was what he had to say about Randy. It’s not necessarily about “Too Many Hands,” but how Randy was the “the most underrated talent” in the band. The secret weapon, in other words.

Mark Wilson, Evansville Press & Courier, 2005:

“Although guitarists Bernie Leadon, Don Felder and Joe Walsh each have their moments, the most underrated talent here is clearly original bassist Randy Meisner, who stayed in the group through it’s megahit album Hotel California before quitting in 1977.

“Meisner’s high voice added a lot to the band’s country harmonies, and his bass playing added much of the band’s rock muscle, especially before the addition of Felder and, later, Walsh. But it is his songwriting that really shines through both on hits such as “Take It to the Limit” (possibly the ultimate Eagles song) and album tracks such as “Is It True?” “Tryin,” “Take the Devil” and “Too Many Hands.”

Notes

1. Personal correspondence with Jennifer Meisner. ↩︎
2. Omaha World-Herald, October 14, 1984 ↩︎
3. Don Felder, Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles (1974–2001), 2007 ↩︎
4. Public Facebook entry, 2015 ↩︎
5. The recording was part of the infamous 4-volume Eagles bootleg series called “Soul Pole.” Soul Pole was producer Bill Szymczyk’s nickname. He created these compilations of studio outtakes and funny moments to give to band members and friends as gifts. ↩︎
6. The Story of the Eagles: The Long Run by Marc Shapiro, 1995 ↩︎
7. “Take It To The Limit” was not performed with any regularity until 1976. In fact, the first documented performance of the song was at the Sunshine Festival in Anaheim, California on September 28th, 1975. The Eagles last show of the year (and Bernie Leadon’s last with the band). ↩︎
8. Boston Globe, May 17, 1975 ↩︎
9. The Traffic influence is not by chance. According to Stephen Love, their band Goldrush covered songs by Traffic in 1970, including “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” on which Randy sang lead. Love further noted that Randy was particularly fond of the Traffic songs by founding member, Dave Mason. ↩︎