The Eagles sold out two nights at the Tarrant County Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas on Thursday, July 7th and Friday, July 8th, 1977. Jimmy Buffett was the opening act and J.D. Souther made a guest appearance both nights. The Fort Worth shows marked the next-to-last tour stop for Randy Meisner as a member of the Eagles. His last show would be at Jeppesen Stadium in Houston on July 9th, the final date of the Eagles’ 1977 Hotel California tour.
On the afternoon of July 8th, the Eagles and their road crew played Jimmy Buffett and his road crew in a softball game at nearby Eagle Mountain Lake. Buffett’s team won.
Image from the Thursday, July 7th show from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
Highlights
The Eagles/Buffett concerts were a major event in Fort Worth with a total of 28,000 people attending the shows.
“Bob Shannon, a disc jockey at KZEW, said the morning after the first concert that he received ‘a million requests for Eagles songs’ during his show. At Six Flags Over Texas during the weekend, Eagle shirts were in evidence everywhere.” (Pete Oppel/Dallas Morning News)
Oppel also noted that the Eagles seemed “looser” on Friday and “more willing to take chances and experiment. It was as if they felt they proved themselves Thursday, but this one was more fun.”
Eagles performing “Hotel California” at the Friday, July 8th concert (photo ©Bob Jones):
Extra security and fire officials were also on hand after an audience member received minor burns from fireworks at Alice Cooper’s show at the venue the week before. Glenn Frey put the kibosh on fireworks before Thursday’s show even started by announcing: “We aren’t going to tolerate any fireworks during this concert.” He received a long and loud applause.
Fan Bob Jones, who attended the Friday, July 8th show, recalled Glenn posing for him:
“I was on the 8th or 9th row, and had a HUGE telephoto lens on my 35mm camera. Glenn Frey saw me focusing my camera and held this pose until I took the photo… I thought that was very cool of him; I was thrilled!”
Setlist
Below is the setlist for both Fort Worth shows, compiled from reviews from the the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Dallas Morning News. The only difference between the sets for both nights was the final encore of Chuck Berry’s “Carol” on the second night, with J.D. Souther making a guest appearance. Souther also joined them onstage for “New Kid In Town” on the 7th. The song was dedicated both nights to Dallas Cowboy Tony Dorsett.
SETLIST
Hotel California
Walk Away
Victim Of Love
Doolin-Dalton/Desperado Reprise
Lyin’ Eyes
Take It To The Limit
New Kid In Town (J.D. Souther guests on July 7th)
Desperado
One Of These Nights
Already Gone
Life In The Fast Lane
Rocky Mountain Way
Witchy Woman
James Dean (encore)
Best Of My Love (encore)
Take It Easy (encore)
Carol (final encore on July 8th only, with J.D. Souther & Jimmy Buffett joining in)
“Take It To The Limit”
Randy performed “Take It To The limit” both nights Ft. Worth, according to Dallas Morning News music journalist, Pete Oppel. This further debunks the notion that Randy was refusing the sing the song on the Hotel California tour. It was also performed early in the show, after “Lyin’ Eyes” and before “New Kid In Town,” as it had been during the entire final leg of the tour. It was never an encore, as the History Of The Eagles documentary suggests.1 Randy also performed “Take It To The Limit” at their next show in Houston on July 9th. His last concert with the Eagles.
Below: Randy performing in Ft. Worth, July 8th, 1977.
Photo ©Bob Jones.
Show Stealer
Praise for Randy from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Dallas Morning News reviews.
“The crowd went wild for ‘Take It To The Limit,’ and with good reason. Meisner and company do a magnificent job, and were well-deserved for the standing ovation they received for it.”
“Their harmony, with Henley and Meisner leading the way, is better than ever, especially on old hits like ‘One Of These Nights’ and ‘Lyin’ Eyes.’ They make them sound brand new.”
“The Eagles opened with ‘Hotel California’ and Walsh followed with ‘Walk Away’. The band began the show at a high energy level and maintained this level throughout. What followed was every song anyone would want to hear the Eagles perform –‘Victim Of Love,’ ‘Doolin-Dalton-Desperado,’ ‘Lyin’ Eyes,’ ‘Take It To the Limit’ —once again the show stealer, raising the question of why doesn’t Meisner do more of these.”
“Meisner’s ‘Take It To The Limit’ was a stunner, and earned him a long and well-deserved ovation.”
“Walsh and Felder give life to ‘Victim Of Love’ and other rockers, while Henley and Meisner were in top form vocally on the ballads.”
Photos
More photos from the July 8th show, courtesy of Bob Jones.
Reviews
Below are the reviews from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Dallas Morning News. Click on each to enlarge.
Notes
- For the truth about Randy’s departure from the Eagles, see my blog post: “Debunking The Myths: The Knoxville 1977 Concert, “Take It To The Limit.” ↩︎
Thank You so Much Jessica
You’re welcome, Gwen!
Thank you, I enjoy reading all the articles so much! So glad you have shared the truth about Randy. Everything I have read or interviews I’ve listened to have always told about what a sweet and humble man Randy was!
I’m wondering if the fans knew Randy was leaving the Eagles? I don’t think his band mates realized, or didn’t want to acknowledged how much the fans loved Randy.
The fans didn’t realize Randy was leaving at the time. The news of his leaving didn’t break for another month or so. Randy’s bandmates knew how much the fans loved him. Both Don and Glenn commented in an interview in 1977 how fans went crazy over his performance of TITTL. I don’t think they ever thought Randy would quit. My personal feeling is that they didn’t want him to leave and never really forgave him for doing it.
I agree. If they would have treated him better he might have stayed longer, but again, family comes first and money isn’t everything. It speaks to the person he was.
I’ve gone to the website a lot, it elevates me to read and see what the Eagles were. I hope the site stays up, it’s a masterpiece, Thankyou so much 👍👍👍