On May 17th, 1975, the Eagles played The Spectrum in Philadelphia, PA. Dan Fogelberg opened. Below you will find photos from the show, plus an audience recording featuring both songs that Randy performed that night.
The band performed three songs from their then-forthcoming album, One Of These Nights, which was released in June 1975: the title track, Bernie Leadon’s “Journey Of The Sorceror,” and “Too Many Hands,” written by Randy and Don Felder.
Photos from the concert below show Randy, Glenn Frey, and Don Felder wearing Philadelphia Flyers hockey jerseys.
Fan John Ginty told a great story about meeting Glenn Frey and Dan Fogelberg backstage:
“I snuck back stage and chatted-up Glen Frey and Dan Fogelberg, who were both very patient & gracious. Henley also. I wound up walking Glen out to his limo, as he got in, he gave me the counter-culture handshake, looked me straight in the eye, and advised: ‘Stay alive man!’
Unforgettable.” (John Ginty/Facebook)
The review in the Wilmington News Journal included Randy among the three strong voices in the Eagles, comparing his “choir-boy” voice to that of Traffic’s Steve Winwood:
“The Eagles feature three voices strong enough to stand alone in any band, yet all blend sweetly for harmonies and each also handles his musician chores more than capably. Henley is best of the lot, the most soulful (a matter of opinion). Frey adds a pleasant ballad voice and uncorks a rip-snortin’ rocker wail for chooglers. Flesh out the sound with Randy Meisner, a thumping bassman and a voice as choir-boy clear as Traffic’s Stevie Winwood.”
Wilmington News Journal, May 23, 1975
Dan Fogelberg sat in on piano for the first encore of “Best Of My Love,” along with his drummer, Ron Grinel, who filled in for Henley so he could join the others at the front of the stage. A few years later, Grinel would play drums for Open Secret with Rick Roberts aka The Roberts-Meisner Band.
SETLIST
TAKE IT EASY
OUTLAW MAN
DOOLIN-DALTON/DESPERADO REPRISE
TRAIN LEAVES HERE THIS MORNING
PEACEFUL EASY FEELING
DESPERADO
OL’ 55
ONE OF THESE NIGHTS
BLACKBERRY BLOSSOM
MIDNIGHT FLYER
JOURNEY OF THE SORCERER
TOO MANY HANDS
ALREADY GONE
GOOD DAY IN HELL
JAMES DEAN
WITCHY WOMAN
CHUG ALL NIGHT
BEST OF MY LOVE (encore – with Fogelberg on piano & Ron Grinel on drums)
TEQUILA SUNRISE (encore)
Below are audience recordings of the two songs Randy performed that night:
“Midnight Flyer”
“Too Many Hands”
Either Glenn or Randy intros the song with “We’re going to play one more for ya from the new album.”
Listen to the show in its entirety below.
Randy-centric highlights include:
His harmony and bass line on “Outlaw Man.” (6:40)
The harmonies on “Ol’ 55,” especially on “feeling getting stronger” (36:00)
His world-ending high notes on “One Of These Nights” (41:00)
During “Chug All Night,” Randy adds a little “oooh yeah” after Glenn sings “well, I just might scream” at 1:31:55.
Headphones or earbuds strongly recommended.
Reviews
“Eagles Shine Through The Sound Barrier” by Edgar Koshatka, Philadelphia Inquirer, May 19th, 1975
“Eagles’ Country Tucks Crowd Under Wing At Spectrum” by Hugh Cutler, Wilmington News Journal, May 23rd, 1975
Another great piece of research. Thanks, and enjoyed the hearing the whole concert!
You’re welcome! So glad you enjoyed it!
This is wonderful Jessica. The recordings are such finds! Thanks so much. Everything is always so well researched and presented with finesse.
That’s so nice of you to say. Thank you, Marie.
Blown away by the concert recording. The sound is so rich. Stunning musically and vocally.. too much talent!
I agree. This one was very good quality and a lot of fun to hear. The band was in great form.
Thank you so much. I like Steve Winwood’s voice, but Randy’s is smoother.
Yes, both had high voices, but very different.
Thank you so much! My wife and I were at that concert, at the Spectrum in 75, while we were dating. You’ve no idea what it means to us to relive that concert, almost 48 years later. You are an angel.
That’s so cool! Glad you were able to reminisce and remember.
Oh man!! I’m so jealous!! I never got to see the Eagles live, but thank goodness for recordings and YouTube.
Saw the concert with my future wife. I asked her what tickets I bought and she too quickly replied: the $4.50 ones of course!
I saw this show about five days later in NJ. I’ll always love the Eagles but I became a lifetime Dan Fogelberg fan. Do you have anything from his opening playlist? Thanks so much.
Hi Thomas,
Sadly, I couldn’t find anything about Dan Fogelberg’s setlist at the Spectrum. However, the previous night they played the Academy Of Music in NYC. Some of the songs in Fogelberg’s opening set are mentioned in the reviews. He probably played a similar set each night. You can read the reviews in my blog post about the show here. https://randymeisnerretrospective.com/2021/07/25/academy-of-music-may-16th-1975/
At the bottom, there’s a photo of Fogelberg and his drummer Ron Grinel onstage with the Eagles during “Best Of My Love.”
You must have seen the show at the Capitol Theater in Passaic on May 19th. It’s cool that you got to see both acts on this tour.
I remember getting to see Dan Fogelberg in Birmingham, AL. I cannot recall what year it was, but I DO recall being floored by how powerful his voice was live. For me, that power just didn’t come across on all of his albums. I’m a huge Fogelberg fan. What a massively talented man he was, not just in music, but also in his drawings and in his paintings. We lost a multitalented singer, composer, musician, and artist when he died. I know he could play many different instruments as well. Gone but never forgotten.
After listening to Randy sing so powerfully and confidently in those early days, it seems to me that he was quite comfortable in his performing abilities live. It makes me wonder, at what point, did it become too much for him. I’ve read about the times he would skip and dance around onstage in response to the applause of the crowd. (That I would love to see.) He obviously enjoyed it in spite of being so shy and introverted. Perhaps that was in the early days when they were actually having fun before all the stress and pressure of fame started to build.
Anything you can add to these thoughts, Jessica? I would love to hear them.
In my opinion, Randy loved performing. He did it all of his life until he retired and he started having health problems. I think if he were still with us and in good health, he would still be doing it. His biggest issue with performing with the Eagles, especially by Hotel California, was that they just stood on stage like statues. He wanted to move around and have fun. Plus, he wanted to sing more, not less. He was only singing one song by 1977. Randy has said that the early days of the band were the most fun, before the big money and egos took over.
Do any videos exist that show him dancing and skipping around? I think one of the performances that I read about was when the crowd gave him a standing ovation after singing Take It To The Limit. The applause went on for so long, that he danced and skipped around on the stage in response to that standing ovation. I’m pretty sure I read it on your webpage, Jessica. It had to be during the Hotel California tour, but I can’t remember where it happened. I’m positive you know what I’m talking about. I’m hoping there’s a video out there somewhere in the ether.
There is no video from the concert where he skipped around (San Antonio, 11/4/76). But four days after that show, they played the Houston Summit. There is a video from that show. He does dance around a bit and is very playful at times. For instance, when they come back out for an encore at the end, Randy and Joe come out skipping. You can watch the concert here:
https://randymeisnerretrospective.com/the-eagles-november-6-1976-houston-tx-mp4/
You know, he DOES kind of sound like Steve Winwood. I’ve never even thought about that comparison before. I always thought Steve Winwood had an amazing voice. One of my favorite songs is the one he sang with Chaka Khan called “Higher Love”. They sound fantastic together.
Randy was a fan of Traffic. His band Goldrush used to perform “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” with Randy singing lead.