Interview With Beat Instrumental Magazine, 1973

In March 1973, Randy was interviewed by the British music magazine, Beat Instrumental, while the Eagles were on a short tour of Europe. Although the piece appeared to be about the entire band, Randy was the only one interviewed. It was the first article, that I am aware of, by a major music magazine that was devoted almost entirely to him.

_{Cover (with photo of Cat Stevens) and Table Of Contents}

Beat Instrumental was a monthly London-based music magazine, started in 1963 (then as Beat Monthly) that catered to musicians. It included reviews of musical instruments, amps, and production equipment. But each issue also featured album reviews, music news, and interviews that targeted non-musicians.

Randy divulged a number of different tidbits in the piece. One such bit was a private jam session he was invited to at the London home of Ron Wood that included Paul and Linda McCartney.¹ Jennifer Meisner, Randy’s first wife, who had accompanied him to Europe (along with their son, Dana), attended the gathering with him. “Most of the women, including Jennie Halsall (an EMI representative), were in a different part of the house,” she recalled. “I never really knew what was going on. Of course, we were all stoned.”

The author of the piece, who is not credited, was clearly a fan. The “great names” he compared Randy with in the second paragraph were all members of Delaney and Bonnie’s band and had appeared on their most recent album, D&B Together.

_{Randy in London, March 1973. Photo by Gijsbert Hanekroot.}

Randy stated that he played guitarrón (acoustic bass) on Bernie Leadon’s “Bitter Creek” from Desperado. Four years later, he played guitarrón on “New Kid In Town” from Hotel California.

Another interesting factoid he revealed is that he played a Hofner bass during recording sessions.³ He also disclosed another instrument he’d like to learn to play.

Randy’s last name is misspelled as “Meissner” throughout the article. He is also not identified in either photo (neither are any of the other band members). Other misspellings include: Ronnie Woods (Wood), Tim Ed Norman (Jim), and Procul Harum (Procol).

BEAT INSTRUMENTAL, April 1973

Both photos by by Julian Ruthven.

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NOTES:

Many thanks to Jennifer Meisner for her remembrances and photos.

¹At the time, both Ron Wood and Ronnie Lane were members of The Faces, who were also on the bill, along with the Eagles, at Popgala ’73, which took place in Voorburg, Netherlands on March 9th.

The article also stated that Paul and Linda McCartney, as well as members of The Faces, planned to attend the Eagles concert at Royal Festival Hall on March 16th. According to Jennifer, all were present at the show. Randy kept a large poster from the concert and hung it on the wall of his apartment at the time, which was located on Arch Drive in Studio City, CA.

_{Below: At left, Jennifer Meisner with the Royal Festival Hall poster. At right, the Meisner’s living room on Arch Drive. The bottom left corner of the poster can be seen on the wall at far right. The young girl seated on the couch is Jennifer’s niece, Bobbi. On the coffee table is one of Dana Meisner’s toy cars and a bag from London. (Photo by Jennifer Meisner)}

²Jennie Halsall was a public relations representative for EMI, the London distributor for Asylum Records. Jennifer Meisner, who is still in touch with Halsall, recalled: “Jennie was a redhead who took great care of us…she was the public relations person for the record company. Actually the very night we flew into London she took us to the musical Joseph And The Technicolor Dreamcoat.”

_{Below: Jennie Halsall (right) with Randy and Don Henley, March 1973. The lady at far left, Linda, was a friend of Halsall’s who later married Eagles roadie, Larry Penny. Photo by Jennifer Meisner.}

³Many years later, Randy expressed his annoyance with the Hofner bass in the liner notes of The Poor, a compilation CD of their music that was released by Rev-Ola in 2003:

Randy: “I’d very unwisely traded my Mosrite bass for Hofner violin bass because  it ‘looked cooler.’ …big mistake! …what a horrible instrument, respect to Paul McCartney for being able to play it at all!” 

_{Below: Randy’s Hofner bass.
Left: With Rick Nelson at Rick’s Nichols Canyon home, c. 1971. Randy later purchased this home from Rick. (Photo by Jennifer Meisner)
Right: With the Eagles at Westlake School For Girls, Los Angeles, c.1972.}

More interviews with Randy can be found in my Article and Publication Archive.