Taking the Party Plane to Oakland

On August 3rd, 1976, the Eagles played Day On The Green #6 at Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California. The band flew to the gig aboard their infamous “Party Plane.” Using footage and images from private home movies, shared exclusively here, we’ll follow Randy from his Los Angeles home to the stage in Oakland.

Accompanying Randy were his wife, Jennifer, and their longtime friends from Scottsbluff, Nebraska, Don & Vicki Ullstrom. At the time, Don & Vicki were members of The Drivin’ Dynamics, the Scottsbluff band co-founded by Randy in 1961. Later, in 1978, Don appeared on Randy’s first solo album, the self-titled, Randy Meisner.

Below: Randy filmed Don and Vicki climbing into the limo for the ride to the airport. This was filmed outside the Meisner’s Los Angeles home on Zorada Drive. Randy purchased the Nichols Canyon home from Rick Nelson.

_{Footage is silent. ©Copyright Meisner Family. Do not reproduce without permission.}

“The Party Plane”

The Eagles touring plane, known as “the “The Party Plane.”

Party plane interior:

The Meisners and the Ullstroms:

The Eagles and Irving Azoff:

_{L-R: Azoff, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh, and Randy.}

Below: Randy and Jennifer on the plane, filmed by Don Ullstrom with the Meisners’ Super 8 camera. Randy is wearing a shirt that says: “Where the HELL is Scottsbluff, Nebraska?” Jennifer is wearing Randy’s gold eagle pendant.¹

_{Footage is silent. ©Copyright Meisner Family. Do not reproduce without permission.}

Day On The Green
Oakland, CA, August 3rd, 1976

The Eagles and Linda Ronstadt were the headliners at Day On The Green #6. This was the Eagles’ second appearance at the festival. They would participate in three altogether. The first in 1975 and the last in 1977. Also on the bill in 1976 were Loggins and Messina and the British prog rock band, Renaissance, who opened the show. Loggins & Messina were on a farewell tour. Day On The Green was their final Bay Area appearance.

_{Official poster for Day On The Green #6 (signed at the bottom by its artist, Randy Tuten.}

Backstage

Backstage footage at Day On The Green. At the beginning, you can see representatives from Marine World with a golden eagle. This eagle would accompany Day On The Green promoter, Bill Graham, on stage when he introduced the Eagles later that night. Near the end, Linda Ronstadt arrives with her band, which included Andrew Gold (seen in the back with a light-colored beard). Gold later opened for the Eagles during their 1977 Hotel California tour. In 1979, he purchased Randy’s Zorada Drive house.

_{Footage is silent. ©Copyright Meisner Family. Do not reproduce without permission.}

Concert

The Eagles hit the stage following Linda Ronstadt around 9:00pm. All the band members, except Randy and Don Henley, were clad in their black satin tour jackets with the “E” logo on front. Randy chose to wear his blue hoodie from the New Zealand/Australia/Japan tour earlier in the year. Henley was jacketless.

The Eagles performing their first song of the night, “Take It Easy.”

“Mary Hartman!”

Before Randy launched into “Take It To The Limit,” he tested the sound system’s echo level by shouting “Mary Hartman!” into his mic and the sound system replied in turn.² This joke was in reference to the name of the popular television show at the time called Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, starring Louise Lasser.

Randy’s performance of his signature song was a highlight of the evening:

“Bassist Randy Meisner hit his near-inhuman falsetto note at the close of ‘Take It To The Limit’ with apparent ease.” –Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, August 5th, 1976.³

“Randy Meisner sang an effective ‘Take It To The Limit,’ capping the coda with an eerie falsetto scream.” –Conrad Silvert, Billboard, August 21, 1976.⁴

The Eagles performing “Seven Bridges Road”:

Below is a compilation of clips of the Eagles at Day On The Green from the Meisner’s home movie footage:

_{Footage is silent. ©Copyright Meisner Family. Do not reproduce without permission.}

The Oakland show was one of the last stops on the Eagles’ 1976 summer tour. After a two-day break, the band would play three more gigs in Portland, Seattle, with a final stop in Denver on August 8th.

Sincere thanks to Jennifer Meisner and Dana Meisner for the home movie footage.

Notes

1. The four original band members were given these gold pendants as a gift from producer Glyn Johns upon completion of their debut album. They had an eagle on the front and their names on the back. Randy gave his necklace to Jennifer. She gave it back to him after their divorce in 1981. ↩︎
2. “Eagles Never Miss A Beat For Day On The Green,” Gail Tagashira,San Jose Evening News, August 4, 1976 ↩︎
3. “New Guy Gives Eagles A Boost,” Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, August 5, 1976 ↩︎
4. “Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Loggins & Messina,” Conrad Silvert, Billboard, August 21, 1976 ↩︎