Good Vibrations From Central Park

The Eagles, along with Melissa Manchester, The Temptations, John Sebastian and Sly & the Family Stone performed at the Schaefer Music Festival in New York City’s Central Park on August 1st & 2nd, 1973. Both nights were filmed for a TV special called Good Vibrations from Central Park, which aired on August 23rd, 1973. Below you will find footage of the songs that were shown on TV, as well as an audio recording, which includes Randy’s performance of “Certain Kind Of Fool.”

Shaefer Music Festival, August 1st & 2nd, 1973

The Schaefer Music Festival was a recurring festival that originated in 1967. It was sponsored by the Schaefer Brewing Company out of Manhattan. The summer-long festival was held at Wollman Skating Rink in Central Park and lasted from June through September. Two nights of the 1973 festival were filmed for the second installment of a television production called Good Vibrations From Central Park (the first installment was in 1971).

Schaefer Music Festival stage, summer 1973

Below: An ad for the festival from the New York Times, with a tentative schedule of acts. The performers for the “TV Show” dates on August 1st and 2nd had not yet been announced. The Eagles were originally scheduled to play on September 5th, with David Blue as the opening act. This slot would end up going to the Edgar Winter Group. David Blue became the opening act for Poco on August 31st-September 1st, with future Eagle Don Felder in his band.

Since the August 1st & 2nd concerts were being filmed for television, the process was a long one for the audience. The show lasted six hours. Starting at 7:00pm and ending at 1:00am.

“Television (the concert was being filmed) was the reason for the longevity and also, one suspects, for the wide variety of the performers.” (New York Times, August 3, 1973)

Director John Moffitt, who directed both the 1971 & 1973 Good Vibrations specials, had the performers wear the same clothes each night to give the illusion that only one show had been filmed. This was not an easy task. “They couldn’t understand that we would be using segments of both concerts for the special,” Moffitt recalled.¹

_{Review of the August 1st concert from the New York Times:}

New York City Mayor, John Lindsay, acted as emcee and announced each act before they came on stage. The Eagles were the third act to perform, following Melissa Manchester and The Temptations. Following the Eagles’ set were John Sebastian and Sly & The Family Stone, who did not hit the stage until midnight. This was much to the chagrin of the audience, who thought they did not show up.² The Eagles’ set lasted approximately an hour. A live orchestra, hidden behind a backdrop, accompanied the band for “Desperado” & “Desperado Reprise.”

FULL CONCERT SETLIST

Take It Easy
Doolin-Dalton
Desperado (with orchestra)
Desperado Reprise (with orchestra)
Peaceful Easy Feeling
Twenty-One
Early Bird
Certain Kind Of Fool
Outlaw Man
Witchy Woman
Tequila Sunrise
Tryin’

Randy wore a western style, pearl-button shirt that was sewn by his mother, Emilie, with material chosen by his wife, Jennifer. Randy’s mom made a number of shirts for him because his long arms made it difficult to find shirts that fit properly.³

Audience Recording

Below is a partial audience recording of the August 2nd show. Glenn Frey provides the date by telling the audience “It’s nice to be here again,” suggesting it’s the second night. The songs that appeared in the television program are missing, except for the first 90 seconds of “Tryin’.” The recording also includes Randy’s performance of “Certain Kind Of Fool.” Below, I have included Randy’s lead-singing performances, plus the entire recording.

As always, headphones or earbuds or highly recommended.

“Certain Kind Of Fool”

Randy’s singing is drowned out by the bass and guitar, which are turned up too loud.

“Tryin'”

Only the first part of the song was included in the recording, but it is a different performance than the televised version with a longer intro.

Full Recording (43 minutes)

Highlights: Randy’s hot bass on “Early Bird” (co-written by Randy and Bernie Leadon) at 20:50, his performance of “Certain Kind Of Fool” at 26:11 (same as above), and his wild bass solo on “Outlaw Man” at 29:40. The version of “Take It Easy,” at the beginning, is different than the televised performance.

Take It Easy with acapella “Silver Dagger” intro (@2:08)
Doolin-Dalton (@8:15)
Peaceful Easy Feeling (@12:22)
Twenty-One (@17:52)
Early Bird (@20:50)
Certain Kind Of Fool (@26:11)
Outlaw Man (@29:35)
Witchy Woman (with long intro @35:50)
Tryin’ (@42:00, cuts off)

Good Vibrations From Central Park, aired August 23, 1973

The footage from two six-hour-long concerts was condensed into a one-hour special that aired August 23rd 1973.

Ad for Good Vibrations from Central Park featuring a caricature of the performers by Tom Crabtree. The “high flying” Eagles at top left.

Below: The Eagles’ performances of “Take It Easy,” “Desperado,” and “Tryin’.” Some reviews mention that their performance of “Twenty-One” was also televised.

Video

“Take It Easy” with a cappella “Silver Dagger” intro:

“Desperado” with orchestra accompaniment:

“Tryin'”

This was their closing number at the concert. You can see Randy unplug his bass at the end.

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Notes

1. John Moffitt: “Another thing was getting them to wear the same clothes both nights. They couldn’t understand that we would be using segments of both concerts for the special.” The Columbus Ledger, August 14, 1971. The filming of Good Vibrations From Central Park is also very reminiscent of the Eagles’ Capital Centre concerts in 1977, which were filmed with the band wearing the same clothes both nights (although for what purpose no one seems to know). Good Vibrations director, John Moffitt, was also co-creator, director and producer of the the television show Fridays on which Randy appeared as a musical guest. ↩︎
2. John Sebastian (formerly of The Lovin’ Spoonful), the second to last act, was given the hook by the promoter John Delsener on the sidelines of the stage. He walked off saying, “Well, they’re makin’ me get off now and this is it for tonight. Goodbye.” The audience booed thinking he was the last act. By the time, Sly & The Family Stone hit the stage, half of the audience had left thinking Sly & company had not shown up for the show. (Hollywood Reporter, August 8, 1973) ↩︎
3. Some of these shirts he gave away to his nephew (by marriage), Doug Datel. Below is one such shirt. The photo on the left shows Randy wearing the shirt at the Billboard Awards on June 4, 1976, the photo on the right shows Doug in the shirt after Randy gave it to him (photo courtesy of Jennifer Meisner). Side note: Jennifer recalled that they drove to the Billboard Awards ceremony in Randy’s vintage red 1940 pickup truck instead of a limo.
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