From Scottsbluff To The Sunset Strip

“I came from a little farm and made it all the way to the Eagles. I was really lucky. A lot of my success was a gift.”  -Randy Meisner, 1991

Randy Meisner was raised in western Nebraska in the panhandle city of Scottsbluff. He was a farm boy, who discovered his natural gift for singing at an early age. Randy had visions of going to California, where “all musicians from the midwest dreamed of being.” Below we trace his origins, going back to the Volga region of Russia, to his upbringing in rural Nebraska, all the way to the Sunset Strip.

I’d like to thank my friend and Randy’s ex-wife, Jennifer Meisner, for generously providing details and photographs, some shared here for the first time. Jennifer was married to Randy from 1963-1981 and is the mother of his three children.

Map of Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska, 1954

Scottsbluff, Nebraska from the summit of the Scotts Bluff Monument.
_{Photo ©Eric Grunwald.}

The Volga Germans

Randy’s story began long before his birth along the Volga River in Russia. His parents, Herman and Emilie Meisner, were both descendants of Volga German immigrants.

The Volgas were ethnic Germans who began colonizing the Volga River and Black Sea regions of Russia beginning in the 1760s at the invitation of Catherine the Great.

“She promised the Germans land, freedom of religion, exemption from military service, and political autonomy. When Czar Alexander II revoked these privileges in 1871 many Germans living in Russia began emigrating to the United States.” (mynebraskahistory.com)

Many of these immigrants settled in Nebraska.

Alexander & Pauline Meisner

Herman Meisner’s father, Alexander, and mother Pauline Schaefer Meisner, emigrated from the Volga colony of Grimm, Russia. They arrived at Ellis Island in New York in October 1908, aboard the SS Columbia, along with several members of Alexander’s family, including his parents, Christian and Katherine. They settled in Fort Collins, Colorado. Randy’s father, Herman, would be born there three years later in 1911.

_{Ship manifest for the S.S. Columbia, October 10, 1908
The Meisner’s place of origin is listed incorrectly as “Tiesnori” this was probably a miscommunication at the time of arrival. They arrived from Lesnoi Karamysch, which was Russian for “Grimm.” The Xs are original to the document.}

Alex moved to Gering, NE in 1919 and worked most of his life as a farmer. He was married three times. Pauline, his second wife, passed away in 1952. He remarried the next year. Alex died in 1964. According to Jennifer Meisner, neither Randy nor his parents spent time with the Meisner side of his family. Although Herman had several brothers and sisters, they were closest to his brother, Alex, Jr.

_{Alexander & Pauline Meisner and family, 1926. Herman is in the back row, second from left.}

George and Dorothy Haun

Randy’s maternal grandparents were Johannes George, and Dorthea (Dorothy) Groh Haun, who emigrated from the Volga colony of Hussenbach. They arrived in Philadelphia aboard the Graf Wandersee in May 1911 with their two daughters, Elizabeth and Alice, plus baby Emilie, who was born at sea halfway through the two-week voyage on May 6th. George’s brother, Jacob, was also a passenger. The family settled in Scottsbluff, where George worked as a farmer. Eventually, he made his living as a violin and piano teacher.

_{Johannes Haun and his family on the Graf Wandersee manifest.
Emilie (or Emilia) is listed at the bottom of the page with an asterisk.}

George and Dorothy Haun (front row), with their five daughters. L-R: Mollie Meisner (married to Herman’s brother, Alex Jr), Lydia Ohlund, Emilie Meisner, Alice Kuxhaus, Elizabeth Meininger.

Jennifer recalled that both of Randy’s maternal grandparents spoke mostly German. Although she never met Randy’s paternal grandparents, his father spoke with a heavy German accent. Sadly, German immigrants, like the Hauns, did not speak German outside of their homes due to discrimination.

Herman and Emilie Meisner

Herman Meisner and Emilie Haun were married on March 15th, 1933 at the Evangelical Church in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Their marriage would not be the only union between the Meisner & Haun families. Herman’s brother, Alex, Jr. married Emilie’s sister, Mollie, the same year in December. The Meisners first child, Carol June, was born on June 27th, 1935. Carol married Arthur Benzel in 1953.  

_{Herman and Emilie}

Randall Herman Meisner

Randall Herman (Randy) was born on March 8th, 1946 at St. Mary Hospital in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.

_{Randy’s birth announcement in the Gering (NE) Courier, May 10, 1946}

Randy as a baby (the baby ring is still with the family)

With his mother, Emilie.

Shortly after Randy’s birth, the Meisners moved to a farm near the Lake Alice area of Scottsbluff, about ten miles northeast of the city. Jennifer remembered that the house was painted light green and was off a long dirt road.

_{Randy’s home near Lake Alice.}

_{Herman with Randy and his first cousin Normanda (Mandi) Ohlund:}

_{Below: Randy with his first cousins: L-R: Normanda (Mandi) Ohlund (daughter of Lydia Haun Ohlund), Tony Meininger (son of Elizabeth Haun Meininger), Randy, and Debbie Meisner (daughter of Alex Meisner, Jr).}

In 1957, Herman lost his right hand in an accident with a corn picker. He wore a hook in its place for the rest of his life.

Herman’s prosthetic hook is visible in the photo below:

_{L-R: Emilie’s sister, Lydia Ohlund, her husband, Norman, Herman, Mandi Ohlund, and Randy.}

Foods

A large part of the Volga German culture in Scottsbluff was the cuisine. Randy loved the foods and learned to make many of the recipes himself. One such dish was cabbage burgers, also known as kraut burgers, runzas or bierock. It is a dough pocket with a meat and cabbage filling. The dough was usually homemade. However, Randy would sometimes use shortcuts for the dough:

Jennifer: “He used (Pillsbury) Hot Roll mix and later in life he used the pre-made biscuits in the cardboard roll.”

Other German foods he enjoyed were garlic sausage, butterball soup, and grebel (fried dough).

_{Randy serving homemade cabbage burgers to his parents and daughter, Heather, at his condo in Palm Springs, CA, c.1981.}

Besides German dishes, he also loved pot roast and meatloaf. His favorite burger was the Wagon Wheel at the Dash Inn, which was a hamburger patty on a bun that was toasted and sealed. Randy liked his with mustard and ketchup. Jennifer remembered that he also loved anything spicy, the hotter the better. He doused everything in Tabasco sauce.

Jennifer: “He suffered from ulcers early on because he had a penchant for extremely spicy food and even in the Dynamics after the dance we would all go to a truck stop cafe, he would literally drink Tabasco sauce.”

Emilie’s recipe for banana nut cake was published in the Scottsbluff Business Farmer newspaper. It was accompanied by a photo of five-year-old Randy with his mother, Emilie.

School Life

Randy attended the small Lake Alice School up to the 8th grade.

_{1959 graduating class at Lake Alice (via Lake Alice Years by Sharon Lemley)}

School photos.

In the Fall of 1960, Randy began attending Scottsbluff High School. It would be a formative time for him–making new friends and developing his interest in music. Randy would have graduated in 1964, but he married Jennifer Barton on May 23rd, 1963.  Married students could not attend school in Scottsbluff, plus Jennifer was pregnant with their first child. Jennifer, who was a grade ahead of Randy, dropped out before the end of her senior year in 1963.

_{Although Randy did not attend school his senior year (1964), his senior photo was taken the previous year. Jennifer kept this photo in a frame by her hospital bedside when she gave birth to their son, Dana, in November 1963.}

Randy in front of  the original Scottsbluff High School building, c. 1984. This building is now Bluffs Middle School.

_{Photo: Randy’s personal collection. Courtesy of the Estate Of Randy Meisner.}

A Musical Family

“I grew up on a farm in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, and my mother sang a lot. My grandfather played violin and taught piano. So it was kind of a musical family in a way.” –Randy Meisner, 2006

Randy’s grandfather George Haun made a living as a farmer after his arrival in Nebraska. Later, he became a piano and violin teacher. He also tuned pianos and repaired and restrung violin bows. A comparison could be made between Randy and his grandfather Haun. Both worked on farms, then made their living in music.

Mr. Haun advertised his teaching and repair business in the Scottsbluff Star-Herald. He did both from his home, first on 11th Ave (in the Germantown section of Scottsbluff), then on 14th Ave.

Randy’s mother was his earliest musical influence. “She would always sing around the house and get me to sing along.”

He also took piano lessons.

Randy: “I was really enthused when I started taking piano lessons mainly because I thought I could become a piano player in a week.”

A clever kid, Randy broke the tedium of scale practice by setting a small mirror on the piano, so he could watch the television in the other room. It’s unknown whether Randy took lessons from his grandfather.

_{Young Randy posing at the piano. The sheet music on the piano is “Forever And Ever” by Margaret Whiting.}

The first song Randy learned to sing was “Honeycomb,” the 1957 hit by Jimmie Rodgers. He performed the song at P.T.A. meetings in Lake Alice. He also enjoyed imitating Elvis Presley.

Randy began taking guitar lessons when he was 12 or 13. He bought his first guitar out of a Sears catalog, most-likely the Silvertone guitar in the photo below. Silvertone guitars were exclusively sold by Sears. They were also popular “beginner” guitars.

Randy later switched to bass at the urging of his guitar teacher. “It just felt natural,” he remembered. “The bass was something I felt secure with and I was able to get a lot of feeling out of it.”

According to his mother, Randy also began writing songs at an early age.

“When we lived on the farm, he’d go out and sit on a bale of hay and try to write. He’d sit there all by himself with his pencil and paper and just write.”

It was soon after that Randy and some friends from school started a band called The Deacons. Besides Randy, the band included brothers Doug and Grady Waugh, plus John Ankeny on drums. The band performed at YMCA dances and school parties. The group later changed their name to The Thunderbirds.

The Drivin’ Dynamics

“I always knew he was bound for something big. You could see it when he played with The Dynamics. You could see he was thinking about making it and he did.” –Emilie Meisner, Scottsbluff Star-Herald, January 12, 1998

In late 1961, Randy helped found the legendary Scottsbluff band, The Drivin’ Dynamics.

It all started when guitarist Larry Soto, who moved to Scottsbluff from Sunrise, Wyoming in 1961, was asking around about other musicians in the area. That’s how he met Richard Rohnke, who was looking for a lead guitarist for a new band he was putting together. “I played for Rohnke,” Soto recalled, “and the next thing I knew, I’m in a rock and roll band!”

The next day, he was introduced to the other members, bassist Randy and drummer, John Ankeny. Soto recalled meeting Randy:

“My first impression of Randy was his dedication. He was fun to work with and be with, witty, and I could tell he had a burning desire to be somebody….Randy, at 15, had the best voice in the band. As time passed, he got better and better. He had astronomical potential which later on made our band better.”

The Dynamics were later joined by sax player, Paul Asmus. Latter members during Randy’s tenure were guitarist David Margheim and keyboardist Steve Cassells.

_{The Dynamics, 1961 L-R: Richard Rohnke, John Ankeny, Randy and Larry Soto.}

It was with the Dynamics that Randy honed his skills as a musician and entertainer. In December 1961, they began playing a bi-weekly dances at Little Moon Lake, which was located about 30 miles from Scottsbluff, just across the Wyoming border in Torrington. Randy recalled that his parents would drive him there, sit through the show, then take him home.

_{The Dynamics at Little Moon Lake, December 9th, 1961. Randy is at right in the dark suit.}

Randy posing at the sign for Little Moon Lake off Highway 26, c.1995.
_{Photo: Randy’s personal collection. Courtesy of the Estate Of Randy Meisner}

It didn’t take long for Larry to notice that Randy was on a “different level”:

“Randy was a pure showman, playing in front of people made him perform better. He had the knack of feeding off the crowd. He was always on a different level than we were, which later on, helped him with his career.”

The Dynamics were so popular, they were booked for a number of out-of-town dances, which meant long road trips and staying in hotels. It also meant clowning around.

Guitarist Larry Soto:

“Bobby Soto and Randy were real pranksters and Paul Asmus and I were usually the victims. One trick they would pull on Paul while he was driving, was to sit in the back of the car and swing back and forth so Paul would think something was wrong with the tires or shocks of his car. When he got out to check out the tires, they would turn the radio, wipers, heater and everything they could, full blast, so when Paul would start the car, the radio was loud, wipers going, heater on. Another was when we stopped for gas, Randy would check the oil, and remove a couple of plug wires. Paul, with the car missing, would pull over and check it out. Randy would honk the horn and that would scare him.”

_{Randy (middle) with his best friend, Steve West (left), and a member of the band, The Red Dogs. Julesburg, CO, July 1965. West was a fellow classmate, who also worked as a ticket taker for the Dynamics. Photo by Jennifer Meisner.}

Randy’s inscription in his friend Jack Schmidt’s yearbook included a drawing of his Fender Jazz bass (with 6 strings!) His inscription reads: “Jack, Best of luck in the future and you should have a lot of it and keep the “ford” running, keep up the good power shifts. A friend always, Randy Meisner.”

The Dynamics gained popularity with the help of KOMA, a powerful radio station out of Oklahoma.

Keyboardist Steve Cassells:

“KOMA was so very important in our early days. I believe it was 1520 am on the dial and was 50,000 watts – the maximum power still allowed by the government…There were a group of bands who were unofficially known as KOMA bands (us, Fabulous Flippers, Spider and the Crabs, The Blue Things and maybe another one or two I have forgotten), although the station had no other relationships with us beyond taking our money and playing the ads. We would have 5-6 ads/night after it got dark and the radio coverage spread out across the country.”

_{Dynamics poster, 1964. The poster was signed in 2001 by four former members.
(clockwise from top left) John Ankeny, Steve Cassells , Larry Soto, and Randy Meisner.
The poster’s artist, Joe Dally, added the line “Don’t Dally Now!”}

In 1962, the Dynamics recorded four songs for an EP at a local music store called Encore Music Co. in Scottsbluff. It included three instrumentals, plus one vocal, sung by Larry Soto. It would be Randy’s first studio recording.

Larry Soto:

“During this time we made our first recordings. Jack Dunham worked at Encore Music and owned the sound system that Hap Ellis rented for  the big shows at Terry’s Arena. It was state of the art at the time. He also had an Ampex 2 track tape recorder which was tops at the time with some great microphones. He had technical knowledge about recording and I bought some studio time. We recorded songs were were playing and popular at the time and an original instrumental called ‘Sidewinder.’ It had a surf sound. He isolated all of us in order to keep the drum sound out of the vocal mics. John was in the basement and Paul, Randy, and I were upstairs and separated, also. It was so different than playing a dance. We recorded about an hour and a half and released a mini LP, four songs on a 45 RPM record. We picked ‘Sidewinder,’ ‘You Send Me’ by Sam Cooke, ‘Walk Don’t Run’ by the Ventures, and ‘Green Onions’ by Booker T. & The MGs. We ordered 500 copies and sold all of them except what we gave to our families. We were very pleased on how well they turned out and the quality was good, even at today’s standards.”

In 1965, The Dynamics got a deal with the small Amarillo label, Sully Records. In August, they drove to Texas and recorded three songs at Ray Ruff Studio. Ruff, who had been a friend of Buddy Holly’s in the 1950s, owned the studio and the record label. “It was neat recording in a real studio on what we thought was great recording equipment,” recalled Larry Soto. Recorded at that session were: “So Fine” and “One Of These Days” with Randy on lead vocal, and “Hurt Me,” sung by Larry. Ruff dubbed in female background vocals on the tracks. “So Fine” and “Hurt Me” were released on a single.  According to Larry Soto, “So Fine” got a lot of airplay locally, especially in Cheyenne, WY. Sadly, the recording of “One Of These Days” no longer exists.

A Dream Becomes Reality

“I had visions of doing something in music. I could see myself on the Sunset Strip. The first time it happened it was like déjà vu.” –Randy Meisner, 1988

In the Spring of 1966, the Dynamics played a Battle of the Bands in Denver, CO. Also at the event were Pat Shanahan, Allen Kemp and Gene Chalk from the popular Denver band, The Soul Survivors.  The group had recently been to Los Angeles, where they signed with Dot Records. They released a single in early 1966, “Can’t Stand To Be In Love With You,” which became a local hit in Denver. Due to the song’s success, they were planning to return to West Coast to try to and make it big. But their bass player, Bob Raymond, didn’t want to go, so they went in search of a replacement at a local battle of the bands.

Drummer Patrick Shanahan:

“I’m not sure exactly who went to the battle of the bands to look for bass players. It was Gene and I and probably Allen. I remember when I first saw Randy he was singing a song called ‘What’s Your Name’ (by Don & Juan) and I knew right there that he would be perfect. I think Gene was next to me looking at another band and I remember saying ‘check this guy out’ to Gene and it was the same reaction. I don’t remember if we talked to Randy that day or not.”

_{The Poor, 1967
L-R: Pat Shanahan, Randy Naylor, Randy Meisner. Pat Day, Allen Kemp}

Randy agreed to join the band. It would be a life-changing decision for him. After playing gigs around Denver to make money for the move, the Soul Survivors relocated to Los Angeles in the summer of 1966. Shortly thereafter, they changed their name to The Poor.

And the farm boy who once dreamed of being on the Sunset Strip, would soon be performing there. “It was exactly as I’d imagined it,” he said.

Looking back on his early career, Randy remembered what his parents taught him when he first started performing:

“My parents taught me to be a good guy and to be honest and don’t lie. If there was a gig, show up on time. I just let the good times roll. I never thought about money. I don’t care about the money. In my heart I know what I do best is perform for people and make them happy.”

Pick up where this story ends with my blog post on The Poor:

Sources & Further Reading:

Bam Magazine, November 7, 1980 ‘

Scottsbluff Star-Herald, November 27, 1988

Teen Magazine, February 1981.

Scottsbluff Star-Herald, February 24th, 1991.

Larry Soto, The Drivin’ Dynamics: A Rock And Roll Retrospect Of The Early Years, 1996

Harvey Kubernik, Canyon Of Dreams: The Magic And Music Of Laurel Canyon, 2009

Steven J. Rothenberger, Scottsbluff in ’62: A Rock ‘N’ Roll Retrospective of Small Town America, 2018

The Dynamics From Scottsbluff

Interview with Steve Cassells, 2021

Interview with Patrick Shanahan, 2023