“The turning point of the show occurred when Randy Meisner, bass guitarist, sang ‘Take It To The Limit.’ Meisner reached incredible high, sustained pitches with his strong, forceful voice that just sent shivers up the crowd’s spines. Crazed fans screamed and dashed toward the stage, where they remained until the end of the concert. Meisner received a standing ovation that lasted several minutes. When he realized the crowd wouldn’t stop, he danced and skipped around the stage which made the audience applaud even more.”
The Ranger (San Antonio College), November 12, 1976
The Eagles played two nights at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, CO on August 18th and 19th, 1975. Dan Fogelberg and Tom Waits were the warmup acts.
Straight Creek Journal (Boulder), August 14, 1975
An early ad for the show listing only Tom Waits as the opener. It also included the original dates of the concerts: August 19th and 20th.
Image courtesy of Dana Meisner
The Eagles’ previous album, On The Border, featured a song, “Ol’ 55,” that was written by fellow Asylum artist, Tom Waits, who opened the show. According to an audience account, Waits was booed off the stage before he completed his set on the first night:
“Unfortunately Tom was booed off the stage before he could do a whole set, presumably because the Eagles fans were more accustomed to sweet than dour. The headliners were not pleased, and made a big point of emphasizing the identity of the composer of ‘Ol 55’ when the time came.” (Ken Langford, Tom Waits Library)
It’s interesting that Waits would perform at this show since he disliked the Eagles version of his song and said so publicly in early 1975:
“It’s one of the first songs I wrote so I felt like it was kind of flattering that somebody wanted to do your song but at the same time I thought their version was a little antiseptic.” (WAMU interview, Washington DC, 1975)
The next year his comments about the band were even more harsh when he told the British music magazine, New Musical Express, that their albums were only good for “keeping the dust off your turntable.” One can’t help but wonder if getting booed at this concert added to his contempt for the band.
The Eagles headlined the “One Of These Days” concert at Balboa Stadium in San Diego. Jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt also performed.
The show was filmed and portions of it were shown on Saturday Night Live With Howard Cosell (not to be confused with long-running NBC show).
San Diego Union, September 7, 1975
Photo by Jeffrey Mayer.
Photo by Jeffrey Mayer
The following review is not the most positive, but provides a good description of the show and the songs that were played.
San Diego Union, September 29, 1975
The round stage pass attached to the leg of Randy’s jeans was preserved in his wife Jennifer’s scrapbook. His yellow shirt, with the hand-embroidered design from On The Border, was a gift from a fan named Terri “Woody” Smith. The family still has this shirt. Smith also gave Randy a blue shirt with a hand-embroidered eagle pattern (see it here).
The Eagles played Felt Forum in New York City on September 29th, 1972. Jackson Browne and J.D. Souther were their guests. Felt Forum was a smaller venue located at Madison Square Garden. The Eagles would play the latter in 1977.
Village Voice, August 31, 1972
L-R: Randy, J.D. Souther, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Jackson Browne, and Bernie Leadon. Photo by Chuck Pulin.
L-R: Randy, J.D. Souther, Glenn, David Lindley, and Bernie Leadon. Photo by Chuck Pulin.
According to the following review, the band was an hour late for the concert because their contract had the wrong start time:
“Eagles opened the late afternoon concert after an hour of waiting by the audience. The lead guitarist apologized for the delay saying they had been eating barbecued chicken in Birmingham at 3:30 p.m. when they noticed a poster for the concert that said 4 p.m. Their contract said 5 p.m. Panic ensued and the band hot-rodded it to Tuscaloosa.”
Rick Nelson & the Stone Canyon Band performed two nights at JD’s.
Arizona Republic, October 25, 1969
The Arizona Republic noted that Rick was “sharing the spotlight” with a “longhaired bass player”:
Arizona Republic, October 25, 1969
Here’s Rick and the band performing their cover of Bob Dylan’s “She Belongs To Me” from the Easy To Be Free documentary, directed by David Nelson. At the 1:34 mark, the footage moves from JD’s to their appearance at The Troubadour in Hollywood a week later. The footage is less than perfect. Rick and The Stone Canyon Band’s recorded a cover of “She Belongs To Me” during the summer of 1969. It was released as a single in August to coincide with their tour and became a Top 40 hit.
At the time of the JD’s appearance, the Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band was a four-piece with Randy on bass, Allen Kemp on guitar, and Pat Shanahan on drums. Tom Brumley was added on pedal steel for the Troubadour shows.
Read more about Randy’s tenure as an original member of Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band here:
On May 3rd, 1975, the Eagles played Kent State University on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the Kent State Shootings. But it was not without controversy.
On November 30th, 1973, the Eagles played the College Of The Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. During the show, they performed a rare 10-minute epic, written and sung by Randy, called “Wait & See,” which was originally intended for ON THE BORDER.
An overlooked, yet pivotal, period of Randy Meisner’s career took place between 1966 and 1968 when he was a member of the short-lived, Denver garage rock band, The Poor. Here, I hope to provide a comprehensive look at the band’s origins and brief existence on the L.A. music scene during the Summer Of Love.
The Eagles played a concert at Washington Park in Chicago on August 9th, 1975. The band also took a series of photos on Lake Michigan, one of which appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone.
