Pasadena Star-News, March 25, 1994. Meisner misspelled as “Miesner”
The band was billed under their actual name: Meisner, Rich & Swan. The misnomer Meisner, Swan & Rich was due to an error on a CD insert in 2001, several years after the group had disbanded.
Meisner, Rich & Swan: Randy Meisner: vocals, bass Allen Rich (aka Charlie Rich, Jr): vocals, keyboards Billy Swan: vocals, acoustic guitar Vern Monnett: electric guitar Ron Grinel: drums (Grinel had previously performed with the Roberts-Meisner Band, as well as Joe Walsh’s band in the 1970s. Both Randy and Grinel appeared on Walsh’s So What album in 1974)
Concert photos by Stephen Duncan, who also acquired the autographs.
Footage
Watch several songs from the group’s set below.
Pretty Baby Try & Love Again You Look Like Someone I Could Love Lonesome Cowgirl I Can Help Take It To The Limit Midnight Flyer
Footage @Stephen Duncan
Harriet Kaplan of Music Connection reviewed the concert. She described Meisner, Rich & Swan’s performance as “low-key & unpretentious” and noted that the three key members introduced each other’s songs with “obvious admiration.” She also highlighted the group’s vocal harmonies as their most impressive feature.
Music Connection, April 25, 1994. The article incorrectly attributes the Eagles’ song “Try & Love Again” to Poco.
Randy with fan Stephen Duncan outside the Wise Guys nightclub:
Meisner, Rich & Swan played the Buffalo Rose in Golden, CO, on January 12, 1995. Patrick Shanahan, Randy’s former bandmate from The Poor and Rick Nelson’s Stone Canyon Band, attended the show.
Randy Meisner: A Retrospective is proud to debut this rare, hour-long film by Richard Randall, which features never-before-seen interview and concert footage from 1995.
According to Charlie Rich, Jr, this was was the band’s first gig.
“Temecula, California. Our first show together. After the show ended I knew I was a part of something special. We continued working the West Coast for the next few months. Then I spoke with a friend in Holland that was interested in booking the band. We did a European tour that was just a blast. We used Mark Craney on drums, as (John) Molo was out with Bruce Hornsby at the time.”
The band’s original name was Meisner, Rich and Swan. They were billed under this name from 1992 until their last performance in 1996. The band later became known as Meisner, Swan and Rich following a CD labeling mishap in 2001, when the band was no longer touring together.
