On March 1st, 1981, Randy played Pogo’s Electric Cowboy in Omaha in his home state of Nebraska.
UNO Gateway, February 27, 1981
Attending the show that night were Randy’s parents, Herman and Emilie, who had made the trip from his hometown of Scottsbluff. After the show, his parents stood on stage with him onstage as Randy was given the keys to the city by Carol Veys, daughter of Mayor Al Veys. Not to be left out, Randy’s mom was given a silver plate engraved with the city seal. Randy thanked Ms. Veys with a kiss on the cheek and, since it was her 25th birthday, presented her with a cake.
Omaha World-Herald, March 2, 1981
In the lead up to the concert, Randy was interviewed by Steve Millburg from the Omaha World-Herald where he discussed living in Palm Springs and his decision not to retire from music after he left the Eagles (“I could have.”)
“Ex-Poco member, Randy Meisner, made his subtle and important mark on the evening by doing his “Certain Kind Of Fool” and “Tryin'”–both numbers of high energy and Poco-like vocals. Meisner’s bass playing is simple, but steady.” -Jim Gerard, Cleveland Scene, May 17, 1973
Pogo played a six-night stand at the Troubadour in West Hollywood beginning February 4th, 1969. The band was billed under their original name, Pogo. This was most likely Randy’s final appearance with the band until the original five members reunited in 1989.
Los Angeles Free Press, February 7, 1969
In Michael Etchison’s review of the opening night in the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, he proclaimed Randy’s performance of Richie Furay’s “Anyway Bye Bye” as the “high point of the set” and noted how the song rose to a “falsetto climax.” This is nearly seven years before Randy was wowing audiences with the falsetto ending to “Take It To The Limit.”
“The high point of the set I saw was bassist Randy Meisner’s singing of ‘Anyway Bye Bye,’ in which he started sounding something like Rusty Draper in ‘Night Life'”‘ and rising to a falsetto climax that sparked cheers from the partisan audience.”
“Anyway Bye Bye” was one of only two songs mentioned in the review. “How Many More” (aka “Hurry Up”) was the other. Both of these songs ended up on Poco’s self-titled second album in 1970, with Richie Furay singing “Anyway Bye Bye.” Randy recorded the song eleven years later on his second solo LP, One More Song. He told BAM magazine in 1980 that he relearned the song from a recording of himself singing it with Poco at the Troubadour in 1969.
Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, February 7, 1969:
Review from the Los Angeles Free Press, February 9th, 1969. Randy was incorrectly referred to as “Randy Messina.”
Pogo photographed on the roof of the Troubadour, circa February 1969:
The first major tour date for the Eagles. The band opened for Joe Cocker. Although, they are not mentioned in any ads or reviews for the concert, they were photographed backstage after the show.
The Province, March 25, 1972
The photo below was published in the May 13th, 1972 issue of RPM, a Canadian trade publication. The caption referred to the band as “Eagle,” which is not a misprint since they were billed as Eagle at a number of their early gigs.
L-R: Randy, Bernie Leadon, Glenn Frey, Don Boas (with Kinney Services, the international distributor for Warner Bros, later known as WEA), Asylum Records general manager, John Hartmann (comedian Phil Hartman’s brother), and Don Henley.
Randy Meisner first met Glenn Frey & Don Henley when he filled in for Linda Ronstadt’s bassist at a place called Chuck’s Cellar in Los Altos, CA in June 1971.
The Eagles played Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve 1974. Among their guests were Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Dan Fogelberg, J.D. Souther and Joe Walsh.
Los Angles Times, December 29, 1974
For this show, Randy played a Hagstrom HII BN bass. This bass has a different headstock than the red Hagstrom he often played during the mid-70s.
Daily Trojan (USC), January 10, 1975
Randy (left) with J.D. Souther
“When midnight arrived, the Eagles treated everybody to a bluegrass treatment of “˜Auld Lang Syne,’ released a passelfull of balloons and let loose a gorilla who threw bananas to the audience.Then they invited a few of their friends, including Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne and opening act Dan Fogelberg–on stage to join them for ‘Take It Easy.'” (San Pedro News-Pilot, January 4, 1975)
L-R: Randy, Joe Walsh, Dan Fogelberg, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne.
Also on the bill were The Steve Miller Band & Sly and The Family Stone.
Berkeley Barb, December 20, 1968
The following poster was created for the Fillmore show by psychedelic poster pioneer, Wes Wilson, who was commissioned by concert promoter Bill Graham to design posters for the Fillmore in the late 1960s. These posters have become legendary.
Also on the bill were Bachman Turner Overdrive and Dan Fogelberg.
The review below includes a very brief interview with Glenn Frey, who said he was at a “low emotional ebb” after performing five nights in a row. It also has a couple of misprints, including the ages of the band members (“23 and 24”). At the time of the concert, Randy was the oldest at 27, Don Henley and Bernie Leadon were 26, and Glenn Frey was 25. Randy’s “Tryin'” is listed as “Keep On Moving” and “Sun’s Come Up” is “Ol’ 55.” The latter would appear on their not-yet-released album, On The Border in April 1974. Another song intended for the album, “Don’t Be Mean To Your Bad Man,” written by J.D. Souther and Glenn Frey, was also performed, but did not end up on the album. It later appeared as just “Bad Man” on Randy’s self-titled debut in 1978.
