J.D. Souther was also on the bill. The Eagles drew the second largest crowd ever at the festival, which was sponsored by Southern Illinois University/Edwardsville (SIUE), with 29,700 attending. The Who drew the largest in 1971 with 31,000.
The show was not without problems. Festival officials had only planned for a crowd of 12,000, but twice as many showed up. There were traffic jams, fights, and property damage.
Randy backstage before the show
There were more problems behind-the-scenes. The Eagles’ road manager “threw a tantrum” because the food provided to the group was not what they requested:
“The road manager threw a tantrum because the food furnished for the group was cold cuts, not hot fried chicken. He complained about stage security. The group itself couldn’t decide if they wanted a sound check or not.” (Alton Telegraph, July 30, 1975)
Nevertheless, backstage photos show the band’s dining area with what appears to be fried chicken remnants on the table.
They also performed a sound check. Photo by Ken Regan.
During the afternoon of the concert, Ken Regan took a series of photos of the band at the local Holiday Inn as well as backstage at the festival site:
Mississippi River Festival Setlist (partial) Take It Easy Peaceful, Easy Feeling Outlaw Man Desperado James Dean Witchy Woman Already Gone Best Of My Love
Jimmy Buffett opened. Randy sang lead on “Midnight Flyer” and “Too Many Hands.”
When Buffett inducted the Eagles into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 1998, he recalled that he met the band for the first time backstage at this show.
The State, August 3, 1975
SETLIST:
Take It Easy Outlaw Man Desperado One Of These Nights Train Leaves Here This Morning Peaceful Easy Feeling Ol’ 55 Journey Of The Sorceror Midnight Flyer Already Gone Too Many Hands Good Day In Hell James Dean Witchy Woman Oh Carol (encore) Best Of My Love (encore) Tequila Sunrise (encore)
Also on the bill were Linda Ronstadt and Jackson Browne.
Randy performed “Take It To The Limit” at this show in one of his first-ever performances of the song. On a more bittersweet note, this was the last concert to feature the original four members of the Eagles. Bernie Leadon quit the band shortly after the Anaheim show and the Eagles did not perform again for the rest of the year. When they returned to touring in January 1976, the band included Leadon’s replacement, Joe Walsh.
Below is Robert Hilburn’s review of the festival in the Los Angeles Times, September 30th, 1975. This is the first known mention of “Take It To The Limit” in a concert review (second to last paragraph). Randy also performed “Midnight Flyer.”
Although not billed, Tom Waits performed at the August 18th show, much to the displeasure of the audience:
“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 (read more here). The next year his comments about the band were even more harsh when he told a reporter that their albums were only good for “keeping 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
The following review is not the most positive, but provides a good description of the show and the songs that were played.
At one point during the Eagles’ set, sportscaster, actor, and former Detroit Lions football player, Alex Karras, appeared onstage with the band in a red wig and large guitar. Note Detroit native Glenn Frey’s shirt that said: Alex Karras Blues Band.
Photographer: David Alexander Location: Calabasas, CA
First photos featuring new member, Joe Walsh, who had joined the band in late 1975 following the departure of original member, Bernie Leadon. One photo from this shoot was used to advertise the first American show, with their new lineup, in the Honolulu Advertiser, January 24, 1976. This early advertisement helped date the photos to at least December 1975 because Randy still had long hair. When the band appeared in Australia in January 1976, Randy had cut his hair short.
Don Felder recalled in his autobiography that this photo session took place at a ranch in Calabasas, “with old wagon wheels in the yard,” while the band was in the early stages of working on their forthcoming album, Hotel California.
These photos were taken while the band was in Chicago for a concert at Washington Park. One photo from this session was used for the Eagles’ first appearance on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in September 1975, which included a piece about the band written by Cameron Crowe.
Photographer: Ken Regan Location: Edwardsville, Illinois, prior to the Mississippi River Festival. Most photos were taken at a nearby Holiday Inn, others backstage at the festival.
Photographer: Norman Seeff Location: Los Angeles, CA
This was the band’s first session with photographer Norman Seeff, a former medical doctor who emigrated to the United States from South Africa in the late 1960s to pursue a career as a rock photographer. One of his first assignments was the cover of the The Band’s Stage Fright.
An image from this 1975 session with Seeff appears on the back cover of the Eagles fourth studio album, One Of These Nights. Seeff described the session in an interview with Rolling Stone in 2013:
“This session for their ONE OF THESE NIGHTS album resulted in some striking images where each member of the band was being themselves in a confident way. Creating a moment with several artists at once can be challenging. When you work with 5 artists, if you don’t create a simultaneous relationship with every single person and someone loses eye contact, then they’re not all present.”
Forty-seven years ago today, the Eagles played Kent State University on the eve of the 5th anniversary of the Kent State Shootings. But it was not without controversy.
