J.D. Souther opened.
Randy lent his “well-groomed soprano to ‘Take It To The Limit.” (Wichita Beacon, November 16, 1976)
The Eagles kicked off a ten-day tour of Australia. This was the first show with Joe Walsh in the band.
For this show, Randy wore a shirt for Average White Band’s AWB album. He is also playing a rare Fender Telecaster bass.
Randy’s “Take It To The Limit” was “really well-performed and the crowd reaction was instantaneous, long and loud–so long, in fact, that he told the crowd it was embarrassing him, and he looked as if it were.”
J.D. Souther opened.
Before the show, Randy, Don Felder, and J.D. Souther were spotted grabbing a bite at the Burger King down the street from Market Square Arena.
Randy’s performance of “Take It To The Limit” was the highlight of the evening and earned him a standing ovation.
“The man who stole the show, perhaps, was bass player Randy Meisner, who sang lead only once. The number was last winter’s giant hit, “Take It To The Limit.” Meisner had ’em cheering long before the finish of the song. His clean, crisp high vocals earned him the only standing ovation for an individual performance.”
Zach Dunkin, Indianapolis News, November 23, 1976
Review from Indianapolis News, November 23, 1976. Joe Walsh is incorrectly identified in the photo as Don Felder.
J.D. Souther was the opening act.
A week before the show on November 11th, the band was interviewed by radio host, Gary Bridges, for an Eagles special on WDBG.
According to the review, the truck transporting the band’s sound system was involved in a serious accident in Des Moines, IA the day before the show, so the band had to rent less-than-ideal sound equipment for a large arena.
Sadly, no mention of Randy in the review (the only band member not mentioned).
J.D. Souther opened.
Photos by David Slania.
Randy wore a shirt with the logo for Randy’s Rodeo in San Antonio, TX. He was also playing his newly acquired Music Man Stingray bass, which were just introduced that year.
J.D. Souther opened.
According to the review, Randy’s soprano on “Take It To The Limit” sent the audience into a “frenzy,” and “Midnight Flyer” brought out the cowboys in the crowd.
In the photos, Randy is playing a Music Man Stingray bass, which had just been introduced that year.
J.D. Souther opened the show and later joined the band onstage for “Best Of My Love,” which he co-wrote with Don Henley & Glenn Frey.
The Summit had a four-sided video screen called a “Telscreen” which hung from the ceiling. Any band who came in to perform paid a flat fee for use of the Telscreen and received a videotape of the concert in return. These Telscreen performances were often bootlegged, hence the existing footage of the Eagles Summit show, which has never been released officially.
According to a March 5th, 1978 article in the Houston Chronicle, the Summit’s Telscreen production crew were known to add graphics to their video footage as it was happening. During concerts, they focused mainly on whoever was singing. This explains the footage of the Summit show, which included graphics between songs and very few camera angles.
At the show, Randy and Joe both wore white t-shirts bearing the logo for Criteria Studios in Miami where the band was finishing up Hotel California at the time. In fact, the previous night’s show in Baton Rouge was held up for two hours because the band was late arriving from Miami.
In 2006, Randy recalled the grueling touring and recording schedule from this period:
“We had to go out on the road while we were doing that album and then go back to Criteria Studios in Florida to finish it…We went back and forth a lot…wanted to get the tracks right and mixed right. We knew the album was special.“
Interview with Ken Sharp, 2006
Below are Randy’s two lead-singing performances from the show:
“Take It To The Limit”
“Midnight Flyer”
Click the link below to watch the concert in its entirety:
Eagles, Houston Summit, November 6, 1976
The band arrived two hours late from Miami where they were putting the finishing touches on Hotel California.
Opening the show was J.D. Souther. Randy performed “Midnight Flyer” and “Take It To The Limit.”
Below: a new (to me) photo by concertgoer Debbie Ray:
According to a description of the show in LSU’s 1977 Gumbo yearbook, someone in the audience threw an object at Randy during “Tequila Sunrise” hitting him on the side of the head:
“As the group was arrayed across the stage singing, ‘Tequila Sunrise,’ someone threw an object from the side of the stage which hit bass player Randy Meisner on the side of his head. He grimaced but continued playing until the song’s conclusion when he picked up the object and hurled it back in the general direction from which it had come. Dropping his bass with an amplified thud he stalked off stage in a huff as the rest of the group received the applause oblivious to the whole incident.” (Gumbo yearbook, 1977, Louisiana State University)
All photos from LSU’s Gumbo yearbook (1977):
According to the review in LSU’s Daily Reveille, Randy’s solo on “Take It To The Limit” was a highlight (5th paragraph).
The band’s late arrival is mentioned in the Baton Rouge Advocate review, November 6, 1976:
J.D. Souther opened for the Eagles.
“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.”
On October 15, 1976, the Eagles played the Activity Center at Arizona State University. J.D. Souther opened.
The review of the show in the Arizona State University newspaper, The State Press, mentions “Hotel California” as being played, which would have been the first documented performance of the song. The author incorrectly claims the album, Hotel California, was released in February 1976. This person must have been thinking of Their Greatest Hits: 1971-1975, which had been released that February (and did not include “Hotel California). The album Hotel California was not released until December.
Photographer: Koh Hasebe
Location, Eagles Press Conference, Tokyo
Photographer: Gary McGuire
This photo was included in the Hotel California Song Book.
Photographer: David Alexander
