The Eagles played Veterans Memorial Coliseum in New Haven, CT on March 26th, 1977. Jimmy Buffett opened. Listen to an audience recording of the Eagles’ set below.
“Take It To The Limit”
Full Concert Recording
Recording Setlist
Hotel California Walk Away Doolin Dalton/Desperado Reprise Lyin Eyes Take It To The Limit New Kid In Town Desperado(Cut) One Of These Nights Turn To Stone James Dean Best Of My Love Funk#49 Take It Easy Already Gone Victim Of Love Life In The Fast Lane Rocky Mountain Way Witchy Woman
Hartford Courant, March 28, 1977
See more dates on the Hotel California Tour below:
The Eagles performed their last concert of the Hotel California tour at Jeppesen Stadium in Houston, TX on July 9th, 1977. Jimmy Buffett was the opening act. This was Randy Meisner’s final concert as a member of the Eagles.
Houston Chronicle, June 5th, 1977
The reviews below mention Randy’s performance of “Take It To The Limit,” which proves that he performed the song right up until the end of the tour. This further discredits the claims made by Glenn Frey and Don Henley in the History Of The Eagles documentary that Randy was refusing to perform the song on the tour. It was also performed early in the concert, not as an encore. The encores that evening were “James Dean,” “Take It Easy,” and Chuck Berry’s “Oh, Carol.” The latter would mark the final song Randy performed as a member of the Eagles.1
Beaumont Enterprise, July 13, 1977
“Especially memorable from the impeccably-performed set were ‘Already Gone’ and ‘Life In The Fast Lane’ with the flying fingers of Glenn Frey, Don Felder and Joe Walsh trading guitar lines. But the crowd was no less enthusiastic about Randy Meisner’s rendering of ‘Take It To The Limit’ or the long and haunting version of ‘Witchy Woman.'” (Pete Churton, Beaumont Enterprise, July 13, 1977)
Houston Post, July 10, 1977
“But, from then until I had to leave some 50 minutes later, it was a typical Eagles-set, one old favorite after another, including ‘Doolin-Dalton,’ ‘Desperado,’ ‘Lyin’ Eyes,’ and ‘Take It To The Limit,’ along with an occasional, lesser-known album cut, such as ‘Victim Of Love.'” (Bob Claypool, Houston Post, July 10, 1977)
Get the real story about Randy’s departure from the Eagles below: โฉ๏ธ
The real story behind the Eagles’ 1977 Knoxville concert & Randy Meisner’s alleged refusal to sing “Take It To The Limit,” using facts from published concert reviews, plus Randy’s own words.
The Eagles played two sold-out nights at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. It was the second stop on the first leg of the 1977 Hotel California tour. Jimmy Buffett was the opening act.
Newsday (Nassau), February 13, 1977
The two shows at Nassau Coliseum were the first of four concerts in New York. The Eagles’ next two stops were at Madison Square Garden on the 18th, then the War Memorial Auditorium in Rochester on the 19th The band made the Drake Hotel in Manhattan their home base for their entire New York visit until March 21st, when they departed for Washington, DC. (see itinerary below):
Band itinerary on the right:
Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Irving Azoff, and road manager, Richie Fernandez outside the Drake Hotel, March 21st, 1977.
Photo ยฉHistory Of The Eagles, 2013
Concert Review
Photos
Photos exist for both Uniondale concerts, however I’m not sure which photos are from which show. Glenn Frey wore a New York Islanders jersey both nights. The Islanders are a hockey team from nearby Elmont, NY. In the 1970s, Nassau Coliseum was their home base.
Glenn in his Islanders jersey:
In this first set of photos, Randy is wearing a blue hoodie, possibly the same blue jacket from the Tour of the Pacific from January-February 1976:
Photo by Stuart Liben
Photo by Stuart Liben
In this second set of photos, Randy is wearing a gray sweatshirt. Glenn is once again in the Islanders jersey.
Following the four-night stand at the Wembley Empire Pool, plus two shows at the Apollo in Glasgow, the Eagles ended the first leg of the 1977 European tour with two sold-out shows at Bingley Hall in Stafford. One thing the band set out to prove was that they were no longer a laid-back, easy-going country-rock band:
“Any doubts about whether their sweet-sounding California dreaming songs might turn out to be monotonous and dirge-like when performed live were swiftly dispelled by their gig in Stafford. The difference between the country-rock outfit I saw…in 1973, and The Eagles as they are today, lies In their Extra Added Ingredients.
The blend has been enriched by the addition of guitarist Don Felder, a late arrival for the On The Border LP, who stamped his mark on One Of These Nights.
But it Is the newest member, Joe Walsh, who has really transformed the group into a world-beating act. His credentials are envious–a period with the James Gang followed by a series of solo albums–a man rated as one of the best guitarists in the world by Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend.”
North Wales Weekly News, May 12th, 1977
Setlist for Bingley Hall, Stafford May 4th, 1977
Hotel California Walk Away Victim Of Love Doolin-Dalton Desperado (Reprise) Lyin’ Eyes Take It To The Limit New Kid In Town Turn To Stone Already Gone Rocky Mountain Way James Dean Best Of My Love Take It Easy
The Stafford audience was treated to two-hours of “non-stop exhilaration”:
“There wasn’t a bad number in the whole set. No lull in the proceedings, Just a series of highlights…
The first was ‘Doolin-Dalton,’ the opening track from Desperado, which struck home early in the set. Then it was Walsh’s thumping rendition of ‘Turn To Stone,’ ending in a slide-guitar crescendo, all perfectly controlled.
North Wales Weekly News, May 12th, 1977
Praise for Randy’s performance of “Take It To The Limit”:
“Then it was Randy Meisner’s ‘Take It To The Limit’ from One Of These Nights, which showed off another of their assets, those harmonies, to the full. In whichever department you look, The Eagles are either competent, good or brilliant.” (North Wales Weekly News, May 12th, 1977)
“Bass guitarist Randy Meisner, together with his super voice on”Take It To The Limit,” provided the 12,000 plus crowd with the perfect foil for the rest of the band.” (Coleshill (England)Chronicle, May 13, 1977)
Reviews
Read the full-length reviews quoted in this section here:
North Wales Weekly, May 12, 1977
Coleshill (England) Chronicle, May 13th, 1977
Signatures from Don Felder, Randy, and Glenn Frey obtained by an employee of Bingley Hall. Source.
The Eagles took a three-day break before their week-long tour of Germany on May 7th.
On May 17th and 18th, 1977, the Eagles played two concerts in Sweden. These were the final dates of their 1977 European tour. An audience recording exists of Randy’s performance of “Take It To The Limit” at the Scandinavium in Gothenburg, their final tour date. Listen to it below.
The band arrived in Stockholm following their appearance inย Hamburg on May 15th. At some point between Hamburg on May 15th (left) and Stockholm on May 17th (right), Randy got a haircut, which is noticeable in the photos below.
Randy’s first wife, Jennifer, and son, Dana, had joined him for the European tour. Jennifer recalled Randy singing to her at their hotel in Sweden:
Jennifer: “He always liked to sing‘Jennifer Juniper’ to me. I remember it so well in Sweden. Iโm in the hotel room, old hotel, I hear him singing as he was coming down the hall.” (via personal correspondence with Jennifer Meisner)
May 17 Grรถna Lund, Stockholm
The Eagles performed their first Scandinavian show at the Grรถna Lund amusement park in Stockholm. It was windy and cold, as noted by the long sleeves and Randyโs turtleneck.
Photo ยฉRoland Schrรถder
Review of the Stockholm show from unknown Swedish music magazine, 1977:
Photo ยฉGai Terrell
The Eagles equipment stacked up on the Stora Scenen stage at Grรถna Lund Amusement Park, Stockholm. Photo ยฉJonte Strรถmberg
The Eagles onstage in Stockholm, May 17th, 1977:
Photo ยฉRoland Schrรถder
Photo ยฉGai Terrell
May 18th, 1977 Scandinavium, Gothenburg
This show was their final gig of the 1977 European tour. Listen to an audience recording of the concert below.
Setlist
Hotel California Walk Away Victim Of Love Lyinโ Eyes Take It To The Limit New Kid In Town Desperado One Of These Nights Turn To Stone Already Gone Life In The Fast Lane Rocky Mountain Way Witchy Woman James Dean
Randy performing โTake It To The Limitโ in Gothenburg, May 18th, 1977. The audio is a bit sluggish, but Randyโs stunning performance of the song is the perfect coda for their European tour.
“Take It To The Limit” – Gothenburg, Sweden, May 18, 1977
The Eagles played the War Memorial Auditorium in Rochester on March 19th, 1977.
Randy performed both โTake It To The Limitโ and โTry And Love Againโ at this show. According to the review, his high note in TITTL was โnothing short of amazingโฆand about three octaves above any sound human beings are usually able to sing.โ
Monroe Doctrine (Monroe Community College), March 25, 1977
The Eagles played the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville on June 23rd, 1977. The day before, the band played a game of softball against radio and record company personnel.
The Eagles onstage in Nashville. Andrew Gold opened.
Review from the Nashville Tennessean.
The day before the concert, the Eagles, aka “The Party Plane,” played a softball game against Elektra-Asylum personnel and local radio celebrities. Randy is in the background in the top right photo.
Randy’s yellow and white “Party Plane” shirt (photos courtesy of Jennifer Meisner):
Playing for the opposing team was slide guitar aficionado, Mac Gayden. Below Gayden recalls (via Facebook) the softball game and mentions that he was initially considered as Bernie Leadon’s replacement before Walsh was added.
In 1976, when the Eagles were recording Hotel California at Criteria Studios in Miami, Gayden was in an adjacent studio at Criteria recording his album, Hymn To The Seeker. Gayden asked Randy to sing background on the song, “Someone Whispered.” It’s an overlooked gem in the Meisner canon of guest appearances. Check it out.
Footage of the Nashville softball game from the History Of The Eagles documentary. ยฉAlison Ellwood, Jigsaw Productions, 2013
The Eagles played the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (aka BJCC Coliseum) in Birmingham, AL. Andrew Gold opened.
According to the review, Randy gave a “stunning rendition” of “Take It To The Limit.”
Birmingham News, June 25, 1977
Randy played a black Hagstrom bass. A switch from his usual Rickenbacker 4001, which was his go-to bass on the 1977 Hotel California tour. See more of Randy’s basses here.
Andrew Gold opened both shows. Steve Miller made a guest appearance on the 19th.
June 19th
“Randy Meisner, the bass guitarist, lifted the show to a new level of excitement with his singing of ‘Take It To The Limit.'” Scott Cain, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 20th, 1977
June 20th
“Bassist Randy Meisner gave an outstanding singing performance on ‘Take It To The Limit.'” Bill King, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 21st, 1977
Eagles onstage, June 20th, 1977. Photo ยฉKelly Campbell.
Review: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 21st, 1977
The Eagles played Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC on June 27, 1977. Andrew Gold opened. This concert was one night before the infamous Knoxville concert where Randy and Glenn Frey had a backstage fight.
Greensboro Record, June 28, 1977
During the concert, Randy handed out water to sweltering fans, and his high note on “Take It To The Limit” was compared to opera soprano, Anna Moffo.
“Bassist Randy Meisner gave the crowd a good rush when he took a note in ‘Take It To The Limit’ that Anna Moffo would be proud to call her own. Meisner had a great rapport with the crowd. At least twice he came to the aid of fans sweltering on the front lines of the surging floor crowd with some liquid relief. They appreciated it and showed so by making him come to the mike to take a bow for his high note.”
Russ Edmonston, Greensboro Daily News, June 28, 1977
Greensboro Daily News, June 28, 1977
Notice that Randy is playing a black Hagstrom bass. A change from his usual Rickenbacker 4001 from the 1977 Hotel California tour. He played the black Hagstrom a few days earlier in Birmingham as well. Find out more about Randy’s basses here.
Photo by Marc Y. Chenevert:
At some point during this stop in Greensboro, Randy was interviewed by Lou O’Neill, Jr from the New York Post. The short interview was published on July 15th, 1977. Read it below:
