EAGLES Sunshine Festival, Anaheim, CA, September 28th, 1975
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.”
EAGLES Akron University Gym, Akron, OH May 13, 1973
The Eagles opened for Spooky Tooth
“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
Photo Archive: Eagles, Vancouver, April 19th, 1972
Location: Backstage at Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, BC, Canada, April 19th, 1972. The band opened for Joe Cocker.
This photo of the group was published in the May 13th, 1972 issue of RPM, a Canadian trade publication. The caption referred to the band as “Eagle,” which may not be a misprint since they were also called Eagle at their next two shows in Spokane and Portland (also opening for Joe Cocker).
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, 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.
EAGLES Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles December 31, 1974
Dan Fogelberg opened. They also invited a few guests to join them. That’s Randy with the beard in the photos from the show.
Los Angles Times, December 29, 1974
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) Joe Walsh was also among the guests.
L-R: Randy, Joe Walsh, Dan Fogelberg, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne.
EAGLES Kiel Opera House, St. Louis, MO December 13, 1973
Dan Fogelberg opened.
The review below also includes an interview with Don Henley and Glenn Frey backstage. Randy and Bernie did not contribute much, but “stuck their heads in to add dry wit from time to time.”
At the show, the Eagles played a couple of numbers that would eventually end up on On The Border, including “Good Day In Hell” and “Ol’ 55” (sung by Glenn, but the author incorrectly states it was sung by Bernie). They also played “Be Good To Your Badman” (aka “Bad Man”), co-written by J.D. Souther and Glenn Frey, which did not end up on On The Border, but did become the first track on Randy’s first solo album in 1978.
Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), December 15, 1973
“Gathering Of The Clan” Benefit for Fred Walecki August 8, 2000
Randy participated in the first of a two-day benefit called “Gathering Of The Clan” for Fred Walecki, owner of Westwood Music in Los Angeles, who had been diagnosed with throat cancer. Walecki’s store was well-known in the music industry as the go-to place to buy instruments and other gear. According to Randy, all of the Eagles bought their instruments from him. “He became like one of the group almost.” The benefit was organized by Glyn Johns and Bernie Leadon. At the August 8th show, Randy sang “Already Gone” and “Take It To The Limit” (listen to his set below). Accompanying Randy on both tracks were his bandmates in the World Classic Rockers, plus fellow former Eagle, Bernie Leadon.
Randy backstage at the Fred Walecki benefit
“Already Gone” and “Take It To The Limit” (the entire set with talking between songs and at the end).
Star-studded group photo at the Gathering Of The Clan. Randy is in the middle with his World Classic Rockers bandmates.
BLACK TIE Belly Up Tavern, Solana Beach, CA November 14th, 1985
This was Black Tie’s first club performance. The band included, Randy, Jimmy Griffin from Bread, Billy Swan, David Kemper from the Jerry Garcia Band, and Randy’s former Eagle bandmate, Bernie Leadon, who toured with the band through January 1986, when he was replaced with Blondie Chaplin.
All but Leadon appeared on the band’s album, When Night Falls, which featured Randy singing lead on one song: Buddy Holly’s “Learning The Game.” However, when the album was rereleased on CD in 1990, Randy’s lead vocal on the song was replaced with Griffin’s. Listen to Randy’s version here:
“Learning The Game” (original album version) – Black Tie
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.
Photo Archive: Eagles, ONE OF THESE NIGHTS Cover, 1975
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.”
