Randy appeared as a guest of singer-songwriter Roger Varian at the Ojai Day festival on October 9th, 1993. He performed “Take It To The Limit.” Watch below.
Oxnard Star Free Press, Sept. 30, 1993
Roger Varian & Friends. Front: Ron Grinel (drummer for the Roberts-Meisner Band), Colin Cameron, Randy Meisner Back: Roger Varian, Drake Macy, Jim Monahan, Vern Monnett (guitarist for Meisner, Swan & Rich).
“Take It To The Limit”:
Randy sang backup on several songs performed by Varian at the festival. Watch them here.
The Eagles played Berkeley Community Center on June 16th, 1973. King Crimson opened. Listen to an audience recording of the Eagles’ set below.
San Francisco Examiner, June 10, 1973
Audience Recording
Randy sang lead on “Certain Kind Of Fool,” Tryin'” and co-lead on “How Long.” The full concert is also provided below.
“Certain Kind Of Fool”
“Tryin'”
“How Long” (co-lead with Glenn Frey & Don Henley)
Full Concert Recording
The recording includes a rare live version of “Bitter Creek.” On the album version, Randy played a guitarrón (acoustic bass). I believe he is playing it on this live recording because he can be heard tuning it before the song begins (@14:05). The guitarrón has a very deep sound, different from an electric bass.
Recording Setlist Take It Easy (with Silver Dagger intro) How Long Doolin-Dalton Bitter Creek Peaceful Easy Feeling Desperado Twenty-One Early Bird Certain Kind Of Fool Outlaw Man Witchy Woman Lazy Days (Gram Parsons’ song) Tryin’ Tequila Sunrise
Review
The concert started with Glenn Frey parading around onstage with an eagle mask on his head and a Budweiser in his hand.
The Roberts-Meisner Band played the Odyssey Room in Sunnyvale, CA on July 17th, 1987.
San Jose Mercury News, July 17, 1987
Many thanks to the Odyssey Room’s former owner, Gary Schmidt, for sharing the following remembrance of Randy with me, as well as a photo:
“I owned the Odyssey Room in Sunnyvale for 20 years. I opened it in 1969 and closed it in 1989. I booked the Roberts Meisner band numerous times at the Odyssey Room it was one of the greatest live performance acts we had there in 20 years and we had some great ones. I visited with Randy a lot. Randy died on my 80th birthday July 26, 2023. I also owned club outside of Reno called the Reindeer Lodge in the mountain between Reno and Incline Village that they played at. I had an 80th birthday party at the Red Dog Saloon in Virginia City where I live that Barry Melton and his band played at.1 I believe I was on stage talking about Randy Meisner when he passed away from what I know about his death in the early evening. I didn’t find out that he had died that night till two days later but I was talking about my experiences in the night club and concert production businesses and spent a lot of time talking about Randy that evening . God rest his soul. Thanks Randy for all the music!”
L-R: Dewey Martin, Gary Schmidt & Randy at the Odyssey Room, 1987:
Barry Melton was “Fish” from Country Joe & The Fish. ↩︎
The Eagles played four sold-out concerts at The Forum in Inglewood, CA, October 19-22, 1976. Get all the details and hear audio from the shows, plus one complete concert.
Randy made his debut as a solo performer at the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach, CA on August 25th & 26th, 1978. A live recording exists from the show.
Using private home movie footage, shared exclusively here, we’ll follow Randy Meisner and the Eagles from LA to Oakland where they played Day On The Green on August 3rd, 1976.
According to Charlie Rich, Jr, this was was the band’s first gig.
“Temecula, California. Our first show together. After the show ended I knew I was a part of something special. We continued working the West Coast for the next few months. Then I spoke with a friend in Holland that was interested in booking the band. We did a European tour that was just a blast. We used Mark Craney on drums, as (John) Molo was out with Bruce Hornsby at the time.”
The band’s original name was Meisner, Rich and Swan. They were billed under this name from 1992 until their last performance in 1996. The band later became known as Meisner, Swan and Rich following a CD labeling mishap in 2001, when the band was no longer touring together.
On July 6th, 1972, the Eagles opened for Procol Harum at Golden Hall, which was located at the San Diego Community Concourse facility. It was the second of two Southern California gigs. The first was two nights at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, also opening for Procol Harum. Following the San Diego concert, the Eagles were interviewed backstage by a young journalist named Cameron Crowe.
Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, June 30, 1972.
A photo of the band was taken backstage at Golden Hall by Gary Elam, a friend of Cameron Crowe, who interviewed the band in their dressing room for the underground paper, The San DiegoDoor.
L-R: Glenn Frey, Randy Meisner, Don Henley, and Bernie Leadon.
In 2015, Crowe recalled attending the concert and meeting the Eagles backstage. However, he mistakenly recalled that the concert took place at the San Diego Civic Theater. He also states that the Eagles opened with “Seven Bridges Road.” I can find no evidence of the Eagles performing that song until 1976. He probably meant the folk ballad “Silver Dagger, ” which was an early a cappella opening for “Take It Easy.”
Cameron Crowe:
“‘Take It Easy’ had only been out a few months in the summer of 1972. I was a big fan of the song, and was still in high school when the Eagles came to the San Diego Civic Theatre. They were the opening act on a bill with Procol Harum and Cold Blood, and the Civic Theatre was a few blocks from my house. I bought a ticket, and brought my tape recorder. The idea was to slip backstage and talk the band into an interview for the local underground paper, The San Diego Door.
The Eagles opened the evening without an introduction. The lights lowered, and they began with an a cappella version of ‘Seven Bridges Road,’ quickly adding instruments and swinging into ‘Take It Easy.’ They were fierce and joyful, playing with all the piss and vinegar of a young band hitting its early stride. I slipped backstage with my photographer friend from high school, Gary Elam, and asked their road manager if I could interview the band. They were eager to talk. Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner all hung out in a tiny dressing room and spent hours detailing their history and their dreams of hitting the big-time. ‘If you like us, you should check out our friend Jackson Browne and John David Souther,’ Glenn Frey said excitedly, clutching a long-neck Budweiser. They posed for a photo by the amps, arms around each other, and we exchanged phone numbers. I stayed in touch with them. (Little did I know, that fuzzy group shot would be one of the only known photos of all four original members hugging each other. Looking at it today, it has the same slightly surreal quality of one of those photos of the Loch Ness Monster.) –“Cameron Crowe Looks Back On His Eagles Cover Story,” Rolling Stone, August 17, 2015.
Below is the interview from the San Diego Door, November 3rd, 1972. Randy is not quoted, except to tell Crowe that he “liked to listen.”
“Meisner kept silent throughout the following conversation, choosing to remain quietly attentive. Later he responded with a ‘“’I like to listen.’ Hopefully, it was sincere.”
Black Tie (billed individually) performed at the Cinegrill in Hollywood for their “Jam” night. Original members Randy, Jimmy Griffin, and Billy Swan were joined by Blondie Chaplin, David Kemper, and George Michalski, who were part of their touring band. Kemper also appeared on Black Tie’s album, When The Night Falls.
Randy & guitarist Cary Park at the Strawberry Festival. Source: Cary Park
After the show, Randy and Rick posed with a local artist named Dan “Sandman” Long, who created sand sculptures in large glass jars. Photo: Rick Roberts.
The Eagles played to 200,000 at the music festival, California Jam, held at the Ontario Motor Speedway outside of Los Angeles. The concert was produced by ABC and simulcast on TV and radio on May 10th, 1974. Jackson Browne filled in on several songs with the band in the absence of Don Felder, whose wife went into labor on the day of the concert.
Ad from the Los Angeles Free Press, March 22, 1974
Two stages were used that were perched on 600 feet of railroad track. As one band played, the other stage was set up for the next act, then rolled onto center stage. The stages can be seen under the striped canopies. The semi-circle of trailers behind the stages were the bands’ dressing rooms.
Photo by Mark Sullivan.
The Eagles played a 45-minute set (only 20 minutes was televised) (Not in order of performance)
James Dean Blackberry Blossom Midnight Flyer Already Gone Take It Easy Tequila Sunrise Witchy Woman Peaceful Easy Feeling Early Bird Outlaw Man
Below is a clip of the Eagles’ intro from the radio simulcast on ABC’s KLOS-FM in Los Angeles:
Heading to the stage: L-R: Glenn Frey (behind the door), Don Henley, Randy Meisner, Bernie Leadon, and road manager, Richie Fernandez.
Bernie, Randy (blue shirt), Glenn and Don
L to R: Randy Meisner, Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Bernie Leadon
Randy’s blue shirt with the hand-embroidered eagle was a gift from a fan named Terri “Woody” Smith. She also gave him a yellow shirt with the cover design from On The Border, also hand-embroidered (see it here).
Photos by Jeffrey Mayer.Photos by Julian Baum.
Randy performing “Midnight Flyer” from On The Border, which had just been released:
The footage below includes the five songs that aired in the televised concert on May 10th, 1974:
Below is a post-show interview with Bernie Leadon that appeared in the San Diego Door, May 14th, 1974. Although Bernie talked mostly about the band’s music and albums up to 1974, he did voice his frustration to interviewer Greg Leonard about the band’s mid-day performance at Cal Jam:
“Bernie had just returned from what he felt was a frustrating performance in the mid-day heat. When I met him he was nursing a glass of champagne trying to relax after the tension of playing outdoors, with no prior soundcheck, before nearly 200,000 people.”
Reviews and further reading.
Daily Report, Ontario, CA, April 7, 1974
USC Daily Trojan, April 22, 1974
Circus, August 1974 (includes review of On The Border as well as California Jam.) Love the author’s description of Randy as “impish.”
San Diego Door, April 24, 1974 “The Eagles played the most aesthetically satisfying set of the day.”
