The Eagles opened for Procol Harum.
Ad for the concert from the Los Angeles Free Press, June 30th, 1972.
Note the order of the band members’ names with Bernie and Randy mentioned first.
Eagles at Santa Monica Civic. Photo by Sam Emerson.
L.A. Times review by Robert Hilburn:
Linda Ronstadt and others visit the band backstage. Randy is not pictured. Photos by Sam Emerson.
The Eagles headlined two concerts at Day On The Green in Oakland, CA over Memorial Day weekend, 1977. They also played a softball game.
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.
Photos ©Chris Walter
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.
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
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).
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:
“James Dean”
“Blackberry Blossom”
“Midnight Flyer”
“Already Gone”
“Take It Easy”
Eagles Full Concert
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.”
Click below to read full article:
Reviews and further reading (click images to access articles).
The art show was called “El Chingadero” (Elder’s nickname) and was arranged by fellow artist John Van Hamersveld. The event took place in Venice at a garage that was converted into an art studio. Elder’s artwork was later used on the cover of three Eagles albums: One Of These Nights (1975), Their Greatest Hits: 1971-1975 (1976) and The Very Best Of (2003).
This art show is often touted as the first public performance by the Eagles. This is simply false. Please see my post about the shows in Aspen and Boulder in November and December 1971. These were all advertised gigs in front of an audience. Other articles claim the band was “unsigned.” This is also untrue. The Eagles signed with Asylum in September 1971. They had just finished recording their debut album a couple of months before the art show.
The poster for the El Chingadero, which also served as an invitation.
The poster was created by Rick Griffin, who later designed the unique lettering for the Eagles’ third album, On The Border:
In Marc Eliot’s biography To The Limit, Elder recalled that the band stood in a corner and played the same songs over and over because they were nervous and didn’t seem confident in their material. Perhaps this is true, but it seems unrealistic. A couple of weeks later, they would set out on a short tour as an opening act for Joe Cocker. So, it seems unlikely that they wouldn’t have had a setlist already worked out. Plus, they had just finished recording their first album. It’s possible that they were nervous to be playing for the first time in front of an audience of their peers.
Below: Jackson Browne watches as the Eagles perform (Randy at left). ©Henry Diltz.
Bernie Leadon, Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, David Geffen, and Ned Doheny at the opening. ©Henry Diltz.
The Eagles paid homage to “El Chingadero” in the song “Visions” from One Of These Nights with the line: “Play on, El Chingadero, Play on.” The song was co-written by Don Felder and Don Henley (and sung by Felder). In his autobiography, Felder recalled the line and its meaning:
At one point in the lyrics, Don and Glenn sing, “Play on, El Chingadero, play on.” I learned later that chingadero is Spanish and loosely translates to ‘motherfucker.'”
Don Felder, Heaven and Hell: My Life In The Eagles (1974-2001)
Hear the line at 2:02:
Henry Diltz shot footage of the opening, which was shown in the documentary, History Of The Eagles. You can hear the band singing “Tryin'” as well as “Get You In The Mood,” a non-LP track, written by Glenn Frey and Jackson Browne, that later appeared as the B-side to “Take It Easy.” Henley’s narration makes it seem as though this footage was filmed in Colorado in 1971, but it was actually filmed at the art show in April 1972. You can see the artwork on the walls at :26, plus Jackson Browne, who is wearing the same clothing as the photo above. More footage from the event can be seen here.
Footage from History Of The Eagles ©Alison Ellwood, Jigsaw Productions, 2013.
The Eagles played the Sunshine Festival in Anaheim, CA on September 28th, 1975. Also on the bill were Linda Ronstadt and Jackson Browne. The concert was the Eagles’ last tour date of 1975. A live recording of the Eagles’ concert is included on the recently released One Of These Nights Deluxe Edition.
Randy sang “Take It To The Limit” at this show in one of his first-ever performances of the song. He also performed “Midnight Flyer.” The concert also marked Bernie Leadon’s last appearance with the Eagles. He quit the band later that year and was replaced with Joe Walsh.
All photos ©Jeffrey Mayer.
Los Angeles Times, September 30, 1975
Highlander (UC Riverside), October 2, 1975
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.
In November 1968, Pogo (aka Poco) played a legendary two-week stand at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. It was an appearance that would put them on the map.
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).
Randy’s yellow shirt, with the hand-embroidered design from On The Border, was a gift from a fan named Terri “Woody” Smith. The family still has this shirt. Smith also gave Randy a blue shirt with a hand-embroidered eagle pattern (see it here).
Round stage pass (see Randy’s jeans above) from Jennifer Meisner’s scrapbook.
The following review is not the most positive, but provides a good description of the show and the songs that were played.
The Eagles played Freeborn Hall at UC Davis on November 15th, 1972. Linda Ronstadt was also on the bill.
