Eagles at the Cotton Bowl
Dallas, TX, July 6th, 1975

On July 6th, 1975, the Eagles, along with Trapeze and Montrose, opened for the Rolling Stones at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The Stones were on their legendary Tour Of The Americas.

Dallas Morning News, July 6, 1975

With temperatures in the upper 90s, it was a hot afternoon in Dallas. The Eagles hit the stage around 5:00pm. In keeping with previous outdoor concerts on the Stones’ Tour of the Americas, the bands performed under a tent-like dome (see Kansas City and Milwaukee).

Photo via Rockin’ Houston.

The Eagles’ set lasted for a little over an hour. They kicked it off with “Take It Easy,” and ran through a string of hits, including “Witchy Woman” and “Desperado.” They closed with encores of Chuck Berry’s “Carol” and “Best Of My Love.” Although Randy’s lead-singing performances were not mentioned in any review, it’s likely that he performed “Midnight Flyer” and “Too Many Hands,” which were part of the Eagles’ setlist in the Summer of 1975.

Randy at the Cotton Bowl.

Most reviews of the Dallas concert focused on the Rolling Stones since they were not only the headliners, but one of the most popular bands in the world in 1975. The Houston Post review below did the best job at detailing at least a few of the songs that the Eagles performed (see second column).

Houston Post, July 13, 1975

Photos

All images below ©Watt Casey.

Photo Archive: Randy Meisner, 1983

This photo appears to have originally been published as part of the fold-out lyric insert to the Dallas LP, released in Japan in 1983 (a live recording from Nick’s Uptown Theater in Dallas, TX from December 1982). The photo was also used on subsequent CD releases in the early 2000s.

Another pose showing Randy puffing on the cigarette can be seen on the front cover at the bottom:

This photo is most likely from the same session.