Randy Meisner: A Retrospective

Glenn Frey

Eagles
Madison Square Garden, March 18th, 1977

This was the third date on the Eagles’ 1977 Hotel California tour. Jimmy Buffett was the opening act.

Although this was the Eagles’ debut at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, the band played Felt Forum, the Garden’s smaller venue, back in 1972. For this sold-out appearance, the Eagles were backed by an orchestra for three songs: “Desperado Reprise,” “Wasted Time,” and “Take It To The Limit.” Three members of the Rolling Stones attended the concert: Mick Jagger, Ron Wood, and Bill Wyman. Wood accompanied the Eagles onstage for their last encore of Chuck Berry’s “Carol.”

An after-show party was given by Elektra/Asylum at the Garden’s Penn Plaza Club.

Praise for Randy:
“The event of the evening came with bassist Randy Meisner’s stunning vocalization of ‘Take It To The Limit’. In addition to sing-along support from the total audience, he received a standing ovation after each chorus.” (Record World, April 23, 1977)

Setlist
(Compiled from contemporary reviews)

Hotel California
Turn To Stone
Lyin’ Eyes
Doolin-Dalton/Desperado Reprise
Wasted Time
Take It To The Limit
New Kid In Town
Desperado
One Of These Nights
Turn To Stone
Already Gone
Life In the Fast Lane
Victim Of Love
Rocky Mountain Way
Welcome To The Club
Witchy Woman
James Dean
Take It Easy
Best Of My Love
Carol

Reviews

Rolling Stone, May 5, 1977

Record World, April 23, 1977

The After-Show Party

Among the guests were Faye Dunaway, Paul Simon, John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd, Linda Ronstadt and J.D. Souther. Although members of the Rolling Stones were present at the concert, they did not attend the post-concert party.

According to Rolling Stone magazine: “The guests dined on Mexican food, but only had one brand of cheap white tequila to wash down their tacos.”

Rolling Stone, May 5, 1977

Below: Glenn at the buffet table which included an ice eagle sculpture.

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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

Cleveland Scene, May 17, 1973
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eagles Randy Meisner wichita 1976

EAGLES
Henry Levitt Arena
Wichita State University
Wichita, Kansas, November 15th, 1976

J.D. Souther opened.

Randy lent his “well-groomed soprano to ‘Take It To The Limit.” (Wichita Beacon, November 16, 1976)

Wichita Beacon, November 16, 1976
The Sunflower, Wichita State Univ, November 17, 1976
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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.

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Randy Meisner, Eagles, Brisbane, Australia January 20 1976 Photo Vincent Barker

EAGLES
Festival Hall, Brisbane, Australia
January 20th, 1976

The Eagles kicked off a ten-day tour of Australia. This was the first show with Joe Walsh in the band.

For this show, Randy wore a shirt for Average White Band’s AWB album. He is also playing a rare Fender Telecaster bass.

Sydney Morning Herald, January 4th, 1976
Photo ©Vincent Barker.
Photo ©Vincent Barker.
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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
December 31, 1974, Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles
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.
News-Pilot (San Pedro, CA) – January 4, 1975
Photo: Daryl Nace (Rivendell Gallery)

Randy performed on New Year’s Eve at least nine times over the course of his career. Here are the other appearances:

Drivin’ Dynamics, Little Moon Lake, Torrington, Wyoming, December 31, 1962
Drivin’ Dynamics, Terry’s Arena, Terrytown NE, December 31, 1964
Pogo, Shrine Hall, Los Angeles, December 31, 1968
Roberts-Meisner Band, Calvary Presbyterian Church, San Francisco, December 31, 1987
Roberts-Meisner Band, Sheraton Harbor Island, San Diego, December 31, 1988
Meisner, Swan & Rich, Lake Of The Torches Casino, Green Bay, WI, December 31, 1996
World Classic Rockers, Hilton Waikoloa Village, Hilo, Hawaii, December 31, 2003
World Classic Rockers, Hilton Waikoloa Village, Hilo, Hawaii, December 31, 2005

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
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 14, 1973
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