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

California Jam from above. Photo by Mark Sullivan.
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.

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 at Cal Jam.
According to Jennifer Meisner, the eagle on his shirt was hand-embroidered by a fan.
Photo ©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:

“James Dean”
“Blackberry Blossom”
“Midnight Flyer”
“Already Gone”
“Take It Easy”

Post-show interview with Bernie Leadon (San Diego Door, May 14, 1974)
Although Bernie talks 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.”



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
Balboa Stadium, San Diego, CA
September 27, 1975

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).

San Diego Union, September 7, 1975

The following review is not the most positive, but provides a good description of the show and the songs that were played.


At one point during the Eagles’ set, sportscaster, actor, and former Detroit Lions football player, Alex Karras, appeared onstage with the band in a red wig and large guitar. Note Detroit native Glenn Frey’s shirt that said: Alex Karras Blues Band.


Photo Archive: Eagles, Desperado Cover, December 18th, 1972

Photographer: Henry Diltz
Location: Paramount Ranch, Agoura Hills, CA

Photos from this session were used on the front and back cover of Desperado, released in 1973. Additional photos were published in the Desperado Songbook the same year.


“The original concept was to depict The Eagles ‘gang’ alive on the front cover and dead at the hands of the posse on the back –with pictures of the bank robbery and ensuing shoot-out in which they met their grisly fate displayed across a double spread in the middle. ‘Then, at the last minute, without telling anybody, David Geffen scrapped the centerfold,’ Diltz says. ‘He was always doing stuff like that to save three cents on the production costs.'”

Uncut, May 2007
via Henry Diltz Photography – Facebook

Diltz also filmed the session and a short film showing the band members in a staged gunfight was later shown during the Eagles’ performance of “Doolin-Dalton/Desperado (reprise)” on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert in 1974.


Photos