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Road Stories
A few entertaining vignettes from Randy’s life on the road.
Eagles At The Forum, 1976
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.
Taking the Party Plane to Oakland
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.
Eagles
Bingley Hall, Stafford, England
May 3-4, 1977
Following the four-night stand at the Wembley Empire Pool, plus two shows at the Apollo in Glasgow, the Eagles ended the first leg of the 1977 European tour with two sold-out shows at Bingley Hall in Stafford. Valerie Carter opened. One thing the band set out to prove was that they were no longer a laid-back, easy-going country-rock band:
“Any doubts about whether their sweet-sounding California dreaming songs might turn out to be monotonous and dirge-like when performed live were swiftly dispelled by their gig in Stafford. The difference between the country-rock outfit I saw…in 1973, and The Eagles as they are today, lies In their Extra Added Ingredients.
North Wales Weekly News, May 12th, 1977
The blend has been enriched by the addition of guitarist Don Felder, a late arrival for the On The Border LP, who stamped his mark on One Of These Nights.
But it Is the newest member, Joe Walsh, who has really transformed the group into a world-beating act. His credentials are envious–a period with the James Gang followed by a series of solo albums–a man rated as one of the best guitarists in the world by Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend.”
The Stafford audience was treated to two-hours of “non-stop exhilaration”:
“There wasn’t a bad number in the whole set. No lull in the proceedings, Just a series of highlights…
North Wales Weekly News, May 12th, 1977
The first was ‘Doolin-Dalton,’ the opening track from Desperado, which struck home early in the set. Then it was Walsh’s thumping rendition of ‘Turn To Stone,’ ending in a slide-guitar crescendo, all perfectly controlled.
Praise for Randy’s performance of “Take It To The Limit”:
“Then it was Randy Meisner’s ‘Take It To The Limit’ from One Of These Nights, which showed off another of their assets, those harmonies, to the full. In whichever department you look, The Eagles are either competent, good or brilliant.” (North Wales Weekly News, May 12th, 1977)
“Bass guitarist Randy Meisner, together with his super voice on”Take It To The Limit,” provided the 12,000 plus crowd with the perfect foil for the rest of the band.” (Coleshill (England)Chronicle, May 13, 1977)
Reviews
Read the full-length reviews quoted in this section here:
Source.
The Eagles took a three-day break before their week-long tour of Germany on May 7th.
Eagles in Sweden, May 17-18, 1977
On May 17th and 18th, 1977, the Eagles played two concerts in Sweden. These were the final dates of their 1977 European tour. An audience recording exists of Randy’s performance of “Take It To The Limit” at the Scandinavium in Gothenburg, their final tour date. Listen to it below.
The band arrived in Stockholm following their appearance in Hamburg on May 15th. At some point between the Hamburg show on May 15th (left) and Stockholm on May 17th (right), Randy got a haircut, which is noticeable in the photos below.
Randy’s first wife, Jennifer, and son, Dana, had joined him for the European tour. Jennifer recalled Randy singing to her at their hotel in Sweden:
Jennifer:
“He always liked to sing ‘Jennifer Juniper’ to me. I remember it so well in Sweden. I’m in the hotel room, old hotel, I hear him singing as he was coming down the hall.”
May 17
Gröna Lund, Stockholm
The Eagles performed their first Scandinavian show at the Gröna Lund amusement park in Stockholm. It was windy and cold, as noted by the long sleeves and Randy’s turtleneck.
Review of the Stockholm show from unknown Swedish music magazine, 1977:
The Eagles equipment stacked up on the Stora Scenen stage at Gröna Lund Amusement Park, Stockholm.
Photo ©Jonte Strömberg
The Eagles onstage in Stockholm, May 17th, 1977:
May 18th, 1977
Scandinavium, Gothenburg
This show was their final gig of the 1977 European tour. Listen to an audience recording of the concert below.
Setlist
Hotel California
Walk Away
Victim Of Love
Lyin’ Eyes
Take It To The Limit
New Kid In Town
Desperado
One Of These Nights
Turn To Stone
Already Gone
Life In The Fast Lane
Rocky Mountain Way
Witchy Woman
James Dean
Randy performing “Take It To The Limit” in Gothenburg, May 18th, 1977. The audio is a bit sluggish, but Randy’s stunning performance of the song is the perfect coda for their European tour.
Tour Of The Pacific: Hawaii, 1976
The Eagles played Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu on February 12th, 1976. See photos and rare home movie footage from the Meisner’s Super 8 video camera, shared here exclusively.
Elton John’s Mid-Summer Music at Wembley Stadium, June 1975
The Eagles played Elton John’s Mid-Summer Music concert at Wembley on June 21, 1975. Get all the details, as well as audio and home movie footage.
Eagles In Denver, 1976
The Eagles played Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado on August 8th, 1976. Several members of his family were in attendance, including his wife, children, and parents.
Andrew Gold opened both shows. Steve Miller made a guest appearance on the 19th.
June 19th
“Randy Meisner, the bass guitarist, lifted the show to a new level of excitement with his singing of ‘Take It To The Limit.'”
Scott Cain, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 20th, 1977
June 20th
“Bassist Randy Meisner gave an outstanding singing performance on ‘Take It To The Limit.'”
Bill King, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 21st, 1977
Eagles onstage, June 20th, 1977. Photo ©Kelly Campbell.
Review: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 21st, 1977
Randy at the Omni
EAGLES
Milwaukee County Stadium
June 8, 1975
The Eagles and Rufus opened for the Rolling Stones during their 1975 Tour Of The Americas. Joe Walsh joined the Eagles as their guest.
The Eagles’ trailor backstage
Eagles at Day On The Green, 1977
The Eagles headlined two concerts at Day On The Green in Oakland, CA over Memorial Day weekend, 1977. They also played a softball game.
The Eagles played Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario on March 30th, 1977. It was the second-to-last date on the first leg of their 1977 Hotel California tour. Jimmy Buffett was the opening act.
The Eagles in Toronto:
Photo ©Doug McClement
Although Paul McGrath, from the Toronto Globe & Mail, criticized the Eagles for just standing around onstage, he did compliment Randy, albeit backhandedly, for bringing some much-needed humanity to the show, with his dazzling performance of “Take It To The Limit”:
“When humanity breaks through, it can often dazzle. Randy Meisner’s vocals were a case in point: he appeared throughout to be only passingly interested in the performance, but then stepped to the front for his impassioned vocal on ‘Take It To The Limit.’ Only then was it apparent that this man’s seeming disinterest actually hid some real emotion.”
Paul McGrath, Globe and Mail, March 31, 1977 (see full review below)
Below: Randy with his Rickenbacker 4001 at Maple Leaf Gardens.
Photos © John Rowlands.
At a reception following the show, the Eagles were presented with a platinum record for Hotel California. Below they are photographed at the gathering with representatives from WEA (the international distributor for Asylum) and Toronto radio stations, CHUM & CFTR. Randy is not pictured.
Reviews:
J.D. Souther opened.
Randy lent his “well-groomed soprano to ‘Take It To The Limit.'” (Wichita Beacon, November 16, 1976)
EAGLES
Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles
December 31st, 1974
The Eagles played Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve 1974. Among their guests were Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Dan Fogelberg, J.D. Souther and Joe Walsh.
For this show, Randy played a Hagstrom HII BN bass. This bass has a different headstock than the red Hagstrom he often played during the mid-70s.
“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)
Randy performed on New Year’s Eve at least eleven times over the course of his career. Here are the other ten appearances:
Drivin’ Dynamics, Little Moon Lake, Torrington, Wyoming, December 31, 1962
Drivin’ Dynamics, Sutherland Community Hall, Sutherland NE, December 31, 1963
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, Hyatt Regency Kauai, Koloa, HI, December 31, 1999
World Classic Rockers, Hilton Waikoloa Village, Hilo, Hawaii, December 31, 2003
World Classic Rockers, Hilton Waikoloa Village, Hilo, Hawaii, December 31, 2005