From Scottsbluff To The Sunset Strip
Randy Meisner was a farm boy, who discovered his natural gift for singing at an early age. He had visions of going to California, where “all musicians from the Midwest dreamed of being.” Here we trace his origins, going back to the Volga region of Russia, to his upbringing in rural Nebraska, all the way to the Sunset Strip.
Photo Archive: Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band, 1969
Location: Troubadour, West Hollywood
Taken in 1969 when Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band were still a four-piece.
L-R: Randy Meisner, Pat Shanahan, Rick Nelson, and Allen Kemp.
An Interview With Patrick Shanahan
Drummer Patrick Shanahan, founding member of Denver’s Soul Survivors, their offshoot, The Poor, and later Rick Nelson’s Stone Canyon Band, generously shared his memories with me about his life and career.
On February 22nd, 1971, Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon band kicked off a two-week stand at Mister Kelly’s in Chicago.
The following review from the underground Chicago paper, Earth, provides a partial setlist for one of the Mr. Kelly’s shows.
Hello Mary Lou
Easy To Be Free
California
She Belongs To Me
Life
Look At Mary
Honky Tonk Woman
Randy’s last name is misspelled in the review as “Meysner.”
Earth Magazine, July 1971
Travelin’ With Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band
From 1969-1971, Randy was a member of Rick Nelson’s Stone Canyon Band. Here we delve into Randy’s history as a founding member of the group.
THE POOR
Decca Records Promotional Seminar
Universal Studios, Los Angeles
August 7-11, 1968
The Poor were among several acts on the Decca label who served as entertainment for a Decca Records promotional seminar in early August 1968. Randy’s ex-wife, Jennifer, recalled the the band performed “right inside the entrance as people were waiting to get on the trams.”
The Poor was included in photos of the seminar from Cash Box magazine, August 31, 1968
Close up photo of The Poor.
Randy took this photo of his wife Jennifer at Universal Studios during the Decca event.
(Photo courtesy of Jennifer Meisner)
RICK NELSON & THE STONE CANYON BAND
Houston Music Theater
December 27, 1969
Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band performed at the Houston Music Theater on December 27th, 1969.
Below: L-R: Randy Meisner, Rick Nelson, and Allen Kemp
Rick was interviewed the UT/Austin newspaper, The Daily Texan, in the dressing room before the Houston show. Tequila sours were passed around, but Rick declined. The band members were asked what they thought of Rick as a person and performer (no band members were mentioned by name): “A sensitive and fair, understanding and easy-going guy.” The article also included a less-than-positive review of the show. The reviewer felt that Rick exuded no personality and just stood there and sang. He was also criticized for singing too much country and western and not enough of the earlier hits he was known for.
Below: Rick backstage with local Houston rock photographer, Larry Lent.
RICK NELSON & THE STONE CANYON BAND
Bitter End, New York City
August 22nd – September 1st, 1969
Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band played an eleven-night stand at the famous Bitter End nightclub in Greenwich Village. It was the first stop on a month-long tour of the East. Although the Stone Canyon Band had been together since the Spring of 1969, they had only played one live date–a week-long stand at the Troubadour in April. The subsequent months were spent rehearsing and recording. Among these recordings was Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band’s first single, a cover of Bob Dylan’s “She Belongs To Me,” which was released in August 1969 to coincide with the tour.
Below: watch their performance of Fats Domino’s “I’m Walkin'” filmed by David Nelson at the Bitter End, August 1969. This was the first song Rick sang on The Adventures Of Ozzie and Harriet back in 1957. Notice at 1:44 that Randy is playing a red Gibson bass, a switch from his usual gold Fender Precision from this period.
Although we hear pedal steel, there is no steel player on stage. The Stone Canyon Band was only a foursome at this point (Rick Nelson, Randy Meisner, Allen Kemp and Pat Shanahan). The audio here is from Rick Nelson In Concert, recorded at the Troubadour a couple of months later in October 1969, with Tom Brumley on pedal steel.
“I’m Walkin'” – Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band, Bitter End, NYC, August 1969
Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band
JD’s, Phoenix, AZ
October 24-25, 1969
Rick Nelson & the Stone Canyon Band performed two nights at JD’s.
The Arizona Republic noted that Rick was “sharing the spotlight” with a “longhaired bass player”:
Here’s Rick and the band performing their cover of Bob Dylan’s “She Belongs To Me” from the Easy To Be Free documentary, directed by David Nelson. At the 1:34 mark, the footage moves from JD’s to their appearance at The Troubadour in Hollywood a week later. The footage is less than perfect. Rick and The Stone Canyon Band’s recorded a cover of “She Belongs To Me” during the summer of 1969. It was released as a single in August to coincide with their tour and became a Top 40 hit.
At the time of the JD’s appearance, the Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band was a four-piece with Randy on bass, Allen Kemp on guitar, and Pat Shanahan on drums. Tom Brumley was added on pedal steel for the Troubadour shows.
Read more about Randy’s tenure as an original member of Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band here:
Photo Archive: The Poor by Henry Diltz, c.1966
L-R: Pat Shanahan, Randy Naylor, Randy Meisner, John Day, Allen Kemp.
Time and Changes: Randy Meisner & The Poor
An overlooked, yet pivotal, period of Randy Meisner’s career took place between 1966 and 1968 when he was a member of the short-lived, Denver garage rock band, The Poor. Here, I hope to provide a comprehensive look at the band’s origins and brief existence on the L.A. music scene during the Summer Of Love.