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.

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).

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).

Photos

All images below ©Watt Casey.

Author

Jessica Buxton

1975, Dallas, Rolling Stones, Texas

Eagles
Arrowhead Stadium
Kansas City, MO, June 6, 1975

The Eagles opened for the Rolling Stones at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Joe Walsh, who was not billed, joined them as their guest. The Stones were on their legendary 1975 “Tour Of The Americas.” Opening along with the Eagles were The Gap Band and Rufus featuring Chaka Khan.

_{Tour poster, 1975.
Keyboardist Billy Preston and guitarist Ron Wood appeared as part of the Rolling Stones’ touring band. Wood was not yet an official member of the group.}

The bands performed under a tent-like dome on the stage.

_{The Stones performing at Arrowhead, June 6, 1975. Photo ©Dann E. Haworth.}

Following The Gap Band and Rufus, the Eagles hit the stage at 5:30. They performed an hour-long set before the massive sold-out crowd.

Randy’s stage pass/badge for the Arrowhead stadium concert still exists with his family. The badge was pinned to his jeans in the photo on the right. Photo of the badge courtesy of Jennifer Meisner.

Below: Joe Walsh made a surprise appearance with the Eagles for a version of his own “Rocky Mountain Way.” Notice that Randy, who normally plucked his bass with his fingers, is using a pick for this song. Other songs on which he used a pick were “Good Day In Hell” and “Lovin’ You Every Minute” by Poco.

Photos

Roadie Tommy Nixon is in both photos wearing a hat and red shirt.

The Eagles exit the stage. Randy is behind Eagles manager, Irving Azoff.

Roadie, Tommy Nixon, hands Don Henley a towel. Behind Henley is another roadie, Tony Taibi, in the Eagles shirt.

This was the Eagles’ first time opening for the Rolling Stones. In his memoir, Don Felder recalled the Eagles’ road manager, Richie Fernandez, setting up a meeting with the Stones in their hotel room the night before the concert. Felder claims it was the first time he’d ever seen heroin. He’d also hoped to meet Keith Richards, but he was nowhere in sight. He was later found motionless in the bathroom. Felder thought he was “a goner.” (Excerpt from Heaven And Hell: My Life With The Eagles by Don Felder).