A Dream That’s Worthwhile: Randy Meisner and Pickin’ Up The Pieces
An inside look at Randy Meisner’s overlooked contributions to Poco’s groundbreaking debut album, PICKIN’ UP THE PIECES.
“A Certain Kind Of Fool”
Learn more about “Certain Kind Of Fool,” co-written and sung by Randy Meisner, from the Eagles’ second studio album, the outlaw-themed DESPERADO.
EAGLES
Coliseum, Evansville, Indiana
December 17, 1973
Also on the bill were Bachman Turner Overdrive and Dan Fogelberg.
The review below includes a very brief interview with Glenn Frey, who said he was at a “low emotional ebb” after performing five nights in a row. It also has a couple of misprints, including the ages of the band members (“23 and 24”). At the time of the concert, Randy was the oldest at 27, Don Henley and Bernie Leadon were 26, and Glenn Frey was 25. Randy’s “Tryin'” is listed as “Keep On Moving” and “Sun’s Come Up” is “Ol’ 55.” The latter would appear on their not-yet-released album, On The Border in April 1974. Another song intended for the album, “Don’t Be Mean To Your Bad Man,” written by J.D. Souther and Glenn Frey, was also performed, but did not end up on the album. It later appeared as just “Bad Man” on Randy’s self-titled debut in 1978.
EAGLES
St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, MO
November 23, 1976
Randy’s “Take It To The Limit” was “really well-performed and the crowd reaction was instantaneous, long and loud – so long, in fact, that he told the crowd it was embarrassing him, and he looked as if it were.”
BLACK TIE
Belly Up Tavern, Solana Beach, CA
November 14th, 1985
This was Black Tie’s first club performance.
The band included, Randy, Jimmy Griffin from Bread, Billy Swan, David Kemper from the Jerry Garcia Band, and Randy’s former Eagle bandmate, Bernie Leadon, who toured with the band through January 1986, when he was replaced with Blondie Chaplin.
All but Leadon appeared on the band’s album, When Night Falls, which featured Randy singing lead on one song: Buddy Holly’s “Learning The Game.” However, when the album was rereleased on CD in 1990, Randy’s lead vocal on the song was replaced with Griffin’s. Listen to Randy’s version here:
Find out more about Black Tie below:
EAGLES
The Summit, Houston, TX
November 6, 1976
The Eagles played The Summit in Houston, TX, November 6, 1976. J.D. Souther opened. A bootleg film of the concert exists. Watch it below.
J.D. Souther later joined the Eagles onstage for “Best Of My Love,” which he co-wrote with Don Henley & Glenn Frey. He also wished Glenn a happy birthday. The concert was filmed using the Summit’s in-house video system. Footage of Randy’s lead-singing performances, as well as the full concert, are included below.
The Summit had a four-sided video screen called a “Telscreen” which hung from the ceiling. The screens displayed concerts in real-time for audience members who were not close to the stage. Any band who came in to perform paid a flat fee for use of the Telscreen and received a videotape of the concert in return. These Telscreen performances were often bootlegged, hence the existing footage of the Eagles Summit show, which has never been released officially.
According to a March 5th, 1978 article in the Houston Chronicle, the Summit’s Telscreen production crew were known to add graphics to their video footage as it was happening. During concerts, they focused mainly on whoever was singing. This explains the footage of the Summit show, which included graphics between songs and very few camera angles.
At the show, Randy and Joe both wore white t-shirts bearing the logo for Criteria Studios in Miami where the band was finishing up Hotel California at the time. In fact, the previous night’s show in Baton Rouge was held up for two hours because the band was late arriving from Miami.
In 2006, Randy recalled the grueling touring and recording schedule from this period:
“We had to go out on the road while we were doing that album and then go back to Criteria Studios in Florida to finish it…We went back and forth a lot…wanted to get the tracks right and mixed right. We knew the album was special.“
Interview with Ken Sharp, 2006
The less-than-complimentary review in the Houston Chronicle noted that the band looked and sounded “frayed around the edges,” this was perhaps due to their touring/recording schedule from the time period:
More flattering reviews were found in the Houston Post and the University of Houston’s Daily Cougar newspapers. The Post proclaimed Randy’s performance of “Take It To The Limit” to be “one of the true crowd-pleasers of the evening.”
Video
“Take It To The Limit”
“Midnight Flyer”
Complete Film (This is not the full concert)
The song order in the video does not follow the actual setlist for the Summit concert. The Eagles opened with “Take It Easy,” not “Hotel California.” The performance of “Take It Easy” is not included in the film, neither is “Doolin-Dalton,” which was also played, according to the Chronicle review.
Footage setlist:
Hotel California
Lyin’ Eyes
Wasted Time
Take It To The Limit
Desperado
Midnight Flyer
Turn To Stone
Already Gone
One Of These Nights
Funk 49
Good Day In Hell
Rocky Mountain Way
Witchy Woman
James Dean
Best Of My Love (with J.D. Souther)
Walk Away
Tequila Sunrise
Debunking The Myths: The Knoxville 1977 Concert, “Take It To The Limit,” and Randy Meisner’s Departure From The Eagles
The real story behind the Eagles’ 1977 Knoxville concert & Randy Meisner’s alleged refusal to sing “Take It To The Limit,” using facts from published concert reviews, plus Randy’s own words.
The Bicentennial in Tampa, July 4th, 1976
The Eagles played Tampa Stadium on July 4th, 1976. The concert was called “4th Of July Jubilation.” Fleetwood Mac and Loggins & Messina also performed.
“Too Many Hands”
Randy’s tribute to Mother Earth was included on the Eagles’ 1975 album, ONE OF THESE NIGHTS.
“That’s A Cut.” One Night In The Studio With Randy Meisner and Val Garay
A rare, behind-the-scenes glimpse into the recording of Randy’s second solo album, ONE MORE SONG.
AlbumsBANDSCertain Kind Of FoolConcert HistoryDesperado TourEaglesOn The BorderSongsTryin'Wait & See
“Wait & See”: Randy’s Lost Song
On November 30th, 1973, the Eagles played the College Of The Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. During the show, they performed a rare 10-minute epic, written and sung by Randy, called “Wait & See,” which was originally intended for ON THE BORDER.
ON THE BORDER (1974)
The inside story of the Eagles’ third album ON THE BORDER, released in 1974. It was their first album with producer Bill Szymczyk & guitarist Don Felder. The reviews called Randy’s “Is It True” the “most beautiful song on the album.”
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.