Randy Meisner: A Retrospective

Tennessee

Poco
Great Tennessee Raft Race and River Jam
Chattanooga, TN, June 1, 1991

Poco played Ross’s Landing in Chattanooga, TN, on June 1st, 1991 as part of the Great Tennessee Raft Race and River Jam.

The group members consisted Randy Meisner, Jim Messina, and Rusty Young, with Garry Mallaber on drums. The band played an acoustic set.

According to local WSKZ DJ, Daniel Shelton, one of his friends loaned Randy the Fender Precision bass he played at the show, plus Randy used one of Shelton’s amps.

This photo of Wet Willie performing earlier in the day, with the Lite beer logo, helped ID the photos above.

Chattanooga News Free Press, June 2nd, 1991

Jim, Randy, and Rusty pose with WSKZ DJ Daniel Shelton. Following Randy’s death on July 25, 2023, Shelton posted the photo below on his Facebook page with the following remembrance:

“Many years ago… actually in 1991…I was privileged to hang with these guys for several days. It was amazing. To my left is the late Rusty Young of Poco…far left is Jim Messina of Loggins and Messina…and to my immediate right is the late Randy Meisner. I was fortunate enough to be able to have some great conversations with these legends but I really hit it off with Randy. He actually invited me to come visit him in California. He gave me his phone number and his address. I still have them. It was awesome standing in the shadows of greatness!!!” (Daniel Shelton, Facebook, July 28, 2023)

Photo: Daniel Shelton
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The Eagles In Nashville, 1977

The Eagles played the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville on June 23rd, 1977.
The day before, the band played a game of softball against radio and record company personnel.

The Eagles onstage in Nashville. Andrew Gold opened.

Review from the Nashville Tennessean.

The day before the concert, the Eagles, aka “The Party Plane,” played a softball game against Elektra-Asylum personnel and local radio celebrities. Randy is in the background in the top right photo.

Randy’s yellow and white “Party Plane” shirt (photos courtesy of Jennifer Meisner):

Playing for the opposing team was slide guitar aficionado, Mac Gayden. Below Gayden recalls (via Facebook) the softball game and mentions that he was initially considered as Bernie Leadon’s replacement before Walsh was added.

In 1976, when the Eagles were recording Hotel California at Criteria Studios in Miami, Gayden was in an adjacent studio at Criteria recording his album, Hymn To The Seeker. Gayden asked Randy to sing background on the song, “Someone Whispered.” It’s an overlooked gem in the Meisner canon of guest appearances. Check it out.

Footage of the Nashville softball game from the History Of The Eagles documentary.
©Alison Ellwood, Jigsaw Productions, 2013

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Author

Jessica Buxton