Randy Meisner in the Press - Retro Edition!

[Delilah]

Interesting - thank you, D. Hey did you see about their opening act Kris McKay; she was in a Texas band called the Wild Seeds. I remember "I'm Sorry, I Can't Rock You All Night Long" but that's probably before your time

This brings back 1988 real strong for me

Yes, I read that about Kris McKay being the opening act, but her name doesn't ring a bell. There were so many Austin bands at that time that the only ones that stood out had wild crazy names (the most famous being the Butthole Surfers). That song sounds like it would have been played by a local Austin radio station too, but I've never heard it. Thanks for posting it.

Lol, 1988 wasn't before my time, it was my primo time.

[Delilah]

This is a news item that references Randy and Bernie’s involvement in Black Tie. The article is about Malcolm Falk and his various music-related enterprises.

His recording studio, Third Ear Recording, has recorded live albums, demonstration tapes and radio broadcasts by the likes of Etta James, the recently revived Byrds, and Black Tie, a new group consisting of Eagles founders Randy Meisner and Bernie Leadon, former Bread guitarist Jimmy Griffin and Billy Swan, whose solo hit, the organ-heavy "I Can Help," topped the pop charts in 1974.

”Agent Gets His Own Act Together” L.A. Times, March 7, 1986

[NightMistBlue]

Fascinating all these little links and hidden streams between people, isn't it? Etta James covered Randy's TITTL, and this part caught my eye too:

"At the same time, Falk organized a music publishing company that handles new material by veteran songwriters Jack Tempchin (who wrote 'Already Gone' for the Eagles) and Dean Smith of Captain Beefheart fame."

Mr. Falk sounds like an interesting cat. Wonder what he's doing now? This L.A. Times article is from '92; he was still doing well.

http://articles.latimes.com/1992-08-...1_solana-beach

[Delilah]

Fascinating all these little links and hidden streams between people, isn't it? Etta James covered Randy's TITTL, and this part caught my eye too:

"At the same time, Falk organized a music publishing company that handles new material by veteran songwriters Jack Tempchin (who wrote 'Already Gone' for the Eagles) and Dean Smith of Captain Beefheart fame."

Mr. Falk sounds like an interesting cat. Wonder what he's doing now? This L.A. Times article is from '92; he was still doing well.

http://articles.latimes.com/1992-08-...1_solana-beach

Yes, the more I read up on this stuff, the more connections I see. I didn’t even notice the Jack Tempchin mention. I did note the Belly Up Tavern being a place where Randy played. I wonder if it’s still around, and if Mr. Falk still works out of there, lol. I know the Golden Bear is long gone.

Another thing that strikes me is how involved in music Randy continued to be, unlike the common perception that he simply fell off the map.

[East Texas Girl]

You gals are too good. My husband thinks I know a lot about Randy, but y'all would blow him away!!!

[Delilah]

A 1995 radio interview with Randy talking about his early pre-Eagles days...he elaborates a little more about the Poco album remixing incident.

I think Richie Furay answered... and I don't know if he told you this but... I said Richie I want to come down and listen to the mixes. And he said well we don't allow that. And I said who's "we" first of all because Poco is a group. I'm one of the members I don't know if you remember or not. He says no we can't... we always do it alone. So I guess him and Jimmy had always done it... wanted to do it by themselves. And I said if that's the way it is then I don't want anything to do with it because I want to be in a group. And he said OK. And I hung up and that was the end of Poco. They went ahead and took my voice off of one of the songs on the album...

He sure could stand up for himself and not take guff from Richie.

http://213.185.227.175/Poco/rminter1.html

[NightMistBlue]

It's haunting how similar that incident was to how he felt in the Eagles, towards the end. He felt it wasn't a group where everyone had a say but that Don H and Glenn were treating the other members like employees.

D., what did you think of Randy saying Alan Kemp was the lead singer in The Poor? We thought it was John Day or Randy Naylor.

How I love that parting shot from Randy, it shows his sweetness: "The dog might have been there anyway [on the Poco album cover] but I always say they replaced me with a dog... which I love dogs so I like it."

[Delilah]

I was thinking one of the reasons the Eagles were so much more successful than Poco was that the Eagles functioned more democratically, at least at the beginning. Band members, like employees in general, will be happier and more productive when they have some control and input. But yes, the democracy didn’t last long and neither did the band really after Randy left.

I’m trying to think of a song by The Poor that sounds like Alan Kemp singing lead. He had a fairly distinctive voice. Maybe Randy had a momentary lapse in memory (?). It was 30 years and a few bands later.

Yes the doggie comment was cute and typical of sweet Randy.

[Dawn]

Well, I know Rick Nelson loved and appreciated Randy Meisner as did many other people including Mark Guerrero who tells a great story about Rick and Randy. Bottom line -- Randy is a genuinely nice guy and super talent and though I'm glad he left Poco I am sorry it ended like it did. He certainly wasn't asking for anything but respect.

http://markguerrero.com/misc_22.php

[Delilah]

This article doesn’t have a lot of new information, but it’s always cool to find some Randy quotes.

Not many artists who have quit groups to go on their own, make it, [Meisner] told an Associated Press reporter. “Especially with the Eagles. The group was known, but individual names were not known so much—as opposed to the Beatles, you knew everybody’s names.”

Meisner’s first solo album, Randy Meisner, in 1978 was a critical and commercial flop. After it and a short tour of club dates, Meisner went home to Scottsbluff to regroup and relax with his fleet of 20 classic restored antique cars. He didn't stay long. “I realized after living out here for 13 years that I’d adapted to L.A. It just wasn’t my place back there,” he said. “I had to take a hard look at myself and my strengths and weaknesses...I decided I wanted to make another record and I decided where I wanted to go with it.”

“Randy Meisner’s Solo Album in Top 40”, The Lincoln Star, by Bart Becker, Nov. 30, 1980