The Eagles Central Park concert at Wollman Rink in New York City aired on the TV Special “Good Vibrations From Central Park” on Aug. 23, 1973. August 1-2 were the actual taped dates of the 2-day concert, and also on the televised show were: Melissa Manchester, John Sebastian, The Temptations, and Sly & the Family Stone. This was part of the Schaefer Music Festival, which was a recurring music festival held in the summer between 1967-1976 at Wollman Rink.
There are videos from the Central Park concert at the end of this page. There’s also an audio which captured the stage talk between the Eagles and guitar tuning between songs from this show.
Videos below:
- “Desperado”
- “Take It Easy”
- “Tryin'”
Eagles Central Park Concert at Wollman Rink
Randy Meisner and Bernie Leadon
Randy Meisner, Glenn Frey, and Bernie Leadon
Glenn Frey
Randy Meisner and Glenn Frey
Bernie Leadon
Randy Meisner
Randy Meisner
Also on the show: Melissa Manchester, John Sebastian, The Temptations, Sly and the Family Stone
Glenn & Don visited WNEW-FM while in New York to promote the Desperado album.
The Eagles have dropped in at the radio station other times when they were in New York.
Cash Box – Aug. 18, 1973
Indianapolis Star (Indinapolis, IN) – July 22, 1973
Seattle Times (Seattle, WA) – Aug. 23, 1973
TV Guide – Aug. 23, 1973
“Eagles, a group which draws heavily for its music upon the traditions of the American Indians and the Wild West, has ‘Tequila Sunrise’ on the charts. Its new album is Desperado, which features the four musician-singers in a variety of western songs.”
The Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA) – Aug. 18, 1973
“As it happened, Randy Meisner came around one night and sat in on bass guitar just for kicks. He was in the process of leaving Rick Nelson’s band so we talked him into joining us. That made three so we started auditioning guitar players.”
Vidette-Messenger of Porter County (Valparaiso, IN) – Aug. 23, 1973
“Quick cut to the next group, Eagles. Here, the show is almost saved. Possibly because it provides the night’s best music, Eagles is allowed to extend its performance to include Jackson Browne’s ‘Take It Easy,’ ‘Desperado’ and two new songs, all impeccably performed.”
LA Times (Los Angeles, CA) – Aug. 23, 1973
“Next up on the bill was Eagles, as introduced by New York Mayor John Lindsay. Now Eagles can’t decide if it wants to be a country-rock band or a rock-country band. Once the decision is made, the group could be top rated. However, they should keep a calendar around. Eagles was to have played Phoenix in late June, but got the dates mixed up and canceled.“
Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ) – Aug. 23, 1973
“This concert was taped on a soggy summer evening in New York when the temperature was near 90 and frequently broken by heavy showers that caused umbrellas to be stretched from wall-to-wall of the Central Park Ice Rink.”
Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Honolulu, HI) – Aug. 27, 1973
“Both of the big bands on last Thursday’s park concert – Sly and the Family Stone and the Eagles – displayed musical excellence fully on a par with that you would find in a Glenn Miller or Tommy Dorsey performance.”
“When the Eagles played, the lead singer explained, ‘back behind these amplifiers, there’s a bunch of fiddles – 16 of ’em.”
Tucson Daily Citizen (Tucson, AZ) – Aug. 28, 1973
Audio of concert (including banter between the band on stage)
Unfortunately, it is not the complete show and cuts off soon after “Tryin” begins.
“Desperado”
“Take It Easy”
“Tryin”
Eagles Central Park crowd enjoying the concert
Those videos are amazing! Thanks for finding them.
I think they’re pretty cool, too.