The Eagles concert in Ft. Worth at Tarrant County Convention Center was on November 3, 1976. JD Souther was there to open the show for them on this stop of the Hotel California tour. JD played songs from his latest album, “Black Rose”. The Eagles would eventually perform at the Convention Center again July 7-8, 1977.
This Texas show was sold out with 14,000 attending. The Texas stops on this 24-city tour of the western United States included:
- Nov. 1 – Municipal Auditorium in Austin
- Nov. 2 – Convention Center Arena in San Antonio
- Nov. 3 – Tarrant County Convention Center in Ft. Worth
- Nov. 6 – The Summit in Houston
- Dec. 11 – Civic Center in El Paso
Special thanks to Tony Gerloff, photographer, for these great photos. Notice that Randy is wearing his Randy’s Rodeo shirt from a San Antonio nightclub called Randy’s Rodeo. The Eagles played in San Antonio the evening before this Tarrant County show. There is a nice 3-page interview that appeared in Country Rambler magazine below. The Eagles were interviewed in the dressing room before this concert, and their photo also appeared on the cover of the magazine.
KZEW 98 FM radio commercial for this 1976 Eagles concert
KZEW “The Zoo” was a rock station in Dallas, TX.
A few seconds of “Take It To the Limit” are included in this radio spot.
KZEW also had an Eagles commercial spot for the July 7-8, 1977 Tarrant County Convention Center concert.
On stage at the Tarrant County Convention Center
Tony Gerloff, photographer
Randy Meisner
Joe Walsh
Don Felder
Glenn Frey
Don Henley
Randy Meisner, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, Don Felder, and Don Henley
Don Felder, Don Henley, and Joe Walsh
Tarrant County Convention Center Eagles Concert Ticket – Nov. 3, 1976
“The concert will be the first in this area for the Eagles since their appearance with the Rolling Stones during the July 4 weekend show at the Cotton Bowl in 1975. It will also be the first appearance by the Eagles in this area since Joe Walsh joined the band.”
Dallas Morning News (Dallas, TX) – Sept. 20, 1976
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (Lubbock, TX) – Sept. 26, 1976
Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (Ft. Worth, TX) – Oct. 1, 1976
Two conflicting reviews from the same writer a few weeks apart
“Then it was back to their hits in a smooth and vocally flawless ‘Lying Eyes,’ which they followed with my personal favorite, ‘Take It to the Limit’.”
“Judging from their show, the Eagles have come from being a great country rock band to a very good rock band with Walsh.”
“Meisner’s ‘Try and Love Again’ is one of the album’s strong points – a wonderfully constructed ballad.”
Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (Ft. Worth, TX) – Nov. 4, 1976
Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (Ft. Worth, TX) – Jan. 2, 1977
“After a fine version of ‘Midnight Flyer’ — a song that created far more excitement in person than on record — Walsh took over the spotlight with his ‘Turn To Stone’.”
Dallas Morning News (Dallas, TX) – Nov. 6, 1976
Eagles on cover of Jan. 27, 1977 issue of Country Rambler
Interview with Pete Oppel
pdf version
“The first sign that the group was gaining prominence in the country field came in 1974, with the release of the single, Best Of My Love.”
Pg. 24
Pg. 25
Pg. 26
Tarrant County Convention Center
(Now called Ft. Worth Convention Center)
Another great post including pictures I haven’t seen before plus a great interview in “Country Rambler” I hadn’t seen either. I’m surprised Don Henley said that the term outlaw was laid on them after they recorded “Desperado”. I remember interviews where Glenn said that they felt musicians today might have been compared to outlaws in the past. So anyone reading that could easily have labeled them outlaws thanks to Glenn’s comments.
I think Henry Diltz mentioned the outlaw comparison, too. I knew about the Country Rambler article but couldn’t find it for the longest time. Then, all of a sudden, it was available on eBay, so I grabbed it.