The Randy Meisner Live in Dallas CD was recorded live at Nick’s Uptown Theatre in Dallas on December 1, 1982. Only ten of the songs recorded that night are included on the CD, so the ‘extras’ are below on this page. There are two versions of Take It To the Limit that ended up on the CD, and Randy hits the high notes beautifully.
The Live In Dallas taped show was broadcast on radio stations in May 1983, but the actual CD of the show wasn’t released until years later. If you look on Amazon, etc., you’ll notice there are also a few different CD cover designs for Live In Dallas. Randy’s 1982 self-titled solo album was released in August 1982, which was just a few months before the recordings at Nick’s.
Be sure and watch the video below of “Hearts On Fire” being played and danced to on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand TV show.
Randy Meisner Captured Live!
Captured Live! was a series of syndicated concerts produced for the stations of the RKO Radio Network and affiliated radio stations from 1982 through 1984. An announcement in Billboard Dec 12, 1981 (Billboard article below) says the shows were to be 26 one-hour specials featuring top rock performers in concert settings, with the series to begin in March 1982.
It appears that the 1982 shows were distributed on reel-to-reel tape. In 1983, they switched to LP sets. Stations received both a hosted version with prerecorded announcements, and an unhosted version with a script, allowing the local disc jockey to do the lead-ins to each segment. The unhosted version had “beds” of a live concert audience for the disc jockey to talk over, making it sound like he was at the show. Most of these sets of both versions (hosted and unhosted) have been broken up into two versions for resale on the collector’s market. Randy’s taped show was broadcast on radio stations May 9, 1983.
The RKO radio network ran into trouble when a television advertising billing scandal provoked the FCC to force RKO out of the broadcasting business. In 1985, the RKO Radio Networks was purchased by United Stations Programming Network and the Captured Live! series came to an end.
Randy Meisner Live in Dallas CD
These are the pages from the booklet included with the CD:
“Lonesome Cowgirl”
“Jealousy”
“Strangers”
“Gotta Get Away”
“Try and Love Again”
“Tonight”
“I Need You Bad”
“Hearts On Fire”
“Darkness Of The Heart”
“Take It To The Limit”
“Take It To The Limit” (Alt Mix)
“Hearts On Fire” was played on American Bandstand in 1981 as a featured dance song.
Below are the extra songs recorded at Nick’s Uptown Theatre also on December 1, 1982, but were not included on the “Live In Dallas” CD. The Intro, Conclusion, and Randy’s Band Introductions are also included below:
Intro
“Bad Man”
“Nothing Is Said Til the Artist Is Dead”
“Playin’ In the Deep End”
“Doin’ It For Delilah”
“Never Been In Love”
Band Introductions
“Too Many Hands”
“Deep Inside My Heart”
Conclusion
“RKO Radio Networks are planning six new series for its Radioshows long-form network in 1982 to appeal to listeners of AOR, adult contemporary and country formats.”
“‘Captured Live,’ 26 one-hour specials featuring top rock performers in concert settings. This series begins in March and is produced by Real Time Productions. Target is AOR stations.”
Billboard magazine – Dec. 12, 1981
“‘Companies these days either don’t have the money or are scared to take the risk,’ Meisner says. ’You’ve got to grab the bull by the horns and do it yourself.’ What Meisner has done is assemble a lean tour machine that is by all accounts wholly self-sufficient.”
“Meisner also recently taped an hour-long radio show at Nick’s Uptown Theatre in Dallas, which Meisner’s manager, Trudy Green, is selling to stations around the country.”
Billboard magazine – Jan. 8, 1983
“Things worked out and by 10:30 p.m. we had Randy Meisner (formerly of the Eagles) at KOLT doing a live ‘promo’ for his new album.”
The Spectator (Nebraska Western College) – Mar. 28, 1983
What a great article! I have this CD! I need to listen to it again! I loved reading the stories from the booklet with the CD!
You have to watch out for the typos and misspelled names in the booklet, but it is nice to read the history.
Loved the Bandstand video. Such a great song to dance to. I’ll give it a 10!
Give it a 10! Boy, that brings back memories.
I bought this CD too, its my favourite, but downloaded so have none of those lovely stories from the CD Booklet.
Yep, that is definitely the drawback to downloading. Personally, I like to have the actual CD anyway.
I prefer to have the CD as well. My kids give me a hard time though!