The Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh was where the Eagles with Fleetwood Mac and Boz Scaggs performed on July 24, 1976. This was only the second concert of the summer at the stadium. ZZ Top was the first on June 12, and according to what was written it did not go well. Unfortunately, almost everything that was written about Three Rivers Stadium right after that show only focused on the disaster of that ZZ Top concert and not the music of the Eagles concert.
The Eagles had their two shows at the Spectrum in Philadelphia just three days later. They were nearing the end of the One of These Nights tour.
Three Rivers Stadium was home to Pittsburgh Pirates baseball and Pittsburgh Steelers football from 1970-2000.
An article written by Scott Mervis of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette appeared in the online Post-Gazette on March 22, 2022 about this particular Eagles concert in 1976. And, it has a link within the article to this page on Randy Meisner Hearts On Fire. The article is titled “1976: The Year the Eagles Saved Stadium Concerts in Pittsburgh and Released Hotel California“. It’s a very interesting Eagles article written by Scott Mervis, so you may want to take a few moments just to read it. If you can’t access the newspaper site, this is the pdf version.
Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh
Randy is wearing his shirt from their show at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati two nights earlier.
Randy Meisner
Nothing runs like a Deere
Randy Meisner, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, and Don Henley
Randy Meisner, Glenn Frey, and Don Felder
Randy Meisner, Glenn Frey, Don Felder, and Joe Walsh
Randy Meisner, Glenn Frey, Don Felder, and Joe Walsh
Randy Meisner
Glenn Frey, Don Henley, and Don Felder
Glenn Frey
Joe Walsh
Don Felder
Glenn Frey
Glenn Frey and Joe Walsh
Randy Meisner, Glenn Frey, Don Felder, Joe Walsh, and Don Henley
Randy Meisner
Fleetwood Mac at Three Rivers Stadium
The Scene (Cleveland, OH) – July 22-28, 1976
Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, PA) – July 18, 1976
News Record (North Hills, PA) – July 28, 1976
The music at this concert will be more subdued and the audience will be less oriented to rowdy behavior. The bad publicity from the previous concert has hurt ticket sales for the Eagles concert.
Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, PA) – July 21, 1976
Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, PA) – July 25, 1976
It’s a nice crowd, all orderly, not like the last one that was here, said a Three Rivers usher. His hand went up in a gesture of frustration and disgust.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, PA) – July 26, 1976
The Eagles arrived about 5:30 and spent two hours on stage, including a pair of encores. And they even played policemen. Glenn Frey reminded fans who were trying to scale a wooden barrier near the stage “you’ve had one bad concert here already.” “We came to play,” added Randy Meisner.
New Castle News (New Castle, PA) – July 26, 1976
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, PA) – July 26, 1976
“So successful was the concert that the Stadium Authority on Monday released to Three Rivers Management Corp. the license agreement for another rock concert on Aug. 14, featuring the Beach Boys, Gary Wright and Peter Frampton.”
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, PA) – July 29, 1976
El Paso Times (El Paso, TX) – July 31, 1976
The Sentinel (Carlisle, PA) – Aug. 7, 1976
Excerpt from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, PA) – June 21, 2009
Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh
Randy the Peacemaker “We came to play”
Since Randy did not usually speak from the stage, it’s amazing he said something. That must mean the crowd was really bad.
47 years later and still remembered as the BEST concert ever….hands down
That’s good to know. With the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, AND Boz Scaggs it doesn’t surprise me that it was a great day.
5 of us “college kids” were hired as security for that concert at 3 Rivers July of 1976 and I was postioned right in front of the stage for the whole event! When Fleetwood Mac went into Rhiannon the crowd got alittle rowdy and managed to rip away a sheet of the plywood. I was there!
I would have loved to have been there!
I was there! Best concert ever! All three groups were amazing and transitioning in their own rights! I love all of them and they are the best ever! Interestingly enough, my 2nd daughter was born on 7/24/1986, 10 years after the best concert I ever attended! To all of those amazing artists, love you all! Stephanie (Stevie- as my dad always called me) Adams-Mnich
Wow, I’m envious. How cool that you got to be there to hear all those great musicians.
I was there. It was my first concert! We got there right after the stadium opened and got a place up front to stand about 10 feet behind that wooden fence. At one point, I walked back into the dugout to get a drink at a water fountain, and a guy standing there spoke to me and asked me how I was enjoying the concert. We chatted for a couple minutes and that was it. After the Eagles took the stage, I realized the person I was talking to at the fountain was Randy Meisner. It made my day! Randy was always my favorite of the Eagles. I can’t believe it’s been almost 50 years.
Whoa, you actually got to have a conversation with Randy! Even if you didn’t know it was him at the time, that is certainly a memory to cherish. I can only imagine the look on your face when you saw him on stage and realized it was him you spoke with at the water fountain.