August 16, 1978

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Earlier today I mentioned what I was doing on August 16, 1977, the day Elvis died. One year later, on August 16, 1978, I attended my first rock concert. In the year between Elvis' death and my first concert we'd moved back to Kentucky from Florida, and I'd started exploring how to get into the Navy, following in my big brother's footsteps. When I heard that the Eagles were playing at Riverfront Stadium I grabbed a ticket. For ten bucks (eat your heart out, people who paid $500 per ticket to see their last tour) I'd get to see them and another favorite of mine, the Steve Miller Band. Eddie Money was the opener. My mother, God rest her soul, had no intention of me going to Cincinnati on my own, so she drove me to the stadium. She got to hear the entire concert, sitting outside, for free! It was quite an experience. There were over 55,000 people there (according to a blurb in Billboard magazine a couple of weeks later); and, unlike the tragedy that would befall the city the next year at a Who concert across the street, things went smoothly. I got to see the Eagles one other time, in January 1980 at the University of Florida in Gainesville (once I'd actually made it into the Navy). On top of that, I saw Walsh solo, Frey solo (got to meet him that night, too), Henley solo, Schmit play with Warren Zevon (got to meet him that night), and Meisner play with the reunited original Poco lineup. All for less than $75. Age has its privileges. So, happy 38th anniversary of my first rock concert! Here's a song that the Eagles performed that night, Poco's classic "Keep On Tryin'" with lead vocals by Timothy Schmit: