Randy Meisner, Eagles Co-Founder and Singer of ‘Take It To The Limit,’ Dies at 77

Thania Garcia
·3 min read
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Randy Meisner, the retired American singer and co-founding member of the Eagles, died on July 26 in Los Angeles due to complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a statement shared by the band on their website. He was 77.

Meisner, along with Glenn Frey, Don Henley, and Bernie Leadon, formed the Eagles in 1971. He played bass and sang on several of the rock band’s most beloved albums including “Eagles,” “Desperado,” “On The Border,” “One of These Nights,” and “Hotel California.” He co-wrote the band’s hit song “Take It to the Limit,” which he also sang.

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“The Eagles are sad to report that founding member, bassist, and vocalist, Randy Meisner, passed away last night (July 26) in Los Angeles at age 77, due to complications from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease (COPD),” reads the band’s official statement. The post also included the following remembrance from the Eagles: “Randy was an integral part of the Eagles and instrumental in the early success of the band. His vocal range was astonishing, as is evident on his signature ballad, ‘Take It to the Limit’.”

Prior to his success with the Eagles, Meisner was a bassist for the band Poco, with former Buffalo Springfield members Richie Furay and Jim Messina, and was a vocalist for Rick Nelson’s Stone Canyon Band. Meisner appears on the Canyon Band’s “In Concert at the Troubadour” (which he co-produced), and “Rudy The Fifth,” and makes a cameo in “Easy to Be Free,” a documentary of the Stone Canyon Band’s 1969 tour.

He was born on March 8, 1946 in Scotts Bluff, Neb., but regularly returned to Los Angeles to pursue his music career. He played on sessions for John Stewart and Compton & Batteau until he was recruited by John Boylan to perform with Linda Ronstadt alongside her backing musicians Henley and Frey (Leadon was working with the Flying Burrito Brothers at the time, Ronstadt told Billboard, and he later joined Meisner and Leadon as the founding members of the Eagles.

“They used to rehearse in my house, where I was living with J.D., ’cause we had a bigger living room than they did,” Ronstadt said. “And I remember coming home one day and they had rehearsed ‘Witchy Woman’ and they had all the harmonies worked out, four-part harmonies. It was fantastic. I knew it was gonna be a hit. You could just tell. They had really strong voices, really strong playing, really strong songwriting ideas and they had an extended pool of songwriters like Jack Tempchin and J.D. Souther and Jackson Browne. It was just an amazing time. There was no way they could miss with all that going for them.”

Meisner left the band in 1977 and the band replaced him with the same musician who had succeeded him in Poco, Timothy B. Schmit. He went on to release a few solo albums including his self-titled set in 1978 and 1980’s “One More Song.”

Meisner was excluded from the Eagles’ reunion tour in 1994 but appeared beside the band for a 1998 appearance at the New York City induction ceremony for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They performed “Take It Easy” and “Hotel California.” He was also invited by the Eagles to take part in their “History of the Eagles” world tour in 2013 but was unable to join them due to his ongoing health issues.

According to the Eagles’ statement, funeral arrangements for Meisner are pending.

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