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.
“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’.”
He was born March 8, 1946 in Scotts Bluff, Neb., but 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 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.
