Randy Meisner, an original member of the Eagles who contributed high harmonies to hits like “Take It Easy” and “The Best of My Love” and took the lead on the waltz-tempo ballad “Take It to the Limit,” passed away on Thursday, the group announced. The Eagles released a statement on Meisner’s passing on Wednesday night in Los Angeles due to complications from chronic obstructive lung disease. He was 77.
The bassist had suffered from a number of illnesses in recent years, and in 2016, his wife, Lana Rae Meisner, inadvertently shot and killed herself.
According to court documents and remarks made during a 2015 hearing where a judge ordered Randy Meisner to undergo treatment for alcoholism and recieve constant medical care. Meisner was also diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Called “the sweetest man in the music business” by former bandmate Don Felder, the baby-faced Meisner joined Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Bernie Leadon in the early 1970s to form a quintessential Los Angeles band and one of the most popular acts in history.
“Randy was an integral part of the Eagles and instrumental in the early success of the band,” the Eagles’ statement said. “His vocal range was astonishing, as is evident on his signature ballad, ‘Take It to the Limit’.” The band said funeral plans were pending.
Evolving from country rock to hard rock, the Eagles turned out a run of hit singles and albums over the next decade, starting with “Take It Easy” and continuing with “Desperado”, “Hotel California” and “Life In the Fast Lane” among others.
The Eagles released two of the best-selling albums of all time, “Hotel California” and “Their Greatest Hits (1971–75),” despite being criticised by many critics as slick and superficial. With 38 million combined sales, the Recording Industry Association of America ranked these albums alongside Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” as the best-selling albums of all time.
The Eagles, led by the composers Henley and Frey, were initially categorised as “mellow” and “easy listening.”
However, by the time of their third album, “On the Border,” which was released in 1974, they had added a rock guitarist named Felder and were moving away from country and bluegrass.
Leadon, a traditional bluegrass picker, left after the 1975 release of the album “One of These Nights” because he didn’t like the new sound. (Joe Walsh, another rock guitarist, took his position.) Meisner continued on until “Hotel California,” the band’s most well-known record, was released in 1976; nevertheless, he left the group not long after.
Ironically, the song “Take It to the Limit,” which he co-wrote and was best known for, was what ultimately sparked his resignation.
Even though Meisner had played on all but one of the Eagles’ earlier studio recordings, they resumed touring in 1994 after a 14-year sabbatical. He did perform “Take It Easy” and “Hotel California” with the group’s current and former members in 1998 when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
