Eagles Co-Founder Randy Meisner Dead at 77

Randy Meisner, one of the co-founders of the Eagles and the voice reaching heights in their hit “Take It To the Limit,” has died at 77. According to Variety, Meisner died on July 26 in Los Angeles due to complications from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), confirmed by the band’s statement on the passing.

“As the original bass player for the pioneering country-rock group, Poco, Randy was at the forefront of the musical revolution that began in Los Angeles, in the late 1960s,” the statement read. “In 1971, Randy, along with Glenn Frey, Don Henley, and Bernie Leadon, formed the Eagles and contributed to the band’s albums, Eagles, Desperado, On The Border, One of These Nights, and Hotel California. He was inducted with the Eagles into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.”

The band included a quote about Meisner in the middle of the statement, singling out his contribution to the band’s success. “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,’” the band added.

Before joining the Eagles, Meisner was a bassist for the band Poco, alongside Buffalo Springfield alums Rich Furay and Jim Messina, and would sing for Rick Nelson’s Stone Canyon Band. It was when he joined to perform with Linda Ronstadt’s band and play alongside her backing musicians, including Don Henley and Glenn Frey.

“They used to rehearse in my house, where I was living with J.D., ’cause we had a bigger living room than they did,” Rondstadt said (via Billboard). “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.”