The Eagles co-founder Randy Meisner dies at 77
Meisner, the band's vocalist, was renowned for his gentle yet commanding approach to vocal melodies.
Los Angeles: Randy Meisner, the co-founder of the iconic American rock band The Eagles, best known for tracks such as ‘Take it to the Limit’ has passed away at the age of 77.
Meisner was the singer of the band and was known for his soft but powerful approach to vocal melodies.
As reported by their official website, the rock legend was found dead on July 26 in Los Angeles due to medical complications caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The bassist and singer for the band, Meisner was a rock icon and has recorded some of the band’s biggest classic albums such as ‘Eagles’, ‘Desperado’, ‘On The Border’, ‘One of These Nights’, and ‘Hotel California’.
“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),” the band said on their official website.
“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.”
“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’,” said the band members.
Talking to Billboard about Meisner, music legend Linda Rondstadt said: “They used to rehearse in my house, where I was living with J.D., because we had a bigger living room than they did.”
“And I remember coming home one day and they had rehearsed ‘Witchy Woman’ and they had all the harmonies worked out, four-part harmonies,” he added.
“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.”
Though he left the band in 1977, Meisner continued to work with on many occasions. His career with The Eagles gave him considerable wealth, amounting to somewhere around $15 million at the time of his death.
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.
The musician co-founded the iconic band by joining hands with Don Henley, Glenn Frey, and Bernie Leadon in Los Angeles, in 1971.
According to the band members, funeral arrangements for Meisner are still pending.
