Randy Meisner, singer, and co-founder of the Grammy-winning rock band the Eagles, has died at 77.
In a post titled, “Rest In Peace Randy Meisner,” from the band’s official website, Meisner died from complications from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Thursday in Los Angeles.
“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 website reads.
Meisner was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 along with the Eagles.
In an interview with RockCeller Magazine in 2016, Meisner spoke about the band being “the biggest in the world” at one time.
“Yeah, it was pretty amazing when we started getting the real big crowds and playing stadiums. It just blew your mind. It made you feel great that people were appreciating us, loving the music,” he said.
Meisner added “to this day” even teenagers “are still listening to the Eagles stuff” and that the music is “long-lasting.”
(1/2) In Memoriam: As co-founder of 1998 Inductees the Eagles, Randy Meisner’s melodic basslines and falsetto vocals contributed to the band’s first four albums. Meisner co-wrote some of the band’s most enduring hits, including their first million-seller “Take it to the Limit” pic.twitter.com/QSa7YSqV7w
— Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (@rockhall) July 28, 2023
“From day one, I just had a feeling that the band was good and would make it. I felt it was gonna happen, almost like a premonition. And everything just started popping into place,” he continued.
Meisner also shared how he reacted to the band’s success.
“In my situation, I’m just real laid back and didn’t really worry about it too much. Money and success wasn’t anything that I really cared about, to tell you the truth,” he explained.
Meisner empathized, “The success of the music was all I was worried about.”
“Being successful and thinking you’re some big shot now, that never entered my mind. I’ve always tried to be humble about it and enjoy what we had,” he revealed.
Furthermore, Meisner said the band “made it” on their own terms.
“We were all happy with what we were doing and it showed with our success. There were never any real big egos in the band, thinking ‘we’re so cool…’ That was the opposite of what we wanted,” he added.