Eagles Co-Founder Randy Meisner Dead At 77

Eagles co-founder Randy Meisner passed away on July 26th in Los Angeles, California at the age of 77. The band shared a statement on their website that detailed Meisner's cause of death to be ongoing complications with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease (COPD).

"Randy was an integral part of the Eagles and instrumental in the early success of the band. His vocal range was astonishing," the statement read.

Meisner was born on March 8th, 1946 in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. He began his career in Los Angeles "at the forefront of the musical revolution" in the 1960s as the bassist for Rick Nelson’s Stone Canyon Band, followed by a few years with country-rock group, Poco. Meisner went on to form the Eagles alongside Glenn Frey, Don Henley, and Bernie Leadon in 1971, contributing to multiple albums and shining in his "signature ballad," "Take It To The Limit."

During the band's 2013 documentary film, History of The Eagles, Meisner revealed the meaning behind a few lines from the single: "The line ‘take it to the limit’ was to keep trying before you reach a point in your life where you feel you’ve done everything and seen everything, sort of feeling, you know, part of getting old. And just to take it to the limit one more time, like every day just keep, you know, punching away at it."

An essential part of the Eagles' legacy, Meisner helped craft five albums including Desperado, Hotel California, Eagles, One of These Nights, and On The Border, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the band in 1998. Randy is remembered by his children Dana Scott Meisner, and twins Heather Leigh and Eric Shane Meisner.