Eagles founding member Randy Meisner dead at 77

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Eagles founding member Randy Meisner is dead at age 77, the band announced in a Facebook post Thursday.

The Eagles said on their official Facebook page that Meisner died from complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

"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 said in a post.

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Randy Meisner March 6, 1981, in Chicago. (Paul Natkin/WireImage)

The post noted that funeral arrangements for Meisner are pending.

Don Felder, Randy's former bandmate, referred to him as "the sweetest man in the music business." Meisner joined Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Bernie Leadon in the ‘70s as the band’s lead bassist.

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. 

Although chastised by many critics as slick and superficial, the Eagles released two of the most popular albums of all time, "Hotel California" and "Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)."

Meisner, who was from Nebraska, had been ill and homesick during the "Hotel California" tour with his first marriage falling apart and was reluctant to be in the spotlight for "Take It to the Limit," a showcase for his nasally tenor.

Randy Meisner wrote songs, played bass and sang with the band. (Richard E. Aaron/Redferns)

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Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Don Felder and Randy Meisner of the Eagles. (Getty Images)

His objections during a Knoxville, Tennessee, concert in the summer of 1977 so angered Frey that the two argued backstage, and Meisner left the band soon after. His replacement, Timothy B. Schmit, remained with the group over the following decades, along with Henley, Walsh and Frey, who died in 2016.

"I could have tripled my money if I’d stayed," Meisner told People Magazine in 1981. "But I was just tired of the touring. It’s a crazy life that you live at twice the normal speed. When it got to the point of sanity or money ... I thought I’d rather have sanity."

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Randy Meisner went solo after leaving the Eagles. (Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns)

After exiting the Eagles, Meisner went solo. He never approached the success of the Eagles but did have hits with "Hearts On Fire" and "Deep Inside My Heart" and played on records by Walsh, James Taylor and Dan Fogelberg, among others.

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Meisner first married his high school sweetheart, Jennifer Lee Barton, in 1963, and had three children with her — a son, Dana, in November 1963, and twins Heather Leigh and Eric Shane in May 1970 — before divorcing in 1981. 

He then married Lana Rae in November 1996 and was married to her until her death in 2016. 

In 2016, Meisner spoke about the Eagles' legacy, telling Rock Cellar Magazine, "It’s just good to know that kids nowadays are listening to it. It’s long-standing music. They’re good songs.

"The lyrics are really good and the way that they were produced and the way that we played them. That’s why on ‘Hotel California’ we were so precise and wanting to make it so perfect. We made sure we got it so good."

Canadian guitarist Randy Bachman took to Twitter following the death of Meisner to remember the late musician. 

"Sorry to hear #Eagles #musician Randy Meisner has left us. He was an incredible #singer #songwriter and #bassist. Peace to his friends and family. #Takeittothelimit #rip #RandyMeisner," Bachman wrote on Thursday night.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.