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Randy Herman Meisner (born March 8, 1946 in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, U.S.) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as a founding member of Poco and the Eagles. Throughout his professional musical career Meisner's main role has been as bassist and backing high-harmony vocalist as both a group member and session musician.
Meisner was born in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, the son of sharecroppers. When he was 17, in May 1963, Randy married his high school sweetheart Jennifer Barton, and the young couple had a son, Dana Scott Meisner in November 1963. Randy and Jennifer were married for 18 years, with the marriage producing two more children (Heather Leigh and Eric Shane Meisner) born in May 1970. His first public playing experience was with a local band named The Dynamics (later The Drivin' Dynamics) in 1961. By 1965, he had moved to California with a band named The Soul Survivors, later to be renamed The Poor (because, as Don Felder later said, "...that is what they became.")
In 1968, after auditioning along side the likes of Duane Allman and Timothy B Schmit, Meisner joined Poco (originally named Pogo) with former Buffalo Springfield members Richie Furay and Jim Messina. Meisner appeared on Poco's first album, Pickin' Up the Pieces, but was asked to leave the band shortly before the record was released. Meisner's exit was a result of his anger from being excluded (at Furay's insistence) from participation in the final mix playback sessions for the record, as only Messina and Furay were to complete the production. His image was removed from the painting on the album's cover, and replaced with the dog seen at the far left. His bass parts and backing vocals were left in the mix, but his lead vocals were removed, and new versions were sung by George Grantham.
In 1969, Meisner joined Rick Nelson's Stone Canyon Band, and persuaded Nelson and producer John Boylan to hire his former band mates from The Poor, Allen Kemp (guitar) and Pat Shanahan (drums); pedal steel guitarist Tom Brumley completed the group. Meisner appears on both In Concert at the Troubadour, 1969 and Rudy The Fifth. Although he did not perform on Nelson's Garden Party, he did co-author one of the album's tracks. Meisner continued to support himself as a session performer, playing bass on James Taylor's Sweet Baby James album, among others. By the summer of 1971, he would become active in Linda Ronstadt's backing band, which featured Don Henley and Glenn Frey. Bernie Leadon would be the last Eagle to join Ronstadt's backing group, brought in by John Boylan.
Tenure with the Eagles
In September 1971, Meisner, along with Henley, Frey and Leadon, formed the Eagles, signing with David Geffen's new label, Asylum Records, and they released their eponymous debut album in 1972. While he usually manned the bass and handled backing vocals for the Eagles, he also played guitar on Desperado, On the Border, and Hotel California. During his six years with the band, he wrote and/or co-wrote songs on each of the group's first five albums—most notably "Take It to the Limit" on One of These Nights—and was featured as lead vocalist on several other songs.
Meisner's time in the band was reportedly weighed down by his desire to be with his family. According to Don Felder, Meisner constantly threatened to resign. After the supporting tour of Hotel California, Meisner quit the band in September 1977, citing "exhaustion". He would be replaced by Timothy B. Schmit, coincidentally the same bassist who replaced him in Poco.
On his abrupt resignation from the band, Meisner has said, "When I quit, it was like Timothy Schmit joined the group, and it was like Timothy was the guy now, and I can't blame them for that. All that stuff and all the arguing amongst the Eagles is over now. Well at least for me."
Solo career
Meisner went on to release solo albums in 1978 (Randy Meisner), 1980 (One More Song); and 1982 with the CBS release (Randy Meisner) which was recorded with members of the rock band Heart. He also resumed his session-playing; supporting James Taylor, Joe Walsh, Dan Fogelberg, Bob Welch, Richie Furay, Richard Marx, Peter Lewis, Danny O'Keefe, Mac Gayden & Electric Range, as well as being part of the one-hit band Black Tie (a cover of Buddy Holly's "Learning the Game") - featuring Meisner alongside Jimmy Griffin (of Bread) and Billy Swan.
He also briefly formed a band and toured with former Firefall singer/songwriter Rick Roberts, called the Roberts-Meisner Band (Roberts had previously been a Burrito Brother with Bernie Leadon, notably on 1971's The Flying Burrito Brothers). The Meisner-Roberts Band's drummer was well-known musician Ron Grinel, who also played with Dan Fogelberg, Carole King, and other bands, primarily acts managed by Irving Azoff. Also in the band were Bray Ghiglia on Guitar, Flute, Sax and Keyboards and Cary Park on lead guitar.
Meisner's band reunion activities have included the Legacy album with Poco in 1989 and the Eagles' 1998 appearance at the New York induction ceremony for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where all seven past and present members of the Eagles performed "Take It Easy" and "Hotel California". Recent years have seen him perform as a part of the World Classic Rockers touring group.
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