The only Eagles single with Randy Meisner on vocals
The lion’s share of all classic Eagles songs usually came down to the songwriting talents of Glenn Frey and Don Henley. Though there were occasional times when Joe Walsh or Bernie Leadon may have taken the lead on a song, Frey and Henley were both natural frontmen whenever they stepped behind the mic, whether it was the wayward traveller voice on ‘Hotel California’ or the mellow drive through the desert on ‘Peaceful Easy Feeling’. Then again, Randy Meisner was always waiting in the background to strike.
When first assembling the band, Meisner joined after fronting the rock outfit Poco, who made waves in the country-rock scene when Frey and Henley were working opposite Linda Ronstadt. Although the singles on Eagles records were known for both frontmen taking the reins, Meisner’s bright tenor voice soared above everything else, providing a high harmony on ‘Witchy Woman’ and ‘Take It Easy’.
For all of the great singing that he laid down on Eagles projects, Meisner was never known to be the greatest songwriter in the band. When working on the album Desperado, Meisner’s only contribution was ‘Certain Kind of Fool’, which told how the outlaw protagonist lost himself to his dark ways.
As years passed, Meisner began to sing less and less, becoming a problem within the group. In The History of the Eagles, Frey recalled how he wanted Meisner to sing lead, saying, “For the first few albums, the only people who had sung lead on an Eagles single were Don and myself. Randy was of the mindset that he was a lead singer, and I thought that way too. I liked his voice.”
Bringing in the song ‘Take it To the Limit’, Meisner had put together the beginnings of a smash hit, with Henley and Frey helping him finish it off in the studio. According to Meisner, this wasn’t uncommon, saying, “I came in with a verse. That’s what would normally happen. I’d come up with a little bit, and then I’m done. So the guys helped me finish it.”
When asked about the song’s meaning, Meisner thought the track evoked the feeling of getting old and wanting to get the most out of life, explaining, “The line ‘take it to the limit’ was to keep trying. You reach a point where you feel you’ve done everything and seen everything – it’s part of getting old. And just to take it to the limit one more time, like every day, just keep punching away at it. That was the line, and from there, the song took a different course.”
Being the only hit that Meisner sang lead on, the band gained momentum for the album One of These Nights, setting them up nicely for the smash hit they would make later on Hotel California. For all the glory Meisner got from his signature hit, it became an albatross around his neck when it came time to perform live.
Getting nervous about whether or not he could hit the song’s famous high notes, Meisner’s trepidation about playing the song led to a huge fight backstage one evening, marking the last time he would set foot on stage with the band. Meisner may have gotten his wish of being a lead singer among the Eagles, but it didn’t take long for his creation to overpower its creator.
