Who sings lead vocals on ‘Take It To The Limit’ by Eagles?
When Eagles are referred to as the American Beatles, many people roll their eyes, saying that the two have different styles of music and did different things, so are in no way comparable. While this is fair, it could still stand that Eagles had a similar influence to The Beatles. While their music might not have been the same, they paved the way for bands that came after them, creating a foundation that other artists could build upon.
Another band you could compare to Eagles is Led Zeppelin. In the same way that Led Zeppelin was responsible for merging multiple genres of music, so too were the Eagles, which gave rise to a brand new genre of music that might not have existed otherwise.
While Led Zeppelin was responsible for merging hard rock, soft rock, acoustic music, blues, and R&B, the Eagles intertwined rock, folk, and country to create a sound that had the excitement of rock music but remained grounded. It was a brand new way of both listening to and making music, as the Eagles gave rise to a style that remains popular today.
This unique blend of genres was clearly present in their 1975 album One Of These Nights. What was dubbed the “Southern California Sound” shone out of the speakers as that sweet mix of styles came together and opened people’s eyes to areas of music that were yet to be explored.
A stand-out song on the record was ‘Take It To The Limit’, which had relatively sad lyrics but misleading delivery, thanks to the track’s upbeat nature. That contrast of emotion and instrumentation was slightly jarring for some people, and it wasn’t the only thing that left fans confused. Despite the blend of genres being as present as ever, something about the song sounded slightly off-piece: the vocals.
While people had grown used to hearing either Don Henley or Glenn Frey’s voice delivering lead vocals, the eagle-eared could hear somebody else providing them on this song. But who?
So, who is singing on ‘Take It To The Limit’
There are a few people who contributed to the music of the Eagles. Don Henley and Glenn Frey are two of the most famous, but an often overlooked member is Randy Meisner. It was Henley, Frey, and Meisner who wrote the track ‘Take It To The Limit’, and Meisner also performed the vocals. Interestingly, the song’s theme and the debate on whether to play it live were big contributions to Meisner leaving the band in 1977.
The song is about how much every band member has to contribute to keep things up and running. While being a rockstar may appeal to many, only those who have lived the life know how much work is involved in keeping things afloat. The work can become tedious and stressful, and that combination begins to weigh on band members after some time.
Felder commented on this, saying, “Really the only thing you can do when you’re in the Eagles is eat, breathe, and sleep Eagles.” He said, “I mean, you’re either on the road, writing in the studio, or doing press – it’s just all consuming.”
This ideology prompted Meisner to leave the band and inspired the track a great deal. “The line ‘take it to the limit’ was to keep trying. You reach a point in your life where you feel you’ve done everything and seen everything – it’s part of getting old,” he said, “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.”
Another contributing factor that caused Meisner to leave the band was the debate on whether they should play ‘Take It To The Limit’ live. While he liked the song, he didn’t like singing it and was constantly struggling to hit the high note at the end because of nerves. He would have rather it be removed from the setlist, but the rest of the band disagreed. In the end, Meisner had reached the limit and called it a day with the band.
