Randy Meisner
| Randy Meisner | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Randy Herman Meisner |
| Born |
March 8, 1946 Scottsbluff, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock |
| Occupation(s) | |
| Instruments | |
| Years active | 1961–2008 |
| Labels | Asylum, Epic, Rev-Ola, York |
| Associated acts | Eagles, Poco, Ricky Nelson, Linda Ronstadt |
| Notable instruments | |
|
Fender Precision Bass Rickenbacker 4001S Fender Jazz Bass Hagstrom Bass |
|
Randy Herman Meisner (born March 8, 1946) is a retired American musician, singer and songwriter best known as a founding member of Poco and the Eagles. Throughout his professional musical career Meisner's main role had been as a bassist and backing high-harmony vocalist as both a group member and session musician. He is best known for the Eagles hit song "Take It to the Limit", which he co-wrote and sang.
Randy Herman Meisner was born in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, the second child and only son of sharecroppers Herman (1911–1995) and Emilie Meisner (1911–2010). Randy had an older sister named Carol (who died in 2005) and he recalled his mother was always singing around the house. Her father George Haun was a violin teacher. Both Randy's maternal and paternal grandparents were born in Russia though the Meisner and Haun families are of German ancestry. The Meisner family grew beans, alfalfa, corn and sugar beets on their farm. Randy developed an interest in the guitar at ten years old, after seeing Elvis Presley perform on the Ed Sullivan Show. He began taking lessons and playing in local bands. While attending Scottsbluff High School, one of Randy's teachers suggested he take up the bass. "I loved R&B and the bass players on the Motown stuff were great. They really inspired me. I can't read music. Once I learn a part it's there. My bass playing came real naturally."
Randy Meisner played bass and sang with a local band named The Dynamics (later The Drivin' Dynamics) from 1961 to 1965. Their first paying job was in the dance hall at Little Moon Lake, near Henry, Nebraska in December 1961. They played there regularly through 1962. In late 1962, The Drivin' Dynamics released their first record, a 4-song EP with Meisner singing lead vocals on Sam Cooke's "You Send Me." It was pressed locally with only 500 copies released. In August 1965, The Dynamics signed a record deal with Sully Records out of Amarillo, Texas. They recorded three songs, with Randy singing lead on two: "One Of These Days" and "So Fine". "So Fine" was released as a single and sold well regionally and in the southeastern U.S. Early in 1966, Randy 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"). It was a hardscrabble existence, as Meisner later recalled, "I never had a car, I had to walk. I sold the Los Angeles Free Press on Sunset and Highland. I made about five bucks a day." The Poor was managed by Charlie Greene and Brian Stone, who also managed Buffalo Springfield and Sonny & Cher. The band released several singles on Loma, York and Decca Records in 1966 and 1967, with limited success. Loma Records was a subsidiary of Warner Bros., and had offices in the same building. In February 1967, The Poor recorded "She's Got the Time, She's Got the Changes," written by Tom Shipley (later of Brewer & Shipley fame) while he was a staff writer for A&M Records. Three of the singles were produced by Barry Friedman, aka Frazier Mohawk, and recorded at Gold Star Studios. The band performed on "Study in Motion #1" which was featured in the 1967 Jack Nicholson film Hell's Angels on Wheels. In the summer of 1967, The Poor was booked for two weeks at the Salvation Club in New York City, opening for The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Though they did get to play a few times, it was not the opportunity they had hoped it would be, and the band members had to threaten management to get money for plane tickets back to L.A. Rev-Ola released a CD of The Poor's music in 2003, which included one song written by Meisner called "Come Back Baby."
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