What Has Randy Meisner Been Up To Since Eagles?
It was the demands of touring, along with serious personal issues, that led an Eagles founding member, bassist and singer Randy Meisner, to want to leave the multiplatinum-selling band he helped make a success. At the height of their career in the '70s, the Eagles were on extended tours promoting "Hotel California." While at a concert in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1977, "my ulcer was starting to act up, and I had a bad case of the flu as well. Still, we all sounded great on stage, the audience loved the show, and we were being called back for another encore," Meisner said in the 2004 Eagles biography, "To the Limit: The Untold Story of the Eagles," quoted by Classic Country Music. "'No way,' I said. I was too sick and generally fed up. I decided I wasn't going back out." The incident subsequently led to a fight between bandmates, Meisner keeping to himself the rest of the tour, and then leaving the band.
Meisner wasn't only physically ill, but mentally tired as well. After the release of their hit song, "Take it to the Limit," on which Meisner sang lead, the bandmates wanted him to be in the spotlight, but Meisner is a shy guy by nature. He didn't want to be the rock and roll star, front and center, that they wanted him to be, according to Rolling Stone. Then, when they started ordering separate limousines to go to shows and events, Meisner knew it was the beginning of the end. In 1977, he would officially leave the group, per Rolling Stone.
Randy Meisner's imposter and supergroups
During a 2000 interview with Rock History Music's John Beaudin (posted on YouTube), Meisner touched on the subject of leaving the band. "I had been on the road so much. I was married and going through a divorce. ... I thought, 'My God,' it's taking a toll. ... You know, just being on the road all your life, and you don't have any normal life. ... Bottom line is, you know, that's in the past now. ... I think of these guys as just like good compadres that I've worked with and we had a great time. Just leave it alone and have fun together," he said.
After leaving the Eagles, Meisner went right to work on making his own music. He released solo albums — "Randy Meisner" in 1978 and "One More Song" in 1980, per Rock Cellar Magazine. In the mid '80s, Meisner joined the country rock supergroup Black Tie, and in the late '90s, joined another supergroup, called World Class Rockers.
While Meisner was busy making music, there was another man who envied Meisner's life so much that he pretended to be him, per San Francisco Weekly. For 10 years, Lewis Peter "Buddy" Morgan traveled from California to Nevada, telling people he was Randy Meisner. Morgan would trick guitar manufacturers into making him custom guitars, would make nice with casino owners, and would use his fake identity to seduce women. In 1998, the con man was caught and sentenced to 16 months in prison.
Forty years later
That same year, the real Randy Meisner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with his former Eagles bandmates. By 2015, Meisner was experiencing serious mental health issues and was in trouble with the law. According to Rolling Stone, Meisner allegedly threatened a murder-suicide and was placed under court-ordered 24-hour supervision. Meisner was said to have "threatened to gun everyone down with an AK-47," and that he would take all of his prescription pills.
In 2016, Meisner's wife, Lana Rae Meisner, accidentally shot herself and died at their home. Per CBS News, her death revived an "unusual court battle" over whether Meisner would need temporary conservatorship due to his mental health problems and past violent threats. Conservatorship, made famous by recent court battles involving Britney Spears, is when someone is chosen to manage the financial and personal assets of an incapacitated person, according to the Wall Street Journal. After his wife's death, Meisner said that he was able to provide this service to himself, but his friend Arthur Ford and his accountant Tom DeLong were ultimately ruled by the judge to be the best fits for the role, per CBS News.
Meisner was last seen in 2020 while performing with Richie Furay at his home for a series of livestream concerts. Meisner sang and played the Buffalo Springfield song "For What It's Worth" and Poco's "Pickin' Up the Pieces" at two different tapings. In an interview that took place nearly 40 years after he left the Eagles, Meisner said one of his only regrets was the way things had ended with the band, according to Society of Rock.