Randy Meisner, a founding member of the musical band Eagle, was married twice and had three children. Let’s meet his wife, and kids.
Randy Meisner, a founding member of The Eagles, has died. The bassist and singer, who co-wrote and sang “Take It to the Limit,” was 77.
Meisner (real name: Randall Herman Meisner) died due to complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) Wednesday night, the band announced Thursday.
Throughout his professional musical career, Meisner’s main role was that of bassist and backing high-harmony vocalist as a group member and session musician.
Following his death, many want to learn more about his bereaved spouses and children. Read on for more about his family.
Who was Randy Meisner married to?
The late musician was not known to have been married at the time of his death. There were no reports about him having a partner.
However, he was married twice in his lifetime to partners Lana Meisner and Jennifer Lee Barton.
His first wife was Jennifer Barton whom he met during his high school time. They tied the knot in 1963 and enjoyed a marriage of 18 years before they divorced in 1981. They had three babies before they separated.
Meisner later married his girlfriend of twelve years, Lana Rae, in November 1996. The marriage lasted until her death in 2016.
Lana accidentally shot and killed herself in March 2016. Authorities determined Meisner was not involved in the shooting.
Did Randy Meisner have any Children?
Before Randy Meisner died in July 2023, he was a father of three children; two sons and a daughter. The names his kids are Dana Scott Meisner, Heather Leigh and Eric Shane Meisner. His last two kids are twins.
His shared all of his children with his first wife, Barton, whom they married for 18 years before separating.
In November 1963, the same year he married Jennifer Barton, the young couple had a son, Dana. The couple had two more children, twins Heather Leigh and Eric Shane, born in May 1970, before divorcing in 1981.
Not much is known about the personal or professional lives of Randy’s kids, but the eldest son is 60 years now.
The siblings were also in the news before the passing of Lana, when they were reportedly trying to file for Randy’s conservatorship, but the musician wanted to have his two close friends as his conservators.
TMZ reports, Randy’s children’s attempt to get a conservatorship eventually failed.
With his second partner, Lana, they had no children.
Musician was out of contact with all of his kids, claimed his lawyer
Randy’s lawyer, Bruce Fuller, claimed back in the day after his second wife‘s death that the musician and his children weren’t on talking terms.
When reports and the petition filed by Randy’s children allegedly pointed at his troubled relationship with Lana, his lawyer dismissed the claims by saying the Eagles’ band member and his second wife were “each other’s whole world,” reports CBS News.
Bruce also claimed that Randy “was” out of contact with all his children and his former wife, but it wasn’t because of Lana.
Meisner is said to have filed a petition asking for his own conservator and the reason mentioned in the filing read: “The proposed conservatee is worried this contact would impair his health, and hopes that requesting this conservatorship voluntarily will demonstrate to his children that he is being cared for in the hope they all stay at a distance while he grieves.”
Randy Meisner had an impressive career
The Nebraska native co-founded The Eagles in 1971 with Don Henley, Glenn Frey, and Bernie Leadon, after playing with the country-rock band Poco and Rick Nelson’s Stone Canyon Band.
Meisner was primarily the band’s bassist but did write and sing several classic tracks on their albums. Meisner’s biggest hit with the band was “Take It to the Limit,” released as the third single from their 1975 album One of These Nights.
Meisner left the band after they recorded Hotel California in 1976. He chose to skip the tour to promote the record. “I could have tripled my money if I’d stayed,” Meisner told PEOPLE in 1981. “But I was just tired of the touring. It’s a crazy life that you live at twice the normal speed. When it got to the point of sanity or money… I thought I’d rather have sanity.”
While the Eagles reunited in 1994, Meisner was reportedly not invited. He did perform with the band at their 1998 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony and was invited to join their 2013 world tour. He did not attend due to his declining health. In 2016, Meisner said the band helped pay for his medical care.
In a 2016 interview with Rock Cellar Magazine, Meisner reflected on the band’s legacy and how their music overcame rock critics.
“It’s just good to know that kids nowadays are listening to it. It’s long-standing music. They’re good songs,” he said. “The lyrics are really good and the way that they were produced and the way that we played them. That’s why on Hotel California we were so precise and wanting to make it so perfect. We made sure we got it so good.”