Take it to the limit is one of the best Eagles songs and that says a lot! He was responsible for the high harmonies that made Eagles songs famous. He was shy and never wanted to take lead vocals. The story I heard and someone can correct me but his leaving the band was eventually over Henley and Frey demand he sing Take It To The Limit while he was sick (among other band drama and health issues).
According to band colleague Don Felder, Meisner's time in the band was weighed down by his desire to be with his family and by the constant bickering between members; the discord was still unknown to the public at the time. During the 1976/77 tour in support of the album Hotel California, Meisner suffered from ill health and exhaustion while the band toured frequently for over eleven months. Meisner also preferred not to be the center of attention, and said: "I was always kind of shy ... They wanted me to stand in the middle of the stage to sing 'Take It to the Limit,' but I liked to be out of the spotlight."[27] The band was starting to feel the strain in a long tour, and Meisner was unhappy – his stomach ulcers had flared up, and his marriage was also gradually disintegrating.[28] He had been arguing with fellow member Glenn Frey about his signature song, "Take It to the Limit", during the tour, as Meisner was struggling to hit the crucial high notes in the song.[29] At their show in Knoxville, Tennessee, Meisner decided to skip the song as an encore as he had stayed up late and caught the flu, and Frey and Meisner then became involved in an angry physical confrontation backstage.[29] After the altercation, Meisner was frozen out from the band,[28] and Meisner later said: "That was the end. . . I really felt like I was a member of the group, not a part of it."[27] Meisner decided to leave the group after the final date of the tour and returned to Nebraska to be with his family. His last performance was in East Troy, Wisconsin on September 3, 1977.[30] The band replaced Meisner with the same musician who had succeeded him in Poco, Timothy B. Schmit, after agreeing that Schmit was the only candidate.[31]
Meisner formally quit the band in September 1977,[11] citing "exhaustion".[32] On the subject of his abrupt resignation from the band, Meisner later said, "All that stuff and all the arguing amongst the Eagles is over now. Well, at least for me."[3
Don and Glenn were ruthless SOBs. No wonder Stevie and Don hooked up.
Here is a clip from 1977
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMSeyp0p09w
Article about his passing
https://www.today.com/popculture/ran...dies-rcna96782