With many of their tracks heading steadily towards their golden anniversaries, today’s country still can’t seem to compete with this duo’s sound.
And there wasn’t much that the two didn’t tackle in their numerous collaborations, even winning a Duo of the Year ACM for “Good Hearted Woman,” before stunning listeners with “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys” two years later, the most popular track on their hard-fought-for album, Waylon and Willie.
But one track that often gets lost in the mix of their greatness, is their cover of The Eagles’ “Take It To the Limit,” a ‘70s hit for the rock band. The Waylon and Willie outlaw-edition of the hit keeps the vocals smooth and simple, with Willie leading off on the first verse and Waylon wrapping up the second.
Arguably, this song is also a testament to the two’s close friendship over the years, as “Take It To the Limit’s” noteworthy high notes played a role in running off Randy Meisner, The Eagles singer and founding member.
The old story suggests that Meisner was often unable to hit the track’s high notes in live performances due to nerves, and Meisner’s argument to remove the song from setlists put the band in upheaval. Meisner, also the main writer of the track, left the band shortly after.
You’ll notice that the Waylon and Willie version of the song skip over those particular notes for the sake of a more laid-back country sound, or maybe for the sake of keeping their longtime friendship? Who knows.
Either way, the duo’s version of The Eagles’ track is definitely one you’ll want to give a listen to.
Hello there! This week our blog features a moving pop song, Take It To The Limit. We will begin with the original version by The Eagles. We will then include a cover from Dave Mason, and another cover by Etta James.
The Eagles and Take It To The Limit:
In the late 60s and early 70s, many extraordinary musicians gravitated to Los Angeles, which became the epicenter of the folk-rock scene. Groups like the Lovin Spoonful and the Mamas and Papas first gained a foothold, and were soon followed by the Byrds. Joni Mitchell also appeared around this time. As a result, the area attracted a number of ambitious young performers, eager to gain fame.
Linda Ronstadt was one of these artists. She made her way to L.A. from Arizona where she had been lead singer for The Stone Poneys, and now she was embarking on a solo career.
In 1971, Ronstadt assembled a touring band to promote her Silk Purse album. Among them were (from L in photo below) guitarist Bernie Leadon from the group Flying Burrito Brothers, bassist Randy Meisner from Rick Nelson’s Stone Canyon Band, drummer Don Henley from Texas and guitarist Glenn Frey from Michigan.
This ensemble actually performed live on only one occasion, but all four musicians played on Ronstadt’s album Linda Ronstadt. The group then decided to form their own band, which they named Eagles.
The Eagles’ first eponymous album was released in June 1972, and immediately made a splash. Their first big hit was Take It Easy; although it reached only #12 on the Billboard pop charts, it made the group instantly famous for their country-rock sound.
Don Henley and Glenn Frey became a powerhouse song-writing team. Over the years they churned out hit country-rock tunes, which typically featured hook-filled melodies coupled with memorable lyrics. The duo co-wrote at least a dozen classic songs that defined the country-rock genre.
Take It To The Limit was the third single from the Eagles’ 1975 album One of These Nights. It made it to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 playlists. It remains one of the most popular Eagles songs, and is one of my personal favorites. It combines a haunting melody with effective lyrics, that depict a man reminiscing on his life and the choices he has made.
All alone at the end of the evening
And the bright lights have faded to blue
I was thinking ’bout a woman who might have loved me
I never knew
You know I’ve always been a dreamer
Spent my life runnin’ ’round
And it’s so hard to change
Can’t seem to settle down
But the dreams I’ve seen lately keep on turning out
And burning out and turning out the same
[CHORUS] So put me on a highway and show me a sign
And take it to the limit one more time
You can spend all your time making money
You can spend all your love making time
If it all fell to pieces tomorrow
Would you still be mine?
And when you’re looking for your freedom
Nobody seems to care
And you can’t find the door
Can’t find it anywhere
When there’s nothing to believe in still you’re coming back
You’re running back for more
So here are the Eagles in a live performance of Take It To The Limit.
This is the audio of a live performance at The Forum in L.A. in October, 1975. I like it because it features Randy Meisner on lead, in the only Eagles hit on which he was the lead vocalist.
As you can see, the song has a real haunting quality. At the extended and drawn-out end, it features Randy singing a high, and thrilling, falsetto as the group repeats the refrain “take it to the limit.” You can hear the audience’s enthusiastic reaction to Randy’s performance
Now here is a brief clip that simply highlights Randy’s falsetto ending to this tune.
Impressive, huh? This was from a 1977 Eagles performance at the Capital Centre, during the Eagles Hotel California tour. By the way, Take It To The Limit is also one of the few Eagles songs in 3/4 (waltz) time.
According to Meisner, he came up with the melody and title for the song. Meisner also worked on the lyrics, but had not completed the tune by the time the Eagles were scheduled to go into the recording studio.
So Don Henley and Glenn Frey finished the song, and they appear as co-authors with Meisner. Take It To The Limit was a big hit in concerts; as you can see, audiences were excited when Randy hit those high falsetto notes at the end.
However, as time went on Meisner became concerned that he would be unable to hit the high notes in concerts. In June 1977, Meisner was suffering from a stomach ulcer during the band’s tour, plus he had come down with the flu, so he decided against singing the song during an appearance in Knoxville, Tennessee. Apparently, this led to a bitter argument and physical altercation between Meisner and Glenn Frey. After that, Randy believed that the band had frozen him out of group decisions.
So later in the Hotel California tour, Randy Meisner left the group and was replaced by Timothy Schmit. This was ironic on several levels. First, although Take It To The Limit was Meisner’s big lead vocal appearance with the Eagles, it also became the reason that he left the band. Second, Meisner’s replacement Timothy Schmit had also replaced Meisner after Randy left the folk-rock group Poco.
In 1974, the Eagles had added guitarist Don Felder to the group, and in 1975 guitarist Bernie Leadon left the band and was replaced by Joe Walsh. This lineup persisted until 1980, when the group disbanded after particularly nasty and lingering disagreements amongst the members.
The individual Eagles members then embarked on solo efforts or joined other bands, with varying degrees of success. The group re-formed in 1994. When a band names their reunion tour the “Hell Freezes Over Tour,” you know the dissolution was a contentious one! After their reunion, the Eagles once again became one of the highest-grossing touring acts, in part because of the astronomically high ticket prices for their concerts.
The Eagles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. In a classy move, both the original lineup and their current lineup performed at their induction ceremony. In terms of record sales, they are the best-selling American band in history. Their Greatest Hits album alone has sold over 42 million copies.
Don Felder was fired from the band in 2001 and later sued the group. In January 2016, Glenn Frey died from complications from intestinal surgery. At present Glenn’s son Deacon and Vince Gill have joined the Eagles, and this October the Eagles released a new live album. So, the (reconstituted) Eagles are still making music, and we salute them — what an amazingly successful band.
Dave Mason and Take It To The Limit:
Dave Mason is an English rocker who has had an interesting career. In the mid-60s, he co-founded the progressive-rock band Traffic with Steve Winwood, drummer Jim Capaldi and woodwinds player Chris Wood.
However, Mason was only with the group for a short time. He participated in Traffic’s first album Mr. Fantasy in 1967, but he left the band soon after that. Then he re-joined Traffic while they were recording their second album, only to leave for a second period.
Then in 1971, Mason once again joined Traffic where he toured with the band; but he left once more after a brief time. Part of the problem was that the other members of Traffic considered themselves a collective. They wrote songs and worked out the instrumental parts together. However, Mason would go away, write a song by himself and present it to the group as a finished product.
Other creative differences contributed to Mason’s departure from Traffic. While the other members wanted to move to a blues/folk/jazz style, Mason preferred the group’s original psychedelic pop orientation.
After leaving Traffic, Mason enjoyed collaborations with a number of the top R&B musicians of that era. Mason played guitar on a few Jimi Hendrix songs, as well as some Rolling Stones cuts. He also collaborated with George Harrison and Eric Clapton.
In fact, when Eric Clapton formed the supergroup Derek and the Dominos, Mason was intended to be the second guitarist on that group; however, Mason soon left that band as well. After that he pursued a fairly successful solo career.
So here is Dave Mason performing the song Take It To The Limit.
This was a live performance at L.A.’s Universal Amphitheater in 1975; unfortunately, we have only the audio of that performance.
Dave Mason is best known for two signature tunes. The first is Feelin’ Alright, a tune that he wrote with Traffic. The Traffic version is a psychedelic pop tune; however, Joe Cocker had a big hit with an R&B cover of that song, and Mason also sings a gritty R&B version of that song.
The second big Dave Mason song is his 1977 solo hit We Just Disagree. Here is Dave performing that song live on the TV program Midnight Special.
In 2004, Dave Mason was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a founding member of Traffic. We salute British rocker Dave Mason, and wish him continued health and success.
Etta James and Take It To The Limit:
Etta James was a versatile singer who survived some very gritty times to produce some extraordinary records. She was born Jamesetta Hawkins in L.A. in 1938. Her mother was 14 at the time of her birth, and her father is unknown, although Etta said she had been told her Dad was legendary pool shark “Minnesota Fats” Wanderone.
As her mother was rarely at home, Jamesetta was raised primarily by relatives and friends. But she suffered serious physical abuse at the hands of some mentors. For example, she began singing in an L.A. gospel choir at the age of five; but the choir director would punch her in the chest in an attempt to force her to project her voice from her diaphragm.
The result was that Ms. Hawkins ended up with an unusually powerful voice, but she developed anxieties regarding singing in public. At the age of 14, she had her first big break when bandleader Johnny Otis spotted her in a girl group and groomed her as a singer.
Otis arranged for a record contract for the group, and convinced Ms. Hawkins to adopt the stage name Etta James. Otis also gave Etta a song he had written called Roll With Me, Henry. But the record company insisted that the name be changed to remove the sexual connotation of “roll.” So the song became Dance With Me, Henry. It shot up to #1 on the Hot Rhythm and Blues playlists in 1955.
The success of this record gave the 17-year-old James a big start. This was further advanced when her 1960 debut album At Last! was released. The album showcased Etta’s amazing versatility – from R&B to jazz, doo-wop and pop music; and the title cut from that album became her signature song.
Here is Etta James in a performance of Take It To The Limit.
This is just the audio of this tune, but it does highlight Etta James’ powerful vocals and her impeccable styling.
Etta James had periods of commercial success, but she suffered greatly from addiction issues. During the late 60s and 70s, she continued to record but struggled with addiction to heroin and alcohol. She recounts that she would steal money from her friends, bounce checks and forge prescriptions.
She and her husband Artis Mills were caught in possession of heroin; but Mills convinced the judge that he was the responsible party, so he got 10 years in jail and she was released on probation.
The following clip contains snippets of Etta James performing, and it is also a commentary on her life and times. In this clip, Etta openly discusses her addiction issues. Furthermore, Ms. James mentions that in her opinion, the song Take It To The Limit expresses her philosophy of life.
But beginning in the late 1980s, people began to pay more attention to Etta’s amazing musical contributions. She became a regular performer at international jazz festivals. In addition, many female artists, including Diana Ross, Christina Aguilera, Janis Joplin, Brandy, and Bonnie Raitt, have attested to her influence on their vocal style. Etta was given a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1989, and she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. In 2001, she was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, and in 2003 she received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 2009, Etta James began showing symptoms of dementia. She released her final album in 2011, and later that same year she was diagnosed with leukemia. That disease progressed and she passed away in January 2012.
Etta James was an exceptionally versatile performer. Despite her early years of poverty and her serious addition issues, she made important contributions to many different musical genres. We salute the amazing Ms. Etta James.