Throughout his professional musical career, both as group member and session musician, his main role was that of bassist and backing vocalist.

Their first paying job was performing in the dance hall at Little Moon Lake in Torrington, northeast of Cheyenne, Wyoming, in December 1961.

In late 1962, The Drivin' Dynamics released their first record, a four-song EP with Meisner singing lead vocals on Sam Cooke's "You Send Me".

[12] "So Fine" was released as a single, and sold well regionally and in the Southeastern U.S.[13] Early in 1966,[10][14] Meisner moved to California with a band named The Soul Survivors,[14] later to be renamed The Poor[10] (because, as Don Felder later said, "that is what they became").

Although the band did get to play a few times, it was not the opportunity its members had hoped it would be; they had to threaten their management in order to get money for plane tickets back to Los Angeles.

[18] In May 1968, after auditioning alongside Timothy B. Schmit, Meisner joined Poco (originally named Pogo)[10] with Rusty Young, and former Buffalo Springfield members Richie Furay and Jim Messina.

His exit was the result of his anger at being excluded from participation in the final mix playback sessions for the album; only Messina and Furay were to be involved in completing production.

He is also featured in Easy to Be Free, a documentary of the Stone Canyon Band's 1969 tour, directed by Rick Nelson's brother David.

[20] In the same month, he played bass on several tracks for Waylon Jennings' 1970 album Singer of Sad Songs, recorded at RCA Victor Studio in Hollywood.

[27] Meisner returned to Nebraska in the spring of 1970 after a difficult tour of Europe with Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band.

[28][29] He worked to establish Goldrush while playing in the Stone Canyon Band and performing on sessions for John Stewart and Compton & Batteau.

[30] By mid-1971, he was recruited by John Boylan to become active in Linda Ronstadt's roster of backing musicians, which included Don Henley, Glenn Frey, and Bernie Leadon.

"[41] One More Song in 1980 was produced by Val Garay and featured backing vocals by his former Eagles bandmates Don Henley and Glenn Frey on the Jack Tempchin-composed title track.

The revamped Silverados included Dixon House on keyboards, Denny Carmassi on drums, Tom Erak on bass, and John Corey on guitar, as well as Sterling Smith from the earlier band.

[citation needed] In 1985, Meisner became part of an all-star band Black Tie composed of Jimmy Griffin (of Bread) and Billy Swan.

Respected session musician Blondie Chaplin and former Eagles member Bernie Leadon joined the band on their U.S. tour in early 1986.

[citation needed] "Call It Love" was a Top-20 single in the U.S. Meisner sang lead on the Richard Marx-composed "Nothin' to Hide", which also sold well for the band.

[citation needed] Meisner expressed disappointment and hurt at being excluded from the Eagles' 1994 "resumption" tour Hell Freezes Over.

[49] Meisner also asked the band if he could sit in with them at their Millennium Concert at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on New Year's Eve 1999, but said he was rebuffed; however, he also said that he held no resentment towards Henley and Frey.

On August 27, 2020, Meisner appeared (via video) from his home, singing back-up harmony with Furay and his band on the Buffalo Springfield song "For What It's Worth".

[52] On October 30, 2020, Meisner made a second remote appearance, singing background vocals with Furay's band on the Poco song "Pickin' up the Pieces".

Some people are not as familiar with Meisner's appearance as with the more prominent and public Eagles members, and Morgan used that fact to con musical instrument manufacturers and retailers, casino owners, and women.

[59][62] Meisner reportedly struggled with periodic alcohol dependency from the late 1960s onward, especially during his tenure with the Eagles, as he tried to deal with his new-found fame.

[65] In April 2015, Meisner and his wife denied rumors, based on a lawsuit filed on his behalf, that she was taking advantage of his known addictions to alcohol and drugs by trying to force-feed him bottles of vodka to keep him drunk.

His self-described longtime friend, James Newton, filed papers in April asking that Meisner be placed under a court-supervised conservatorship governing his personal and financial matters.

[67] Three months later, the Los Angeles County Superior Court appointed a temporary conservator to oversee the 24-hour management of Meisner's drug prescriptions and medical state, noting that he was previously diagnosed as bipolar.

[68] The brief conservatorship directed Meisner's medical care, but the judge did not give the conservator the additional power sought by Troy Martin and James Newton to also have her oversee his finances.

[70] Ninety minutes later, after police had left the scene, Lana Meisner was shot and killed when a rifle she was moving was struck by an object in its case and accidentally discharged.

[73][74] After the accidental shooting, Meisner was placed under psychiatric hold after threatening suicide, due to previous threats and mental issues.

[71] Meisner died due to complications associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Los Angeles, on July 26, 2023, at the age of 77.