Timothy B. Schmit Biography

Timothy Bruce Schmit was born October 30, 1947 in Oakland, California. In his early years, Timothy’s father (musician Danny Schmit) was frequently away. This issue was resolved when Timothy’s parents purchased a trailer and the whole family joined Schmit senior on the road! After two years of traveling, the family settled in Sacramento, California. Timothy first showed his enthusiasm for the arts at a young age, taking tap dance lessons as a child. Timothy was also a talented gymnast with his specialty being the parallel bars. At the age of 15, Tim created a folk trio Tim, Tom and Ron with two of his friends. The next year the band added a drummer, switched to surf music and took the name the Contenders.

As the British invasion hit, the band changed directions AGAIN! This time they were singing a more Beatles-style of music and changed their name to The New Breed. In 1965, the band put out a single “Green Eyed Woman” which was actually rather successful. The New Breed proceeded to record an album’s worth of material, but it didn’t get released until 1985 due to difficulties with their label. However, they did record and release two more singles: “Fine With Me” and “The Sound of Music”. During this time, Timothy was also going to school, studying Psychology at American River College and Sacramento State College. He soon left school to pursue his musical endeavors full time. In the late 60’s the band found a new label and changed their name once more. Now under the moniker of Glad, Timothy and his bandmates set about recording an album. This was not an easy task, as the boys had very little creative control of the album. After many stops and starts (including one point where Timothy walked away for a short while), the album Feelin’ Glad was completed. This would be Timothy’s last effort with this particular band.

In 1968 while recording the Feelin’ Glad LP, Timothy was invited to audition for the bass guitarist spot in the new band Poco (then known as Pogo). However, Randy Meisner was chosen instead of Timothy. Within a year, Randy had departed to join the Eagles and Tim auditioned again, becoming a member of Poco in 1969.

During those early years with Poco, young Timothy married Noreen and in 1971 they had a child named Jeddrah (who would later become a recording artist in her own right). Their relationship did not last, however; Timothy and his first wife would separate in the mid 70’s.

In the span of seven years, Timothy and the other members of Poco released 11 albums. Poco was always the band that never made it, the band that should have been more. They watched many of their contemporaries, who formed bands after them, pass by them on the road to success. They were a fantastic band and put on a good concert, but never seemed to have that breakthrough of a record that made people take notice. Throughout the years that Timothy was in the band, there were many personnel changes and with each personnel change, Timothy became more of a leader within the band. This continued until September of 1977 when, with a twist a fate, Glenn Frey called and asked Timothy to replace Randy Meisner once more. Timothy was extremely enthusiastic and joined the Eagles soon after.

After joining the Eagles, Timothy toured with the band, performing the catchy Poco classic “Keep on Tryin’” every night. Soon after, the band started work on the album The Long Run. Timothy co-authored one song on the album with Glenn Frey and Don Henley: “I Can’t Tell You Why.” “I Can‘t Tell You Why” was a song that Tim had begun before he joined the Eagles. This was the first song on the album to be completed and peaked at #8 on the charts. Once The Long Run album was released, Timothy and the Eagles again toured extensively to support the album. Yet, trouble was brewing in the land of Eagles. Timothy, a veteran of many bands, believed the squabbling was just regular band tension. It was much more than that as the hostilities and tensions between the other members of the Eagles had grown to an unbearable level. After difficult sessions completing their Live album, the band broke up. Two years later in 1982, it was officially announced that the Eagles were no more.

Through all this turmoil and uncertainty, Timothy had the support of a very special lady Jean, whom he had been seeing for a number of years. They married in 1983 and welcomed their first child in 1984: a daughter named Owen Faye. In 1991 Timothy and Jean became parents once more when they welcomed a healthy son, Ben, into their family.

After the Eagles disbanded, Timothy turned his attention to session work, singing with such greats as Crosby Stills and Nash, Toto, and many others. He also toured with a variety of acts such as Jimmy Buffet and Warren Zevon. His own music was not neglected, however. Timothy also released solo work and the occasional soundtrack song. In 1982, Timothy performed "So Much In Love” on the Fast Times at Ridgemont High soundtrack. Then, in 1983, Timothy began to record his first solo album; Playing it Cool was released in 1984. The album had a broad variety of songs from pop to R&B to light jazz. One song on the album ,“Voices”, is rather unique as it is almost completely acapella and all of the voices are Timothy’s.

In 1987, Timothy released his second solo effort entitled Timothy B. It was an album with a much harder edge to it. With a definite R&B flavor, Timothy was obviously saying “Hey, I am MORE than just an ex-Eagle!” The first single “Boy’s Night Out” was the biggest hit from the album, making it to #26 on the charts and remaining on the charts for 6 weeks. Later that year, Timothy appeared with another ex-Eagle (and the man he has replaced twice), Randy Meisner, at a Richard Marx concert. The three of them performed the Eagles classic “Take it to the Limit” to rave reviews.

There was some talk of an Eagles reunion in 1990, but for various reasons, the reunion did not occur at this time. As a result, Timothy once again turned to his solo endeavors. He released yet another album entitled Tell Me the Truth. As with his first album, this album featured a variety of styles. Perhaps the most noteworthy song was “For the Children”, an almost gospel-sounding song featuring a children’s choir which included Timothy's two daughters, Jeddrah and Owen Faye. It also included Joe Walsh's daughter Lucy.

In 1992, Timothy joined Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band in touring the globe. On the Ringo tour, Timothy performed “I Can’t Tell You Why” and “Keep on Tryin’”. Common Thread, a tribute album to the Eagles, was produced the next year. This album would prove to be a very important part of Eagles history. Timothy happened to be in Nashville when Vince Gill was recording a remake of “I Can’t Tell You Why” for the album. Vince invited Timothy to join him in the studio to sing background vocals on the song. Later, Vince and Timothy would also appear at a Nashville benefit together to perform “I Can’t Tell You Why” as a duet.

In January of 1994, Travis Tritt wanted to make a music video for his cover of “Take it Easy” (from Common Thread) and requested that the Eagles participate. Timothy and the rest of the band agreed and for the first time in 14 years, all five Eagles were jamming as one! It was a very special day, filled with jokes, singing, laughter and fun. Now the wheels were truly moving on an Eagles reunion, and fast! In April of 1994 the band performed two shows where Timothy sang a new song, the soft-rock hit “Love Will Keep Us Alive.” The Eagles soon began to tour in earnest. The “Hell Freezes Over” tour was only supposed to last for six months but due to the demand, it was extended to two and a half years. In mid-1996 the tour ended and Timothy said goodbye to his bandmates, believing that it was the end of the Eagles. However, Timothy had long since learned to never say never…

In 1998, it was announced that the Eagles would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and would perform at the ceremony. The most amazing part of the night’s festivities was that all seven Eagles, past and present, performed together onstage for the first time! It was an incredible night, highlighted by Timothy’s speech where he noted that “I was not in the trenches with this particular band, so thank you to my predecessor Randy Meisner for being there and paving the way for me to be here tonight with him here beside me.” It was a very touching moment. Later in the show, the Eagles performed “Hotel California” and “Take It Easy” with both Timothy and Randy singing the harmony with Glenn.

After a short series of concerts at the end of 1999 celebrating the millennium and culminating in a performance in Los Angeles on the turn of the 21st century, the Eagles began touring again in 2001. Timothy also released his first solo album in 11 years. Feed the Fire was released on Timothy’s own Lucan record label and had been recorded at his home studio. The CD features many great songs and shows definite growth in Timothy as a songwriter and musician. One highlight of this CD is “The Shadow,” a song that features an acoustic guitar solo by Timothy at the beginning. The sound is so sharp that one can even hear Timothy’s fingers on the strings if one listens carefully. Perhaps the most poignant song on Feed the Fire is “Song for Owen,” a song he wrote to his 17 year old daughter which speaks about the difficulties and fears of being a parent to a teenager.

Timothy and the Eagles continued touring for several years, often taking months off here and there. In 2004, they named their newest tour “Farewell 1.” While many fans worried that this meant this was their final tour, it was actually a tongue-in-cheek joke. In 2004, the band recorded a concert in Melbourne, Australia. The Farewell 1 DVD was released in 2005 and fans got to see the full three-hour Eagles concert experience from the comfort of their living rooms! Timothy did much of the promotion for this DVD, traveling for interviews and speaking engagements (family members in tow). The band has been working, off and on, on a new studio album and last year the Eagles signed a exclusivity deal with Wal-Mart to release their new material. As a part of this deal, the band re-released the Farewell 1 DVD along with a bonus CD containing two new songs. One of these, “Do Something”, is a sweet melodic song featuring Timothy on lead vocals.

Timothy is a very fan-friendly individual. He always manages to make a fan feel special with his kind, calm, and caring demeanor. Whether it is at a concert, a meet and greet, or through his website, Timothy always takes the time to go the extra mile to connect with his fans. And it is for his fans that he is working on another solo project, hopefully to be released in the near future. Apparently, this latest solo project has a few unusual aspects that may surprise his fans. Whatever Timothy does, one thing is for certain: he loves to create music and is extremely grateful for all of his good fortune.