{"id":900633,"date":"2026-10-31T03:32:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T03:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/900633\/"},"modified":"2026-10-31T03:32:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T03:32:10","slug":"born-79-years-ago-today-in-the-golden-state-the-eagles-star-who-also-sang-on-totos-africa-and-hits-by-bob-seger-and-don-henley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/900633\/","title":{"rendered":"Born 79 Years Ago Today in the Golden State, the Eagles Star Who Also Sang on Toto\u2019s \u201cAfrica\u201d and Hits by Bob Seger and Don Henley"},"content":{"rendered":"

On this day (October 30) in 1947, Timothy B. Schmit was born in Oakland, California. He is perhaps best known for his time as a bassist and singer with the Eagles, singing lead vocals on the band\u2019s 1980 Top 10 hit \u201cI Can\u2019t Tell You Why\u201d. However, fewer people may recognize Schmit\u2019s soaring, high-register backing vocals on the rock band Toto\u2019s 1982 megahit \u201cAfrica\u201d.<\/a><\/p>\n

Before his time with the Eagles, Schmit was a member of the country-rock group Poco, who helped pioneer the Southern California country-rock sound that the Eagles later perfected. He has also worked as a solo artist and session musician, lending his vocals to a number of hits including Bob Seger\u2019s\u201d\u2018Fire Lake\u201d, Don Felder\u2019s \u201cHeavy Metal (Takin\u2019 a Ride)\u201d, Crosby, Stills and Nash\u2019s \u201cSouthern Cross\u201d and \u201cWasted on the Way\u201d. He also sang backup on two of bandmate Don Henley\u2019s solo hits, \u201cDirty Laundry\u201d and \u201cYou Don\u2019t Know Me at All\u201d.<\/p>\n

\t\t\tVideos by American Songwriter\t\t<\/p>\n

Today, we\u2019re highlighting the many musical contributions of Timothy B. Schmit in honor of his 79th birthday.<\/p>\n

The Eagles\u2019 Only True Californian<\/p>\n

Although the Eagles\u2019 brand of breezy country-rock would become synonymous with all things California, Timothy Bruce Schmit is actually the only member who was born in the Golden State. He grew up in Sacramento, where he began playing bass in a local trio called Tim, Tom & Ron at age 15.<\/p>\n

That group evolved into<\/a> a surf band called the Contenders, later changing its name to the New Breed. Under this name, they scored a major local hit: the Animals-inspired \u201cGreen Eye\u2019d Woman,\u201d which reached No. 1 on the local top-40 outlet KXOA.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After a few more local successes, the group changed their name yet again to Glad, recording their sole studio album Feelin\u2019 Glad\u00a0in 1968.<\/p>\n

Timothy B. Schmit Replaced Randy Meisner\u2014Twice<\/p>\n

While majoring in psychology at Sacramento State College, Timothy B. Schmit auditioned for the country-rock outfit Poco, formed from the ashes of the Canadian-American folk-rock group Buffalo Springfield.<\/p>\n

However, the group rejected him in favor of founding member Randy Meisner. When Meisner quit the band a year later, Schmit took over as bassist and backup singer.<\/p>\n

From 1969 to 1977, he was a major part of Poco\u2019s success, penning and singing lead vocals on their biggest hit, \u201cKeep on Tryin\u2019\u201d. During this time, Schmit also sang backup on three Steely Dan studio albums: Pretzel Logic (1974), The Royal Scam (1976), and Aja (1977).<\/p>\n

Additionally, he played bass\u00a0alongside future Eagles guitarist Glenn Frey and drummer Don Henley on the song \u201cYou Can Close Your Eyes\u201d featured on Linda Ronstadt<\/a>\u2018s fifth solo studio album Heart Like a Wheel.<\/p>\n

Although critically beloved, Poco struggled to log much commercial success. Meanwhile, Meisner had joined the Eagles, a rival outfit with a similar sound who seemingly couldn\u2019t stay off the charts.<\/p>\n

But Meisner was growing disillusioned both with the spotlight and his place in the band. He decided to leave the Eagles in 1977 after wrapping up the monumental Hotel California tour.<\/p>\n

Following Meisner\u2019s departure, the rest of the band agreed there was only one logical choice for his replacement\u2014Timothy B. Schmit.<\/p>\n

With the Eagles and Beyond<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Timothy B. Schmit would only appear on one Eagles album\u20141979\u2019s The Long Run\u2014before the band split in 1980. He co-wrote and sang lead vocals on the song \u201cI Can\u2019t Tell You Why\u201d, which peaked at No. 8 on the U.S. pop chart.<\/p>\n

\t\t\tPlay video<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Play\"\/<\/p>\n

Following the Eagles\u2019 dissolution, Schmit embarked on a solo career. He contributed a cover of the Tymes\u2019 1963 hit \u201cSo Much in Love\u201d to the soundtrack of the 1982 coming-of-age classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Releasing seven solo albums, Schmit toured with Toto, Jimmy Buffett, and Ringo Starr during the 1980s.<\/p>\n

[RELATED: 3 Soft Rock Songs From 1980 That Every 80s Kid Still Knows Today]<\/a><\/p>\n

The Eagles would reconvene in 1994, releasing the live reunion album Hell Freezes Over. Schmit sang lead on the track \u201cLove Will Keep Us Alive\u201d, which spent three weeks atop the U.S. adult contemporary chart in early 1995.<\/p>\n

He has remained a member of the Eagles\u2019 lineup ever since, currently touring alongside Vince Gill and Deacon Frey, son of the late Glenn Frey.<\/p>\n

Timothy B. Schmit has also continued his solo work, releasing his most recent album, Day by Day, in May 2022.<\/p>\n

Featured image by Scott Dudelson\/Getty Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On this day (October 30) in 1947, Timothy B. Schmit was born in Oakland, California. He is perhaps…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":900634,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[308857,2617,6346,88,216,377243],"class_list":["post-900633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-1940s","tag-classic-rock","tag-eagles","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-timothy-b-schmit"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=900633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900633\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/900634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=900633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=900633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=900633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}