THE HIT HAMMER REQUESTS: Timothy B. Schmit's "Boys Night Out"

(The Hit Hammer Requests are requests from people who want me to review songs that did NOT hit #1, but still charted on the Hot 100. Right now, there is only one request per person, but if you're reading this, and you haven't already sent me a request, feel free to do so. I will try to do a request once a week, while still continuing my main project of reviewing each #1 song on the Hot 100)

Timothy B. Schmit - "Boys Night Out"

Peak Date: November 6, 1987

Peak Position: #25

#1 Song At That Time: "Bad" by Michael Jackson

Requestor: Jeffrey Lutz

Randy Meisner grew tired of the Eagles. Part of that is because his well-being was falling apart. Meisner was battling stomach ulcers, a failing marriage as well as his own singing voice. Meisner's signature song while with the Eagles was "Take It to the Limit", a song that made it to #4 on the U.S. Hot 100 in 1976. (It's an 8) It was one of the few songs that Meisner sang lead on, and he was struggling to hit the crucial notes in the song during the Eagles' Hotel California tour in 1976/1977. He was getting into constant arguments with Glenn Frey, who thought that Meisner was giving a lack of effort in his performance. The final straw was during a show in Knoxville, Tennessee, when Meisner decided to skip the song altogether. His reason was that he stayed up late the night before and caught the flu, but that really pissed off Frey, because Meisner's performances of "Take It to the Limit" was allegedly one of the audience's favorite parts of Eagles shows. Meisner and Frey reportedly got into a physical altercation backstage, and that was it. After their final show during the tour, Meisner quit the band to return home to Nebraska, and pursue a solo career.

Timothy B. Schmit was the man that the Eagles thought was the best fit to replace Meisner, as he already joined the group during their tour while Meisner's antics were going on. Funny enough, Schmit also replaced Meisner as a member of the country-rock band Poco, who sound an awful lot like the Eagles. (Poco's highest-charting single was "Crazy Love", which made it to #17 on the Hot 100, but doesn't feature Meisner or Schmit. It's a 7) Even though Schmit joined the group during the Hotel California tour, he doesn't appear on the Hotel California album. His biggest contribution to the Eagles was his work on the album The Long Run. He sings lead on the track "I Can't Tell You Why", which was a #8 hit on the Hot 100. (It's a 5)

Everyone associates Schmit with the Eagles, but his most consistent work comes as a session singer with other bands/artists. His voice can be heard on songs like Firefall's "Just Remember I Love You", which made it to #11 on the Hot 100. (It's a 7) Schmit also contributed backing vocals to several of Steely Dan's albums. One of those albums would be Aja, which is one of my favorite albums of all time. (Steely Dan's highest-charting single is "Rikki Don't Lose That Number", which made it to #4. It's a 10. Schmit, indeed, sang backing vocals on that one too.) Schmit also got to sing backup vocals with artists like Bob Seger, Boz Scaggs and Don Felder. This is a man who got to sing harmonies with Crosby, Stills & Nash on more than one occasion for crying out loud. That's pretty freaking awesome!

The point is, this guy has an amazing track record as a session musician singer. What's hard to believe, however, is that Schmit's solo career is pretty underwhelming. His highest-charting single by himself is "Boys Night Out", which is obviously the song I'm about ready to talk about. What makes his underwhelming solo career even more head-scratching, is that "Boys Night Out" is an absolute monster of a song. Just one listen to the song, there is only one era where it fits: the late 80s. This is some of the most 80s stuff you've ever heard. The intro is suspenseful. The drums crash like jolts of thunder in the middle of the night. It floats on a heavenly cloud of synthesizers. Admittedly, Schmit doesn't have a strong voice, but his voice still gets swept up in the exciting instrumentation behind him. The chorus explodes in your face. It truly is your stereotypical mid to late 80s synth rock banger. I love that stuff. Lyrically, the song is full of nonsensical, goofy stuff, but who cares? All that matters is the instrumentation in this case. Using words that Schmit might use himself, the way the instruments collide with each other can turn your blood to wine. There's some serious power going on here.

"Boys Night Out" came from Schmit's second solo album, Timothy B. It's really the only song that went anywhere off the album. There was only one other single released off the album, "Don't Give Up", which missed the Hot 100 entirely. Again, why Schmit didn't have more of a successful solo career is something of a mystery. Anything that guy touched became successful with everyone he collaborated with, but unfortunately he just couldn't seem to do it for himself. I don't think it's anything to get too upset about though, the guy has an enviable track record, and has gotten to perform with all kinds of famed artists. That's not something to scoff at. Not even close.

GRADE: 8/10

(Thank you Jeff for the request!)