Timothy joined Poco in 1969. Both he and Randy Meisner had tried out for the band when it was starting out in 1968 but Meisner was picked at that time. When Meisner quit during the recording of their first album, Pickin' Up the Pieces, the band continued on for a while as just a four man band, with Jim Messina playing bass but after a few months, Timothy joined the band. In a radio interview several years later, this is what Richie Furay had to say about Timothy joining Poco. " I went up to Sacramento where Tim was living and he was playing with a local band up there and I took another listen and I really liked Tim and I still feel he's one of the closest people, you know, that I know, closest to me. I love him a lot and I think he's a great musician and brought him down and there were a few ups and downs you know, in the beginning of that but he hung in there and we hung in there and he's really proved himself to be a fine songwriter and a great singer and a good, really, really fine musician.
In the January 1970 issue of Teen Screen Magazine, this is what they had to say about Timothy joining Poco: "Baby-faced Timmy Schmit left a Northern California group called Glad, to join the band as bassist and second voice. Timmy is a song-writer and a couple of his songs have already been added to the group's repertoire. He's no stranger to being on the road, either. His father was a professional musician and the family travelled all over North America with him when Timmy was a child.
Later, when the family settled down in Sacramento, Timmy began taking violin lessons, trombone instruction and at 15, folk guitar. When Timmy was a junior in high school, he started playing electric guitar and formed a group with some frineds. The group went through four names, the most recent is Glad, and stuck together long enough to manage a recording contract and an album. Meanwhile, Timmy finished high school and attended American River College and Sacramento State College, majoring in psychology before quitting to devote all his time to music and naturally, Poco".
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The first album that Timothy recorded with Poco was simply titled Poco. Timothy co-wrote 2 songs on that album, Keep on Believin' with Richie Furay, and El Tonto De Nadie, Regresa, the jam that takes up almost all of side 2 of the album, which is credited to all the band members.
Poco was best known for being a great live band so it made sense that their next release was a live album called Deliverin'. This album had 2 of Timothy's songs on it, Hear that Music and Hard Luck. Hard Luck was part of a medley so the entire song is not on the album but it is available on the 1990 double cd The Forgotten Trail.
The following is part of a review of Deliverin from the March 7, 1971 Long Island Press newspaper. "The album is a composite of 2 live performances in Boston and New York. Poco concerts are a completely upbeat trip. Even the sound seems to stay in the higher keys, with bright harmonies, brisk rhythms and happy lyrics. When the lyrics aren't so happy, as in "You'd Better Think Twice", they sound as joyful as "Hear That Music" because of other elements. In most songs, there is one phrase, sung in especially catchy harmony, that everything else builds up to. In "I Guess You Made It" the phrase is "Who's Your Next Fool?" and whenever Poco comes to it there's a little shiver of anticipation that goes through you. Same for the title phrase of "Hear That Music".
Listening to Poco is just good clean fun, which sticks out quite a bit in today's rock scene. Even calling them country rockers is not valid because their music is eons removed from the honky tonks and unfaithful woman of Hank Williams and Merle Haggard.
Since Deliverin', lead guitarist Jim Messina has left the group. But with Rusty Young drawing amazing sounds out of the pedal steel and dobro, George Grantham chugging along on drums, Tim Schmit moving with George on bass and Richie Furay strumming and bouncing all over the place, you can bet that a good time won't be far behind".
Poco page 2