WE’RE relatively certain that most people must have experienced an ongoing relationship that they know isn’t working, yet the bigger problem is that it isn’t that easy to walk away from it.
This is what makes “I Can’t Tell You Why”—one of the Eagles‘ most emotionally memorable songs—so relatable. But what music lovers tend not to realize is that this beloved Eagles song wasn’t introduced by the band’s standouts Don Henley or Glenn Frey.
“I Can’t Tell You Why” was actually composed by the band’s newest member.
It was in 1977 when Timothy Schmit stepped in to replace one of the Eagles’ founding members, Randy Meisner, on bass guitar and vocals.
In the popular ‘Follow Your Dream’ podcast, Schmit recalled: “When I first started getting together with Don and Glenn for what would become my first Eagles’ album, they wanted to hear what I had because they wanted me to sing at least one lead . . . They wanted the new guy to sing, but . . . we needed a great song.”
In truth, Schmit considered “I Can’t Tell You Why” as just “a piece of song” at the point when he shared it with Henley and Frey.
But he remembered how Henley and Frey “really lit up” when they heard it and told him that the three of them could finish the song altogether.
“I was really happy that it wasn’t a country rock song. I was glad that it was more R&B flavored,” he continued, sharing it was much more like he was listening to blend that reflected the Motown trend at the time.
“We were influenced by Al Green,” Henley explained in a 2016 interview with Musician. “‘I Can’t Tell You Why’ is straight Al Green, ’cause Glenn was a big R&B freak. He’s from Detroit, and he grew up with all that stuff’.”
The smooth soft rock vibe of the song coupled with the R&B influence showed off a softer, more vulnerable side for the Eagles, too. Add to that, Schmit’s soulful lead vocals and the song really stood out among the other classics in the band’s catalog.
The song’s lyrics and the story behind them resonated with so many fans as well, capturing the relatable push-pull of a troubled relationship. It captured that tough emotional space of loving someone despite there being ongoing problems.
“Every time I try to walk away / Something makes me turn around and stay / And I can’t tell you why,” Schmit sang.
So, not only did the “new guy” help inspire and co-write one of the Eagles’ most enduring ballads, but he brought a freshness to the band’s sound. The iconic hit was the first lead vocal to be completed on their sixth studio album ‘The Long Run’, which released in September 1979.
By the end of February 1980, the track debuted on the Billboard charts and by mid-April, it peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary and No. 8 on the Billboard Hot P100. Almost five decades later, the song continues to sustain popularity on radio stations, and it has more than 158 million streams just on Spotify, to date.
ia/xf
