Beloved Colorado and Midwest Americana musician Timothy Patrick Irvin (known as Timothy P.) passed away at home, surrounded by his family on July 9, 2026, at the age of 80. He was the frontman for the renowned country-rock band Timothy P. and the Rural Route 3 and toured with the legendary act Flash Cadillac.
Chris Daniels (7/11/26): If you lived on the Front Range in the late 70s and 80s chances are you went to the Little Bear in Evergreen. And if you were lucky, you got to see Timothy P. and Rural Route 3! Tim passed away yesterday after a long illness. I was lucky enough to visit him a few weeks back. I brought a guitar and sang some songs. He recorded “Is You Is” with me as a duet back in 1997 for the Louie Louie album and it was a fun tribute to Louie Jordan we would sing to his classes in Lakewood and at Swallow Hill Music at the annual Chris Daniels and the Kings Holiday show. Tim was an inspiring entertainer singing lead with the fabled Flash Cadillac and as a charter member of the Holiday extravaganza known as the “Stocking Stuffers.” But most of all, Timmy was a friend. Always there when you needed a good laugh, supporting his beloved Broncos and singing songs of “Headless Mike” the chicken. I’m sad, deeply sad because I will miss my friend but even more for the loss to our music community. There will never be another like him. He broke the mold with his overalls, Derby hat and ever more eccentric bow ties and the great big stage voice – like a turn of the century Carnaval barker – Tim stole the show. It is a sad day for Colorado Music – especially those who were lucky enough to get to see Tim or work with him. So long and safe travels to the next gig my friend. Big hugs and tons of love CD
Sheryl Renee: Chris, I was just online searching for Timmie last week. He was so special. He invited me to come and give a workshop (on being a lifelong freelancer) to the students at Longview alternative High School in Lakewood, CO. It went so well he brought me back. Then, I proudly gave the Commencement speech at Longview’s 2004 graduation. God bless him. Love you, Tim!!!
Brian Clancy: Tim went to the same Grade School in Bloomington, IL with me and I played often at Longview High School here for him. We’ve lost a very gifted entertainer, a stalwart citizen and a wonderful human being.
Ron Gordon: There’s a a hole now in our world… But – Heaven just got a lot more fun! I worked with Tim and the RR3 at “The Bear” literally hundreds of times, mixing his shows. I’ve worked with a lot of exceptionally talented people in that capacity, but Tim stands alone in his unique and natural ability to put an audience right in the palm of his hand, and take them on his journey to sheer frolicking fun. What a gift he was for all of us. And, for anyone who visits The Bear… 90% of the Bra’s that hang above that stage were inspired by Tim!
Jon Chandler: Sad news seems to come too often these days. I learned last night that the great Timothy P. Irvin left us. The guy who. along with his band Rural Route Three personified an entire era of musical history, both in Colorado and Illinois. It’s hard to reconcile that I’ll never stand next to him onstage again, or that the phone will never again ring with Tim on the other end saying, “Mr. Chandler, I have an idea.” Pat will never again answer to phone to hear, “Mrs. Chandler. How are you this fine day?” It’s been a rough few years for Tim. The ultimate performer not being able to perform was heartbreaking, and there was not a time when the holiday band he founded, The Rocky Mountain Stocking Stuffers, would take the stage without him that he wasn’t there in spirit. We talked about him constantly, and each show became a tribute. People who had watched us for years continue to attend the shows, and to ask about Tim. And to reminisce.
My appreciation of Timothy P. came long before I ever knew him. Honky Tonk fever had taken over America, and Colorado was filled with great roadhouses and bars that packed people in like sardines. When I wasn’t playing small clubs in Boulder and Denver, I’d catch “the big acts” when I could. Timothy P. & Rural Route Three OWNED Denver. They were unlike anything I had ever seen. Tim was then, and I think remains in my mind, the best showman and pure entertainer I’d ever seen. Each song was a production. Each skit was hilarious. The audiences were part and parcel of the act, and they loved Tim and the boys with abandon. The Little Bear Bar in Evergreen was ground zero, as legendary a place as the Troubadour in L.A. Tim would have people swinging from the rafters. Dozens of bras that were flung from the audience hung above the stage with more added every night. Tim and Jerry and Bruce and Ed and Todd had the audience eating out of their hands. I’ll always remember watching them play at a huge venue, the Wild, Wild West in Thornton when they took the stage at 9:00 and didn’t get off until 1:45. No breaks except for one of the guys running to the can now and then. It was epic.
I got a call one afternoon from an unfamiliar number, and a raspy, whispering voice asked if I was Jon Chandler. I said ‘yep’, and Timothy P. introduced himself. He said he had laryngitis, and that someone who I can’t remember had recommended me to sit in and sing with the band that evening at The Little Bear. I jumped at the chance, got there early and rehearsed a couple dozen Merle Haggard tunes with Muttonhead, and took the stage with Timothy P. & Rural Route Three. Tim, although mute, manically ran around the place, orchestrating the evening at every turn. It was a magic night.
In short order, we became friends, and I was often asked to sit in and play harmonica with the band. I began recording at Jerry Erickson’s home studio, and a whole new musical life opened for me. Dana Vernon joined the band, and I regularly stole he and Jerry for my own projects. Tim asked me to play harmonica with them when they opened the show for Michael Martin Murphy’s Christmas extravaganza at the Paramount Theatre. Pat and I began dropping by the Merchandise Mart during the holidays so I could sit in and sing a couple of tunes and play some harp.
I recall with perfect clarity a once-in-a-lifetime performance. Tim knew that I was a huge Denver Broncos fan and asked me to join the band as they welcomed the team back to Denver after winning their first Super Bowl. I brought my fifteen-year-old son Tyler with me to Denver’s Civic Center, navigated security, and met Tim on the steps leading up to the facility. It was a 70-degree day with one of the bluest skies I can ever remember, and Tim allowed me the opportunity to play harmonica before 650,000 Broncos fans. I can still see Tim wearing his leather fringe jacket leading over a half-million people in a genuine jubilee. I can still see John Elway giving Tim an enthusiastic thumbs up.
From that time, I worked closely with Tim for decades. By my count, and I’m sure my memory is foggy, we wrote a couple of dozen songs together. Good songs. Silly songs. Meaningful songs. We wrote I Want My Daddy Back, and we wrote Mike, the Headless Chicken. We wrote She Tore the Naked Ladies (From the Mudflaps of My Truck), and we wrote The House. We wrote There’s No More Kicks on Route 66, and we wrote The Portrait. We co-founded, along with Ernie Martinez and Tom Gould, Timothy P. Irvin and the Rocky Mountain Stocking Stuffers. This year, the Stuffers will embark on their 28th season.
I’m trying to remember all the musical entities in which he was involved, many with tongue in cheek. Timothy P. & Rural Route Three; Flash Cadillac; The Timmytones; The Slingers; Little Itchy & the Lice Ranchers; Timothy P. Irvin & the Rocky Mountain Stocking Stuffers. He did a million shows with TPRR3, and a million more with Ernie Martinez, Jim Ratts, Chris Daniels, Johnny Neill, Liz Masterson, Butch Hause, Jerry Mills, Pat Rossiter, Juanita Aurand, Jeff Graves, Mary Huckins, Hereford Percy, Jim Fischer, Lindsey Brown, Ron Jones, yours truly, and about a hundred others. Then there was Illinois before TPRR3 packed up and headed for Colorado. He always spoke fondly of The Shattertones and of his friends Pork & The Havana Ducks. He also went on to be an essential cog in Jefferson County’s educational wheel, spending at least a decade teaching music and culture classes at Longview High School. Oh, and he championed Nick’s Café, the Elvis shrine run by Nick & Kathleen.
There are people all over the Midwest and the Mountain West who are in mourning. I know Tim’s lovely wife Chris and their daughters and their families are on the receiving end of currents of love. I expect that veterans’ organizations across the country are broadcasting After the War, Tim’s reflections on his Vietnam service so aptly captured by Jon Ims. Tim performed it for Bill Clinton at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C., and for countless veterans throughout Colorado. I was lucky enough to play a touch of harmonica at the end of the recorded version. Tim asked me to play the first few notes of Taps. Those same notes will be played for him in the coming days. He was one of the greats and should be honored as such. So long, old pal. See you on down the road. See less
[See benefit and tribute to Timothy P to be held Tuesday, July 21st at the Foothills Golf Course at 6:00 p.m. in the “Events” listing.]
Photo: Jon Chandler & Timothy P. | https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10244829425329564&set=a.1173918427248
