A few years back, we were hanging out with some friends, and the topic rolled around to music. I turned to our friend, whom I’ll just call Bo, knowing that she was about my vintage. My question? “Bo, the Doobie Brothers. What was better - before or after Michael McDonald?”
She gave the correct answer: “Yes.”
That is the correct answer, of course. The Doobies always produced memorable tunes, regardless of the lineup. I remember best the music they made while I was in high school, with great albums like Minute by Minute, and great songs like What A Fool Believes. It’s hard to pick out just three Doobie Brothers songs, but I did my best; here, from 1972 to 1979, are six Doobie Brothers tunes I remember best.
Listen To the Music (1972): Released on the Doobies’ second studio album, “Toulouse Street,” this one was the band’s first bit hit, topping out at #11 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Writer Tom Johnson, who penned the lyrics, said in an interview some time later:
The chord structure of it made me think of something positive, so the lyrics that came out of that were based on this utopian idea that if the leaders of the world got together on some grassy hill somewhere and either smoked enough dope or just sat down and just listened to the music and forgot about all this other bulls**t, the world would be a much better place.
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China Grove (1973): When I was taking my Army Medical Service Officer’s Basic Course at Ft Sam Houston, Texas, I decided to take a drive on Saturday morning. I was bemused to learn that there really was a town called China Grove, Texas, not too far from San Antonio. So I drove through, in the 1984 Thunderbird I had at the time, with this song on the car’s cassette deck – not the old TC-20, but an honest-to-gosh factory setup. Great song, and pretty country. This was one of the Doobies’ earlier, more rocking tunes, and I still get a kick out of the opening guitar riff.
It Keeps You Runnin’ (1976): The album “Takin’ It To The Streets” had some great songs, and this is one of my favorites from the album that came out in my last year of junior high school. It’s a jazz, fun tune, carrying the message of, as music critic Jason Elias said, “… trying to talk some woman into listening to what her heart is trying to say.”
Takin’ It To The Streets (1976): The title track of the great album is a great song all on its own. This was the first song the band did with Michael McDonald on lead vocals, and you have to wonder if this didn’t make some folks wonder why they didn’t give him that shot earlier. It’s a great, jamming tune, with a great piano beat and a rhythm that makes you want to put your foot down on the gas pedal.
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What A Fool Believes (1979): Oh, I could have a lot of fun just with the title to this one. What a fool believes? Well, a fool may believe that a nation can tax itself into prosperity, that socialism works if you have the right Top Men, or that Kamala Harris can string together a coherent sentence. But let’s stick to the song. Co-written by Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins – yes, “Danger Zone” Kenny Loggins – this was one of the Doobie Brothers’ biggest hits, reaching #1 on the Billboard Top 100 in 1979 and winning a Grammy in 1980 for Best Song of the Year – and the album it appears on, “Minute by Minute” won a Grammy that same year for Record of the Year.
Minute by Minute (1979): Speaking of that great album, the title cut was a pretty good tune, as well. Michael McDonald was in on the writing of this one as well, along with Lester Abrams, and it was released as a single in 1979. It only made it to #14 on the Billboard Top 100, but that’s a respectable performance. My memories of this album, by the way, involve a cassette tape, an old Sony TC-20 automobile cassette deck for which I traded my brother a shotgun, and a 1972 Gran Torino Sport – yup, the same car from the Clint Eastwood movie.The Doobie Brothers are a band that makes me go back, for one reason or another; maybe it’s their distinctive style, maybe it’s their great discography, or maybe it’s just nostalgia. And really, in the end, what difference does it make? Great music is great music. I’m sure you all have some Doobie Brothers favorites of your own, so light up that comments section.
