The Doobie Brothers

During their zenith in the seventies, the Doobie Brothers passed through two markedly different stages, moving from boogie-oriented rockers who favored relaxed, upbeat moods to a refined blue-eyed soul ensemble. Later reunions together with years as a thriving concert draw softened the contrast between the meandering “Black Water” and the groovy “What a Fool Believes,” the group’s pair of Billboard number-one singles. Across both lineups the Doobies accumulated many other successes that turned into classic-rock standards. Guitarist Tom Johnston wrote and sang the early-seventies smashes “Listen to the Music,” “Long Train Runnin’,” and “China Grove.” Keyboardist Michael McDonald, whose husky voice became central, gradually assumed frontman duties and supplied “Takin’ It to the Streets,” “It Keeps You Runnin’,” “Minute by Minute,” and “What a Fool Believes.” McDonald joined to assist the unwell Johnston and ultimately guided the band toward glossy, soul-inflected soft rock later labeled yacht rock. Those hits launched McDonald’s solo career, yet he returned to the fold once the Doobies regrouped with Johnston upfront in 1989. The band has kept touring with shifting personnel into the 2020s, while the enduring trio of Johnston, John McFee, and Patrick Simmons—the guitarist who wrote and sang “Black Water” and the only constant member—has occasionally issued fresh material, such as the 2021 album Liberte.

The group’s origins trace to Pud, a brief-lived California country-rock outfit modeled on Moby Grape and featuring guitarist-vocalist Tom Johnston alongside drummer John Hartman. After Pud dissolved in 1969, the two began rehearsing with bassist Dave Shogren and guitarist Patrick Simmons. The quartet soon formalized as the Doobie Brothers, adopting the marijuana slang for their name. They quickly built a loyal audience across Southern California, particularly among Hell’s Angels, and signed with Warner Bros. in 1970. Their self-titled debut appeared in 1971 and went largely unnoticed. Shogren departed soon afterward, replaced by Tiran Porter, while a second drummer, Michael Hossack, was added for the 1972 release Toulouse Street. Powered by the singles “Listen to the Music” and “Jesus Is Just Alright,” that album marked their commercial breakthrough. The Captain and Me followed in 1973 and proved even stronger, yielding the Top Ten singles “Long Train Runnin’” and “China Grove.”

Keith Knudsen took over Hossack’s drumming chair for 1974’s What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits, which delivered the band’s first number-one hit, “Black Water,” and drew substantial input from former Steely Dan guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter. Baxter became an official member for 1975’s Stampede. Before that album’s spring release, Johnston was sidelined by a stomach condition and replaced on tour by keyboardist-vocalist Michael McDonald, another Steely Dan alumnus. Although Stampede reached number four, its sales lagged behind the previous three records, prompting the group to allow McDonald and Baxter—now full-fledged Doobies—to steer the sound away from light country-rock and boogie.

The revised approach surfaced on 1976’s Takin’ It to the Streets, a platinum set of light funk and jazzy pop. Later that year the band issued the hits collection The Best of the Doobies. Livin’ on the Fault Line arrived in 1977, enjoying solid success without major singles. Johnston exited afterward to launch a solo career that failed to catch on. With him gone, the Doobies delivered their biggest seller, Minute by Minute (1978), which held the top Billboard spot for five weeks behind the chart-topping “What a Fool Believes.” Hartman and Baxter left after the accompanying tour, leaving McDonald fronting what amounted to his own backing band.

Following auditions, the Doobies recruited ex-Clover guitarist John McFee, session drummer Chet McCracken, and former Moby Grape saxophonist Cornelius Bumpus, then released the platinum One Step Closer (1980) and its Top Ten single “Real Love.” McCracken yielded the drum stool to Andy Newmark during that tour. Early in 1982 the group announced its dissolution after a farewell trek documented on the 1983 live album Farewell Tour. McDonald subsequently built a thriving solo career while Simmons issued one unsuccessful solo record. A 1987 Hollywood Bowl benefit concert sparked a short reunion tour that McDonald skipped.

By 1989 the early-seventies lineup of Johnston, Simmons, Hartman, Porter, and Hossack—augmented by percussionist and longtime roadie Bobby LaKind—had inked a Capitol deal. Their reunion album Cycles went gold upon its summer 1989 release and spawned the Top Ten hit “The Doctor.” Brotherhood appeared two years later but stirred little interest. Throughout the remainder of the nineties the band worked the oldies and seventies-revival circuits. McDonald rejoined in 1995, and Rockin’ Down the Highway emerged the following year. The lineup shifted again by the millennium. In 2000 Hossack, Johnston, Knudsen, McFee, and Simmons issued Sibling Rivalry, which featured touring keyboardist Guy Allison, saxophonist Marc Russo, and bassist Skylark. The late-seventies configuration—Simmons, Johnston, McFee, and Hossack, with McDonald guesting on one track—reconvened for 2010’s World Gone Crazy. The documentary Let the Music Play: The Story of the Doobie Brothers arrived in 2012, the year Hossack died of cancer.

Early in 2014 the Doobies—now featuring McDonald, Johnston, Simmons, and McFee—announced plans to record country renditions of their hits with Nashville guests Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, Zac Brown, Sara Evans, and Chris Young. Southbound appeared that November and peaked at number 16 on the Billboard chart. The band continued touring, largely without McDonald, in subsequent years. Little Feat’s Bill Payne assumed the keyboard chair previously held by Allison in 2015, and the group played amphitheaters and sheds nationwide. By decade’s end they were mounting full-album performances of Toulouse Street and The Captain and Me, paving the way for McDonald’s return in 2020 for a 50th-anniversary tour. Just before those shows the Doobie Brothers were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Johnston, Simmons, and McFee formed the core of Liberte, the 2021 collection of original songs and the band’s first since 2010. Although McDonald did not appear on that album, he remained part of the live roster.