Look, the ’70s were a weird time. Everywhere you turned, you could find odd pairings and strange combinations.
The decade started with Elvis in a hearty handshake with President Richard Nixon in the Oval Office. It ended with Elliot Gould, Peter Tosh, and Mick Jagger hosting Saturday Night Live. In the middle we were treated to The Mike Douglas Show presenting conversations with guests as diverse as John Lennon, Nixon, Truman Capote, Moe Howard, and Kiss.
But perhaps no matchup was so odd as the choice of The Doobie Brothers to bring their crossover appeal to the 1970’s prime-time ABC comedy sitcom What’s Happening!! for a thinly veiled PSA about the impacts of rock concert bootlegging. It’s available on streaming services, and it’s a charming bit of nostalgia.
The Doobies’ affable characters shine through their lack of experience in delivering a script, but their staged performances in the episode remind you how solid their songwriting was. And Michael McDonald is shockingly youthful without a trace of gray hair.
This year, McDonald and the rest of the Brothers will likely bring more than just a little gray hair for their 50th Anniversary Tour at Memorial Coliseum on Friday, June 23. That’s right, McDonald is back for the first time in a quarter of a century. He’s bringing that distinctive voice, and he will definitely be taking it to the streets.
Continuing to churn out music
The band’s songwriting chops have set the stage for dozens of accessible and familiar hits. Legions of their fans will tell you The Doobie Brothers are a solid addition to playlists for varying generations and tastes. Their sound has stretched and grown, but their roots always show.
“We’re basically an American band. We cover a lot of areas,” founder and songwriter Tom Johnston is quoted on the band’s website. “We cover blues, R&B, country, bluegrass, and rock n’ roll. It’s based on rhythms, rhythm structures, picking, and harmonies. That’s been the signature of the band.”
The Doobie Brothers have a deep catalog to play from, but they’re still always looking to push the envelope on their craft.
“We all have the same work ethic,” multi-instrumentalist John McFee said. “Tom, Pat (Simmons), and I are still surging ahead. We’ve stayed together as friends as well as musicians. We are compelled to challenge ourselves. I mean, I love playing the old songs, but when we’re working on new material now, I think we’re coming up with better parts.
“The band has always been good, so it’s kind of like we’re competing with ourselves. But honestly, we’re playing better than ever.”
Hand-me-downs
From humble beginnings in Northern California biker bars, The Doobie Brothers kept a family approach to their ensemble and have stuck together to become a touchstone for maturing fans to pass on to the next generation.
“We have a hard-core fan base that has handed our music down through the years to their children and their children’s children,” said
founder and singer/guitarist Simmons. “Repeatedly, people go to our concerts and come up to us and say, ‘My dad turned me on to you guys years ago, and I’ve loved you guys all this time, and my kids are listening to you now.’ ”
Whether it’s in the percolating rhythm of “Black Water,” the jumping boogie of “Jesus Is Just Alright,” or the gentle sadness of “What a Fool Believes,” Doobie Brothers classics evoke a place in time that varies from listener to listener. Whether you tried to unravel the cryptic lyrics of “China Grove” on an FM radio when it first hit the charts, or your uncle dropped “Rockin’ Down the Highway” into his road trip mix for the first drive in his new Camaro, that Doobies sound can snap you right back to that time.
Made-for-TV interview
Circling back to the Doobies’ appearance on What’s Happening!!, the setup involved Raj trying to get an interview with the band for his school paper.
When your author took this assignment for Whatzup, it was with the tantalizing possibility of an interview with the band. Sadly, that was not to be. Raj got his scoop only because his impudent little sister, Dee, talked the band into answering a few questions.
Nobody can really and truly take you back in time to those nostalgic moments when all it takes is a sassy younger sibling to talk directly to the band, but nobody can draw those special memories out of you like the Doobies.
