Doobie brothers biography and photos

American rock band

The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in San Jose, California in 1970. Known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies, the band has been active for over five decades, with their greatest success taking place in the 1970s. The group's current lineup consists of founding members Tom Johnston (guitars, keyboards, harmonica, vocals) and Patrick Simmons (guitars, banjo, recorder, vocals), alongside Michael McDonald (keyboards, synthesizers, vocals) and John McFee (guitars, pedal steel guitar, mandolin, banjo, violin, cello, harmonica, vocals), and touring musicians including John Cowan (bass, vocals), Marc Russo (saxophones), Ed Toth (drums), and Marc Quiñones (percussion, backing vocals). Other long-serving members of the band include guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, bassist Tiran Porter and drummers John Hartman, Michael Hossack, and Keith Knudsen.

Johnston provided the lead vocals for the band from 1970 to 1975, when they featured a mainstream rock sound with elements of folk, country and R&B. Michael McDonald joined the band in 1975 as a keyboardist and second lead vocalist, to give some relief to Johnston, who was suffering health problems at the time. McDonald's interest in soul music introduced a new sound to the band. Johnston and McDonald performed together as co-lead vocalists for one album, Takin' It to the Streets, before Johnston retired fully in 1977. Frequent lineup changes followed through the rest of the 1970s, and the band broke up in 1982 with Simmons being the only constant member having appeared on all of their albums. In 1987, the Doobie Brothers reformed with Johnston back in the fold. McDonald, who had previously made several guest appearances since their reformation, returned to the band full-time in 2019 for their 50th anniversary tour.

The group's fourteen studio albums include six top-ten appe

After reuniting with Michael McDonald for a celebrated 50th anniversary tour in 2021, the Doobie Brothers’ longtime members Pat Simmons, Tom Johnston, and John McFee were feeling the buzz. They decided to keep that momentum going. 

It was that vibe that they carried forward into working on new music, merging the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group’s different hitmaking eras together for the first time in decades with McDonald back in the mix on new music. “After the tour went so well, it made sense,” McDonald says. “I’m not a super-prolific songwriter, but I had some ideas that I felt like would work really well with the band.”

Their reunion has resulted in a full-length album, Walk This Road. Recorded in Los Angeles with producer John Shanks, with whom Johnston and Simmons worked on 2021’s Liberté, expertly blends the distinctive voices and styles of its songwriters together. It’s an inspiring display of togetherness from a group that has been creating classic hits like “Black Water” and “What a Fool Believes” for half a century and the first time in their 54-year history that all three of its principal songwriters have contributed songs to an album. 

As with past Doobie Brothers albums, each singer-songwriter brought his own songs in, but this time they each worked with Shanks to come up with the finishing touches. They all played instrumental tracks and sang on one another’s songs, then Shanks wrangled session aces including Victor Indrizzo, Pino Palladino, John Cowan, and Bob Glaub to round out the productions.

The idea of unity and coexistence is front and center on the album’s gospel-infused title track, which McDonald wrote with Shanks. McDonald, Johnston, and Simmons all take turns singing on the uplifting number, as does special guest Mavis Staples, offering an impassioned plea to seek understanding in times of great conflict—a message with a strong connection to the present. “I was thinking about how we’ve got to learn to live together and

The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band from San Jose, California. Formed in the fall of 1970, the group was originally a quartet that featured lead vocalist and guitarist Tom Johnston, guitarist and second vocalist Patrick Simmons, bassist Dave Shogren and drummer John Hartman. The current lineup features Johnston and Simmons alongside vocalist and keyboardist Michael McDonald (who originally joined in 1975) and guitarist/violinist John McFee (who originally joined in 1978). The group's touring lineup also features four additional performers: bassist John Cowan (from 1993 to 1995, and since 2010), saxophonist Marc Russo (since 1998), drummer Ed Toth (since 2005) and percussionist Marc Quiñones (since 2018).

History

1970–1982

Tom Johnston, Patrick Simmons, Dave Shogren and John Hartman founded the Doobie Brothers in the fall of 1970. After the band released its self-titled debut album and recorded two tracks for 1972's follow-up Toulouse Street, Shogren was replaced by Tiran Porter and Michael Hossack was added as a second drummer in December 1971.The Captain and Me followed, after which Hossack was replaced by Keith Knudsen in September 1973.What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits, released in 1974, featured both Hossack and Knudsen. In September 1974, the Doobie Brothers expanded to a six-piece when pedal steel guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter left Steely Dan to join the group. During the tour in promotion of 1975's Stampede, Johnston was forced to take time off due to a stomach illness.

With Johnston having to leave in the middle of a tour, Michael McDonald was brought in on keyboards and vocals. The group released Takin' It to the Streets in 1976. After the release of its follow-up Livin' on the Fault Line, Johnston decided to leave the group due to stylistic differences, and embarked on a so