<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When The Doobie Brothers <\/span>The Captain and Me<\/span><\/i> album was released in March of 1973, it was hard to miss.\u00a0 Propelled by the singles <\/span>Long Train Running <\/span><\/i>(March 28, 1973) and <\/span>China Grove<\/span><\/i> (July 25, 1973), it climbed to No.7 on the US <\/span>Billboard 200 <\/span><\/i>chart.\u00a0 I am sure these tunes helped me keep awake on my late night drives from band gigs in Marquette to my dishwasher summer day job at the Huron Mountain Club northwest of Big Bay.\u00a0 Knockdown, my band at the time, had a pretty vast catalog of songs to draw from.\u00a0 With me commuting to gigs while living nearly 60 miles from the Queen City, we had very little free time to learn new songs the last ten months we were together.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t a surprise to me now that The Doobies slipped between the cracks and did not appear in our set list before we broke up in the spring of 1974.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When Barry Seymour and I began jamming together in August of 1974, one of the first new songs he introduced me to was <\/span>Without You<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0 This happened to be the flip side of the Doobie\u2019s <\/span>Long Train Runnin\u2019<\/span><\/i> single from the summer before.\u00a0 When I told Barry I wasn\u2019t very familiar with the band beyond their radio friendly singles, he said, \u201cWell, you better get <\/span>The Captain and Me<\/span><\/i> because I want to do a bunch of their songs.\u201d\u00a0 With the album in hand, the first thing I noticed was how good we were able to make <\/span>Without You <\/span><\/i>sound with just guitar, drums, and vocals.\u00a0 As fast as Barry could work them up, we were soon added <\/span>Long Train Running, <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>China Grove <\/span><\/i>to the songs we were assembling for our playlist.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When Mike (bass) and Lindsay (second guitar) joined Sledgehammer, we dipped into the Brothers\u2019 <\/span>Toulouse Street <\/span><\/i>album (1972) to learn <\/span>Listen to the Music, Rockin\u2019 Down the Highway, <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>Jesus Is Just Alright.\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>We now had the advantage of having two more vocalists and stage monitors.\u00a0 Mike designed and built them to go along with our new PA (also made by Mike).\u00a0 Nothing compares to singing harmonies when one can hear the other voices clearly.\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t a gig that went by where people did not hear the whole gamut of our Doobie Brothers offerings.\u00a0 <\/span>Listen to the Music <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>China Grove<\/span><\/i> carried over to my next band, Easy Money and every time we played them, my mind went back to those early days jamming with Barry.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Doobie Brothers first formed in San Jose, California in 1970 but they weren\u2019t known by that name at the time.\u00a0 The first nucleus of the band was assembled in 1969 when drummer John Hartman came to the Golden State.\u00a0 He arrived intent on meeting Skip Spence in hopes of getting on board a Moby Grape reunion that never happened.\u00a0 Spence did introduce Hartman to Tom Johnston (a guitarist, singer, and songwriter) and the proto-Doobies group started out under the name \u2018Pud\u2019.\u00a0 They began as a power trio, tried a line up with horns for a short while, and took a major step forward when they hooked up with another singer, songwriter, and guitarist named Patrick Simmons.\u00a0 Simmons\u2019 fingerstyle playing complimented Johnston\u2019s rhythmic R&B playing style.\u00a0 The bass player in Simmons\u2019 folk trio (Tiran Porter) would also join down the road.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A friend of the band suggested the name \u2018Doobie Brothers\u2019 (\u201cBecause you\u2019re always smoking pot!\u201d) but the band thought it was a \u2018dumb and stupid name\u2019.\u00a0 They fully intended to use it as a placeholder until they came up with something better.\u00a0 The Doobies played extensively around Northern California in 1970 and became a favorite among the local chapter of the Hells Angels.\u00a0 When their demos reached former Harpers Bizarre member Ted Templeman (who was working as an A&R representative for Warner Brothers), he got them signed to the label before the end of 1970.\u00a0 Their first album failed to chart.\u00a0 They added a second drummer (Michael Hossack) as well as the aforementioned bassist Tiran Porter late in 1971.\u00a0 The band\u2019s fortunes began to turn with the release of <\/span>Toulouse Street<\/span><\/i> and then <\/span>The Captain and Me.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 The song <\/span>Without You<\/span><\/i> is credited to the whole band as it began life as a long jam to which Johnston would ad-lib lyrics.\u00a0 One of the first notable appearances of the song was on the debut episode of <\/span>Don Kirshner\u2019s Rock Concert <\/span><\/i>series in 1973 (a performance that I remember seeing later as a rerun on TV).<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0During the recording of their next album (<\/span>What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits<\/span><\/i>) in the fall of 1973, Hossack left the band citing burnout.\u00a0 He was replaced by former Lee Michaels (<\/span>You Know What I Mean<\/span><\/i>) stickman Keith Knudsen who was pressed into immediate service when their next major tour started in September of 1973.\u00a0 As the tour stretched into 1974, Steely Dan guitarist Jeff \u2018Skunk\u2019 Baxter was added as a third guitar player.\u00a0 Baxter had previously worked with the Doobies in the studio adding pedal steel guitar to tracks on both the <\/span>Captain<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Vices<\/span><\/i> albums.\u00a0 When Baxter learned Steely Dan was retiring from the road and intended to record with session musicians, Skunk was all too happy to join the Doobies, even in the middle of a tour.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The <\/span>Vices<\/span><\/i> album earned the Doobie Brothers their first No. 1 hit, <\/span>Black Water, <\/span><\/i>a Simmons\u2019 tune featuring his fingerpicking.\u00a0 The Memphis Horns from the Stax Records studio toured off and on with the band and worked with them as session players in the studio.\u00a0 Johnston\u2019s health took a turn for the worst as the rigors of touring wore him down. \u00a0 He missed an appearance on <\/span>Dick Clark\u2019s New Year\u2019s Rockin\u2019 Eve<\/span><\/i> at the end of 1974.\u00a0 By the time their 1975 release <\/span>Stampede<\/span><\/i> hit the airwaves with the single <\/span>Take Me In Your Arms<\/span><\/i>, Johnston had to opt out of the spring tour as he was undergoing treatment for bleeding ulcers.\u00a0 Baxter suggested his fellow Steel Dan singer, songwriter, keyboard player Michael McDonald to fill out the touring band.<\/span><\/p>\n Tom\u2019s vocal parts were shared by the other band members.\u00a0 Hearing <\/span>Take Me In Your Arms<\/span><\/i> blasting out of the radio was one of my fondest memories of my post college graduation trip to visit my old buddy Mitch who was living in Lake Oswego, Oregon outside of Portland.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The addition of McDonald made an immediate impact when Johnston was still not available for the recording of their next album, <\/span>Taking It To The Streets.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 The Doobies\u2019 hard rocking guitar based songs gave way to more of a soft rock, blue-eyed soul sound.\u00a0 Though nobody dubbed them \u2018Doobie Dan\u2019 or \u2018The Steely Brothers\u2019, the music definitely leaned heavily toward the Steely Dan side of the ledger with two Dan alums on board.\u00a0 As he began to recover, Johnston was able to make some contributions to <\/span>Streets<\/span><\/i> and their next LP, <\/span>Living On The Fault Line<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0 Tom was even able to make a few live appearances with the band before exhaustion sidelined him again.\u00a0 Their next two albums were less successful, but the Doobie Brothers continued to be a solid live band.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In January of 1978, they made an uncharacteristic move by appearing as themselves in two episodes of the ABC sitcom <\/span>What\u2019s Happening!!\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>Rather than lip synching, the band performed <\/span>Black Water, Takin It To The Streets, and Take Me in Your Arms <\/span><\/i>live during the taping.\u00a0 In a <\/span>Guitar World <\/span><\/i>interview with Joe Bosso, (Vol 7, No 8), Simmons recalled that he was \u2018all in\u2019 to do the show but it took some convincing to get the rest of the band on board.\u00a0 The plot involved Simmons bringing the band back to his (fictional) old high school to perform.\u00a0 The plot added a twist when one of the cast members was forced to illegally tape the gig and got caught. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>Simmons told Bosso, \u201cI watched the show and loved it, so I wanted to do it immediately.\u00a0 The rest of the band weren\u2019t familiar with the show, so they were nervous about doing it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Once they got together with the production team, things fell together so well that the <\/span>Doobie, Not Doobie<\/span><\/i> episode was expanded into a two parter.\u00a0 The bootlegging angle wasn\u2019t a big concern as it was going on all the time – it only bugged the band when poor quality recordings were offered for sale.\u00a0 The thing that sold the rest of the band on doing it was the exposure:\u00a0 \u201cThe people on the show were really nice to us,\u201d Simmons said.\u00a0 \u201cWe were always doing benefits in those days, and we got some of the people to come and do shows.\u00a0 They\u2019d come and speak and help raise money for the United Way.\u00a0 We were a white rock and roll band and [because of the show] more people of color began coming to our shows.\u00a0 There were so many rewards for doing it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0They recorded the <\/span>Minute by Minute <\/span><\/i>album (1978) and it produced their second No. 1 hit, McDonald\u2019s <\/span>What A Fool Believes<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0 Friction between Baxter and his ex-Steely Dan mate would see Skunk exit the band.\u00a0 After the <\/span>Minute By Minute<\/span><\/i> tour, the band briefly broke up in 1979, however, they changed their minds after seeing how successful the <\/span>Minute <\/span><\/i>album was. \u00a0 Seeking to capitalize on the momentum from <\/span>Minute By Minute, <\/span><\/i>the remaining Doobies decided to carry on without Baxter.\u00a0 The line up was augmented with the inclusion of John McFee (a member of Huey Lewis\u2019s pre- News band, Clover), session drummer Chet McKraken, and keys\/sax man Cornelius Bumpus.\u00a0 Band founding drummer Hartman was now gone and with the departure of Simmons in 1981, there were no original members in the band.\u00a0 They decided to call it a day and, as McDonald said at that point, \u201cThey could not have gotten further away from the Doobie\u2019s sound if they tried.\u201d\u00a0 A 1982 final farewell concert was held at The Greek Theater in Los Angeles with a live album of that show (<\/span>Farewell Tour<\/span><\/i>)<\/span> put out the next year.\u00a0 The Doobie Brothers looked to be done, but their music would find a permanent home with the emergence of Classic Rock Radio.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0McFee and Knudson formed a successful band called Southern Pacific in 1983 with Jerry Scheff on bass, Tim Goodman on vocals and Glen Hardin on keys.\u00a0 When Scheff left after their first album, former CCR bassist Stu Cook and guitarist David Jenkins of Pablo Cruise joined.\u00a0 They produced four albums and Knudson set off a chain of events that would \u2018accidentally\u2019 trigger a Doobie Brothers reunion.\u00a0 After getting himself clean during a stint in rehab, Knudson\u2019s work on behalf of the Vietnam Veterans Aid Foundation led him to get 11 former Brothers together for a one off charity show.\u00a0 It was so successful that it was expanded to a mini 12 cities tour beginning in May of 1987.\u00a0 In the wake of this reunion, they decided to replicate the <\/span>Toulouse Street \/ Captain and Me <\/span><\/i>era band and<\/span> give it another go.\u00a0 An album of new material soon followed (<\/span>Cycles<\/span><\/i> (1989)) and it produced their first hit single in many years (<\/span>The Doctor<\/span><\/i>).\u00a0 This configuration again found itself drawing interest from promoters and attrac;ting big crowds on tour.\u00a0 Once the Doobies got back into a regular touring cycle, they never stopped.\u00a0 Johnston, Simmons and McFee sat down with <\/span>GW<\/span><\/i>\u2019s Joe Bosso as a prelude to their 2026 summer tour with Carlos Santana.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0One can tell when a band has entered the \u2018legendary\u2019 tier when tribute bands pop up.\u00a0 Bosso began the session asking if they were aware of bands like Doobie Others, Listen to the Music, Brothers Doobie and the Doobie Doubles (the last one will only play the uptempo stuff – no ballads for them).\u00a0 \u201cI guess I am missing out,\u201d Johnston said with a laugh.\u00a0 Simmons added, \u201cThey have some great musicians.\u00a0 It\u2019s great that musicians would take the time to learn those songs and perform them.\u00a0 I can\u2019t fault people for trying to make a living and coming up with a novelty idea, and if they enjoy the music, that\u2019s flattering for the rest of us.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As far as the history of the band throughout the various hiatuses, Simmons commented, \u201cWe have disagreements like anybody else.\u00a0 We\u2019ve certainly had our moments when we\u2019ve gotten on each other\u2019s nerves, especially at the end of a tour when it\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, my God, is he gonna keep snoring when I\u2019m trying to sleep?\u2019 But we\u2019ve been lucky enough to sustain our relationships, and really, it\u2019s all about the music.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got great writers and players, and people love what we do.\u201d\u00a0 Johnston added, \u201cWe had our conflicts in the seventies.\u00a0 As time goes by, you learn what to do and what not to do.\u00a0 We all get along now, and we just want to keep on moving forward and if you keep moving forward, things have a way of fixing themselves.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0With the new album they have just recorded with Michael McDonald back on board, Bossa asked if they feel like they have the two biggest eras of the band covered.\u00a0 All three weighed in on this idea:\u00a0 Johnston said, \u201cI think it\u2019s a good idea to look at it that way, because that\u2019s what we\u2019re doing, whether it\u2019s on record or live.\u00a0 All the eras of the band are represented, and the people love it.\u201d\u00a0 McFee added, \u201cI think the music integrates from all the different eras.\u00a0 I love it.\u201d\u00a0 Simmons wrapped it up with, \u201cIt\u2019s more than two eras, I think.\u00a0 The biggest influences, of course, are Tommy and Mike.\u00a0 They\u2019re both prolific writers and great singers.\u00a0 You\u2019re going to feel their influence over and above everybody else just by virtue of their\u2026what\u2019s the word?\u00a0 Their energy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Doobie Brothers music has transcended decades as one of those bands that just seem to be universally loved.\u00a0 The second fund raising Hootenanny I was involved in back in the late 1970s is a good example of how people can agree on the band\u2019s lasting legacy.\u00a0 At the first rehearsal, we were tossing around ideas of what would be a good opener for the show.\u00a0 Mark Bobula, Jim Brogan, and I all had the same idea and in unison blurted out, <\/span>Listen To The Music!\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>\u201cThat\u2019s the one!\u00a0 Great song, \u201c Jim said as we all laughed at the common thought we shared in that moment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Top Piece Video:\u00a0 Take Me In Your Arms from the 2013 Wildlife Concerts – this album marked the transition from the original Doobie Brothers to the Blue Eyed Soul version that featured Michael McDonald and Jeff ‘Skunk’ Baxter – a fond memory of my graduation trip to Oregon in 1975.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When The Doobie Brothers The Captain and Me album was released in March of 1973, it was hard to miss.\u00a0 Propelled by the singles Long Train Running (March 28, 1973) and China Grove (July 25, 1973), it climbed to No.7 on the US Billboard 200 chart.\u00a0 I am sure these tunes helped me keep […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,11,8,6,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bands-musicians","category-education","category-from-the-vaults","category-new-music","category-woas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3922"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3922\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3925,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3922\/revisions\/3925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}