Michael McDonald joined The Doobie Brothers back in 1975 and he thought at the time he was just helping them finish their tour when Tom Johnston became ill.The band asked him to stay on and the rest is rock and roll history.
The Doobies’ al bum featuring McDonald, Takin' it To the Streets, was officially released 45 years ago today. McDonald’s soulful voice changed the sound of the legendary band with songs like “It Keeps You Runnin’” and the album’s title song.
McDonald talked about his inspiration for “Takin’ It To The Streets”:
“I always loved gospel music and I more or less was writing some kind of a gospel musical phrase in my head. But the lyric idea really stemmed from a conversation I had with Maureen about the state of society in terms of the inner city and all the hundreds of thousands of kids that grow up in that environment who have to somehow look at the world and glean some kind of a hopeful attitude from what they’re exposed to and how impossible, really, that must be if you walk in their shoes and see the world that they see day in and day out.”
Check out Michael’s appearance on In Conversation and Song, hosted by Lyle Lovett at 8pm (Central) this evening on a live stream.
[Source: Classic Hits Today]