On Air Now
Gold Radio Through the Night 12am - 4am
Exclusive
The Doobie Brothers reveal the one moment that saved the band's career
23 July 2025, 18:33 | Updated: 25 July 2025, 10:34
The Doobie Brothers reveal the one moment that saved the band's career
The Doobie Brothers are one of the most legendary bands of all time.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Towards the end of the 1970s, The Doobie Brothers had already scored a number of hits and band reshuffles.
But they had reached a point where they were at a crossroads, and needed to change this up.
They had just recorded their Minute by Minute album, taking on a more soulful pop-rock sound led by new frontman Michael McDonald.
However, after a difficult tour in Japan, they essentially broke up just when the album was about to be released. It didn't help at first that record label bosses didn't like what they were hearing.
Thankfully, their producer managed to convince them that 'What a Fool Believes' was a hit, and it ended up being their biggest success yet, cementing the Doobies as one of the most successful bands ever.
Speaking to Gold Radio, Michael McDonald explained: "It's funny with that record, and I think this happened a few times to all of us in different configurations, but when we finished that record, we weren't really sure about it.
"We didn't know what we had. We weren't even sure we liked it. I remember Ted [Templeman] played it at an A&R meeting, and Michael Omartian was our producer at the time.
"He said, 'literally everyone in there went [thumbs down]. Those guys are over'. I think we were all very surprised when it took off."
He continued: "I think we literally did break up in Japan the week before. Me and Keith [Knudsen] went to Hawaii for some R&R. I think basically we had been in Japan long enough without any pot to realise the first place we could get to where there was marijuana was Hawaii.
The Doobie Brothers - What A Fool Believes (Official Music Video) [HD]
"We went right there and we just sat on the beach and played golf and smoked marijuana. We were just depressed about the whole thing that happened in Japan. We just got frustrated and everybody was going, 'This is not working'.
"Then Pat [Simmons] called us on the phone and said, 'I hate to tell you this, but I just got off the phone with Ted and we got a record on the charts, going up the charts, and maybe we should rethink this thing about breaking up'.
"So we went, 'OK'. Back then, I don't think we really knew where we were going or why. We were just going."
The Doobie Brothers recently toured the UK, marking 55 years as a band.
