Michael McDonald thankful for 'one more shot' to tour with Doobie Brothers for 50th anniversary
Itâs a year later than planned, but these days, what isnât?
In 2020, The Doobie Brothers conceived the ideal gift for fans â a 50th anniversary tour featuring Michael McDonald, John McFee and founding members Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century.
The pandemic bulldozed that campaign, but the quartet is âgoing about our business as if everything is happening as planned,â Johnston told USA TODAY as the band rolled through rehearsals in Los Angeles last week. âIâm not thrilled about touring with everything with COVID, but I also want to go out because we havenât been on the road in a year and a half.â
Johnston shared that he suffered from COVID in February 2020 and was out of commission for about a month.
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âI thought it was just a really bad flu, but it was pretty nasty,â he said. âAnd that was the early version (of the virus). So as soon as the vaccine was available, I was banging on the door.â
McDonald, in a separate interview with USA TODAY, echoed Johnstonâs cautious optimism, while noting that the vaccinated band will âstay within our bubbleâ on tour.
âItâs so precarious, this whole situation (with COVID) nationwide, so we donât know what to expect. But weâre going to take it one day at a time,â he said.
The 49-city tour kicks off Sunday at the Iowa State Fair before wrapping in late October; more than a dozen shows on the 50th anniversary outing have bounced to 2022 for scheduling purposes.
Possessing one of the most gilded catalogs of the â70s and â80s, The Doobie Brothers long ago earned the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction that finally beckoned last year. Their first No. 1 hit, âBlack Water,â arrived in 1974. Five years later (1979), the band would strike the top again with the McDonald-fronted âWhat a Fool Believes.â Before and after their No. 1s brought âChina Grove,â âListen to the Music,â âMinute by Minute,â and numerous other pool hall jukebox staples until their last major hit in 1989, âThe Doctor.â
The core trio of Johnston, Simmons and McFee will continue the Doobiesâ legacy with the Oct. 1 release of âLiberteÌ,â the bandâs 15th full-length album named for the Chateau LiberteÌ in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where The Doobie Brothers played often when based in San Jose, California. (A self-titled EP featuring four of the dozen tracks on the new album is available now.)
Recorded with producer John Shanks (Bon Jovi, Stevie Nicks), the songs on "LiberteÌ" are "really creative in a different direction than what youâve heard of the Doobies in the past,â Johnston said.
McDonald isnât part of the new recording, but his rejoining the band for a series of live shows was an idea first floated by Johnston about 13 years ago. At the time, McDonald was preparing the release of his eighth solo album, âSoul Speak,â and couldnât commit to the road.
âIn the back of my mind, I always wondered if Iâd get one more shot to go on tour with the band,â McDonald said. âI still feel like some (of my solo songs) would have been great Doobies tracks. Like âHalf Truthâ (from 2017âs âWide Openâ album). Leading up to now, when Iâd play with the guys, I always felt like the drunk who wandered on stage who had written some songs. But itâs been fun for me to rehearse with the band. I think I even made the mistake thinking that some things would be easier than they turned out to be! But itâs good for us to have a stake in something musically.â
Johnston still appreciates McDonaldâs âhilariousâ personality and praises him as an âincredible singer and player,â while also acknowledging how McDonaldâs tenure in The Doobie Brothers â starting in 1975 with periodic pop-ins through the decades â transformed the bandâs sound.
âMichael really came in and took the band in a different direction and it was a very successful direction,â Johnston said. âWhen you go on tour, you have all of this different material to choose from and can give people all aspects of this band.â
The Doobie Brothersâ extensive hit list will drive the spirit of their live shows, but McDonald is also honing his accordion and mandolin skills to play â70s album tracks âSpirit,â âSouth City Midnight Ladyâ and âClear as the Driven Snow.â
âOne of the things that has been a hallmark of the Doobiesâ career long before I joined them is the diversity of their songbook. They were the most unlikely people coming together to make music and make an interesting fusion of musical styles,â McDonald said. âThe most fun thing about our show is a wide variety of songs. And somehow, weâve always found a way to thread it all together live.â