A band that kept changing its voice, from San Jose to the Hall of Fame

John Hartman arrived in California in 1969 hoping to join a Moby Grape reunion. Skip Spence introduced him to Tom Johnston instead, and the two started a group called Pud around San Jose. In 1970 they added Patrick Simmons, a fingerstyle player whose approach complemented Johnston’s rhythmic R&B strumming, and bassist Dave Shogren. A friend, Keith Rosen, came up with the name Doobie Brothers when the band could not decide on one themselves.

Johnston sang lead from 1970 to 1975, when the sound mixed mainstream rock with folk, country and R&B. Then health problems made him need relief, and Michael McDonald joined as keyboardist and extra lead singer. His love of soul music brought a new sound. Takin’ It to the Streets featured Johnston, Simmons, Tiran Porter and McDonald all singing lead, but Johnston left in 1977, and constant lineup changes marked the rest of the decade before the band broke up in 1982.

Their hits were many. “Listen to the Music”, “Jesus Is Just Alright”, “Long Train Runnin’”, “China Grove” and “Black Water”, a number one in 1974, belong to the early years. The 1978 album Minute by Minute spent five weeks at number one and won a Grammy. Its song “What a Fool Believes”, written by McDonald and Kenny Loggins, reached number one in 1979 and won both Song of the Year and Record of the Year. In all, the band placed sixteen songs in the Hot 100 top forty.

The group reformed in 1987 with Johnston back in the fold, and McDonald, who had made several guest appearances, returned full-time in 2019. They entered the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020. With sixteen studio albums and more than 40 million records sold, the Doobie Brothers show how a band can change its voice and still sound like itself.