Doobie Brothers coming with Boston on Friday night
As durable as American steel, Northern California’s four-time Grammy
winning Doobie Brothers sound has become part of America’s musical
firmament, sampled on dance records, reinterpreted on “American Idol,”
and a fixture on radio formats from top 40 to classic rock. They
continue to write and record new material, tour the world, boasting one
of the most loyal fan bases in music, all while breaking new creative
ground in the exploration of their musical connection with Nashville.
Singer-songwriter-guitarist Pat Simmons says, “We have entered a
territory that we never imagined for ourselves, as far as being a part
of the cultural landscape. It’s kind of odd when you see your songs in
television commercials and hear yourself as background music in a
commercial business, but it’s cool. I hear B.B. King in the same places.
We’re in good company”
The Doobies have rung up a glittering track record that would be the
envy of any band. Beginning with their multi-million-selling sophomore
collection
Toulouse Street (1972), the Doobies have 3 multi-platinum, 7 platinum and 14 Gold albums. Their
Best of the Doobies
(1976) has sold more than 11 million copies – a rare “diamond record.”
The Doobies propulsive roots-based, harmony-laden, guitar-driven style
has sold more than 30 million albums.
Their No. 1 singles “Black Water” (1974) and “What a Fool Believes”
(1979), both gold, lead a catalog of indelible songs that include
“Jesus Is Just All Right”, “Rockin’ Down the Highway”, “Long Train
Runnin’”, “China Grove”, “Take Me In Your Arms”, Takin’ it to the
Streets”, “Minute by Minute”, “You Belong to Me,” “The Doctor” and
more. In all, the Doobies have tallied up five top 10 singles and 16
top 40 hits.
In 2011, the band marked a new chapter. They filmed a CMT Crossroads
special with superstar Luke Bryan, and appeared for the first time ever
on the Grand Ole Opry. Their relationship with Nashville continues to
unfold, with a new country-based Doobie Brothers project recorded with
some of country music’s biggest stars set for release later this year.
Formed in 1969 by Simmons, singer-songwriter-guitarist Tom Johnston,
founding drummer John Hartman, and bassist Dave Shogren, the Doobies
made their mark with a run of punchy, melodic hits on Warner Bros.
Records. They attained radio and chart ubiquity in the late ‘70s, when
the group’s expanded lineup was augmented by Michael McDonald, whose
soaring lead vocals pushed the band to new commercial and critical
heights.
The
years have witnessed many changes in the Doobies, but the band’s most
recent studio lineup harkens back to their earliest days. Simmons and
Johnston continue to front the group. And multi-instrumentalist John
McFee’s history with the Brothers dates back to 1978.
Simmons says, “The sound of the band is the same. Tom and I are still
involved in writing the songs and arranging. It brings the sound of the
early ‘70s back to the forefront. Tommy and I now have been working
together longer than any other time the band has been in existence,
steadily working every year, touring.”
The Doobies’ familiar and inimitable sound effortlessly draws from virtually every imaginable tributary of American music.
“We’re basically an American band – we cover a lot of areas,” says
Johnston. “We cover blues, R&B, country, bluegrass, rock ‘n’ roll.
It’s based on rhythms, rhythm structures, picking, and harmonies. That’s
been the signature of the band.”
He continues, “Think about the influences that come into this band.
You take Pat, who comes from a folk-blues background, with a lot of
picking and stuff like that – he was a big fan of Rev. Gary Davis and
Dave Van Ronk. I come from a blues, soul, R&B, and rock ‘n’ roll
background. Then you stick John McFee into that mix – John came from a
country background when he started out, and was in a country band,
Southern Pacific. And he is a session musician – he’s played with
everybody from Steve Miller to Van Morrison to Elvis Costello. If it’s
got strings, he can play it.”
The Doobies’ unique blend of native styles came about with a lack of
calculation that remains one of the key sources of their continuing
appeal.
Simmons notes, “We didn’t really sit around and think, ‘Oh, we need
this element or that element.’ The music has always been an honest
representation of whatever we happen to be working on at the time. We
had all been playing music for a long time before we put the band
together, and our roots influences are what come out. Those influences
always overtake whatever conceptual ideas you might have. It’s always
been that way with this band — you always return to who you really are.”
While the Doobie Brothers continue to draw their sound from the deep
well of the past, their music has always been grounded in the
here-and-now, dating back to their very first hit single, issued at the
height of the Vietnam War.
Johnston notes, “‘Listen to the Music’ was written thinking,
‘Wouldn’t it be great if world leaders could get together and, if they
could communicated through music, as opposed to words, they might be
able to find some sort of a bridge to get through our disagreements?’”
That approach is little changed in the new millennium. Their recent release
World Gone Crazy’s
title track, penned by Johnston, dwells on the economic tumult of 2011,
while Simmons’ “Far From Home,” a moving reflection about a child
taking leave of home, has a subtext familiar to any American family that
has sent a son or daughter off to war. The band’s concern for family
and those who serve our country is reflected in their having raised over
$3 million for veterans related causes.
The ability of the Doobie Brothers’ music to deal with the essentials
of people’s lives in direct, tuneful, affecting songs has developed an
audience that spans generations today.
Simmons says, “We have a hardcore fan base that has handed our music
down through the years to their children and their children’s children.
Repeatedly, people go to our concerts and come up to us and say, ‘My dad
turned me on to you guys years ago, and I’ve loved you guys all this
time, and my kids are listening to you now.”
“And the songs that people all know, be it ‘Listen to the Music’ or
‘Black Water’ or ‘China Grove,’ are still getting played,” Johnston
adds. “Any song that stands the test of time for 40 years or is getting
played around the country on a daily basis – that to me is a testament
to the quality of the tunes, and that they had something to say that
resonated with people. I’d like to say this band has been relevant –
it’s been relevant musically, it’s been relevant lyrically, and we’ve
always put out a high quality of music.”
The band took a five year respite then regrouped in 1987 for a series
of gigs benefiting veterans’ groups and children’s charities, the
Doobie Brothers have been taking their music to their fans regularly on
tour.
Modest almost to a fault, the co-founders of the Doobie Brothers
sometimes grope to define the characteristics that have led their band
to become one of the country’s most enduring musical institutions. The
fundamental appeal that has drawn listeners to his group for four
decades may be best expressed by Simmons:
“In a certain sense, what this band has always had in common with
everyone else is the word ‘hope,’” says Simmons. “We hoped we would make
some good music, and we hoped there would be some acceptance, and we
hoped that things would get better in the world. In that respect, we’re
just the same – we’re still hopeful about the future. In my lifetime,
there has always been struggle and challenge and some darkness, but with
the sun shining through, and that’s what we all live for. You have to
look towards the future and recognize that as long as there are
thoughtful, intelligent people on the planet, there’s hope for the rest
of us.”
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