The Doobie Brothers -- Takin' It to the Streets

 

Just to let you folks know, I'll be doing two Reminiscings of Youth articles today. Nope, there's no national holiday today. Frankly with yesterday's water outage emergency due to a burst pipe, I was too frazzled and tired to put up my usual two articles so I had to settle for one. And then a moment of providence arrived when I heard yesterday about The Doobie Brothers getting into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame this year. I already got my scheduled one which I will do last tonight but I just had to get a Doobie Brothers' song in here today as tribute to Michael McDonald and the band.

Now to be honest, this song really belongs not as a ROY but as a DIA entry...i.e. Discoveries in Adulthood. I really didn't know about "Takin' It to the Streets" until I had bought a BEST compilation of The Doobie Brothers during my time in Japan, and as is the case with many AOR/soft rock bands of the time, the guys are very popular in the country. The song was released as a single on St. Patrick's Day 1976 and was the title track on the band's 6th album which came out a couple of days later. 

The Doobie Brothers' go-to song for me will always be "What a Fool Believes" which wouldn't see the light of day for another few years, but "Takin' It to the Streets" is also a fine song in that Doobies' way with even more punch as the lyrics by McDonald seem to encourage listeners to sound the alarm bells to fight injustice of all types. I found out that this was the first Doobie Brothers' song to have former Steely Dan member McDonald as the lead vocalist, replacing the ailing Tom Johnson. I can't even imagine a song by the band without McDonald behind the mike and behind those keyboards, so this is quite the beginning for him and the band.

"Takin' It to the Streets" made it to No. 13 on America's Billboard while in Canada, it went as high as No. 7 on RPM. And I think with this song, the Doobie Brothers took it all the way to the bank. So, what was hitting the Top 10 in Japan on March 15th 1976? Let's take at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 10.

1. Masato Shimon -- Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun (およげ！たいやきくん）

2. Hiromi Ohta -- Momen no Handkerchief (木綿のハンカチーフ）

10. Masatoshi Nakamura -- Ore tachi no Tabi （俺たちの旅）

The Doobie Brothers -- What a Fool Believes

 

Happy Good Friday to all those who follow the statutory holiday. That's right...most of us are off today in the days leading to Easter which is arriving a little earlier than usual in 2024. As such, according to our own traditions on KKP, we'll be doing a special Reminiscings of Youth.

Keeping with the theme for urban contemporary on Fridays here on the blog, I wanted to go with something AOR or R&B from my youth. I found just the song...The Doobie Brothers' "What a Fool Believes". I ought to re-title it as "What a J-Canuck Believes" since it's taken me so long to get this up here as a ROY subject. I had actually assumed that Michael McDonald and his band were already represented on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" because McDonald has shown up on a number of ROYs in the past as a guest for other acts such as Kenny Loggins and Steely Dan, but this is the first official Doobie Brothers' appearance on KKP. I'm giving myself a Gibbs slap as penance.

Although "What a Fool Believes" first appeared in the band's 1978 debut album "Minute by Minute", the single version was released in January 1979. If anyone asked me for a typical Doobie Brothers' song, I would immediately point to this one. Created by McDonald and the aforementioned Loggins, it's got that famous keyboard hook which has acted as the aural logo for the Doobies all these years. That melody kinda mellows out the story behind the lyrics of a fellow trying to rekindle a romance with an old flame, only to find out that there hadn't even been a first romance in the first place. Along with the hook, there are the iconic McDonald vocals and the path that the music takes weaving between whimsical and elegant. "What a Fool Believes" hit No. 1 on both the American and Canadian charts.

Over the decades, there have been affectionate pokes at McDonald and the Doobies' sound. I know about McDonald's appearances on "Family Guy", but true to my age, I like to go back even further to "SCTV". It still kills me how Rick Moranis killed them. The wonderful thing is that both McDonald and Rick Beato referenced the two parodies involving the Doobie Brothers very magnanimously within the last couple of weeks.

As I said, "What a Fool Believes" was released in January 1979. Which Japanese singles did the same?

Akira Fuse -- Kimi wa Bara yorimo Utsukushii（君は薔薇よりも美しい）

Sachiko Kobayashi -- Omoide Zake （おもいで酒）

Kenji Sawada -- Casablanca Dandy （カサブランカ・ダンディ）