Quote:
Originally Posted by Kubrick2788
Michael McDonald still isn't performing with them, right? I know he did a one-off recently (w/in the last few years) for some reason...I think...but I don't think he's with them for this. Seeing the rest of the lineup, I'll wait for the next FM tour. I got to see the Eagles 3 times w/Frey...that was enough. No need for Don Henley and friends. As for the groups not selling out stadiums alone, I feel like even with all of these groups together it won't be a sell out. How many people are dying to see Steely Dan and Earth, Wind & Fire ahead of the almost Eagles and FM?
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What happened was after the Doobie Brothers did a farewell tour in 82-83 they packed it in. At that time Pat Simmons was the only original member left. Michael Macdonald was in the band still.
Then in 87 Keith Knudsen successfully battled and won his drug addictions and wanted to give back someway so he organized a one off charity event for Vietnam Veterans since he was active in the Vietnam Veterans Organization. This was a concert where EVERY member of the Doobie Brothers (both past and present) returned for a one off show. The show was so successful they did a mini tour of shows for this cause.
The successful 1987 reunion sparked discussions about reconstituting the band on a permanent basis. They eventually decided to replicate the Toulouse Street/Captain and Me incarnation, settling on a lineup featuring Johnston, Simmons, Hartman, Porter and Hossack, plus more recent addition LaKind, and released Cycles on Capitol Records in 1989. The album featured a Top 10 single, "The Doctor", which showcased Johnston's unmistakable voice and soaring lead guitar and reminded listeners of the band's pre-McDonald heyday and triumph, which was natural given the line-up of the band at this time. The song is very similar to "China Grove," and the connection was further enhanced by guest Bill Payne's tinkling piano. There was more strong material on the album, including Johnston's "South of the Border", Dale Ockerman's and Pat Simmons' "Take Me To The Highway", and "I Can Read Your Mind", a great version of the Isley Brothers' "Need A Little Taste Of Love", and a version of The Four Tops classic, "One Chain (Don't Make No Prison"), which had been covered by Santana years before. Cycles proved a successful, strong and very solid comeback album and was certified Gold. Bumpus participated in the 1989 and 1990 tours, adding his distinctive voice, keyboards, saxophone and flute to the proceedings. His presence bridged the gap between the current band and the McDonald era; he sang lead vocals on the song "One Step Closer" (as he originally had on the 1980 album) while Simmons took McDonald's part. The group was further augmented on the 1989 tour by Dale Ockerman (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals), Richard Bryant (percussion, vocals) and Jimi Fox (percussion, backing vocals). After being diagnosed with terminal colon cancer, LaKind stepped down before the tour.
The success of Cycles led to the release of 1991's Brotherhood, also on Capitol. The group members grew their hair back out, wore denim and leather, and attempted to revive their biker image of the early 1970s. In spite of the makeover and strong material led by Simmons' now trademark "Dangerous" (featured in the Brian Bosworth biker film vehicle, Stone Cold), Brotherhood was unsuccessful, in part due to a lack of support on the part of Capitol Records.
The accompanying tour (with the 1989 line-up sans Bumpus) was ranked among the ten least profitable tours of the disappointing 1991 summer season by the North American Concert Promoters Association.[14]
The 1987 Doobie Brothers alumni band reunited on October 17 and 19, 1992 at the Concord Pavilion in Concord, California to perform benefit shows for LaKind's children. LaKind, who was terminally ill with colon cancer and noticeably frail, nevertheless joined the group on percussion for a few numbers. The concerts were recorded and subsequently broadcast on the Superstars in Concert radio series accompanied by a plea for contributions to the LaKind family fund.[citation needed]
A brief period of hiatus followed during which Simmons collaborated with bassist and songwriter John Cowan (ex-New Grass Revival), Rusty Young (of Poco) and Bill Lloyd (of Foster & Lloyd) on an unreleased project called Four Wheel Drive. When the band emerged yet again in 1993, Hartman and Porter retired from the road for good but former members Keith Knudsen and John McFee had rejoined the Doobie Brothers on a full-time basis after Southern Pacific disbanded. Joined by Ockerman, Bumpus, and former member Willie Weeks, the group toured with Four Wheel Drive as the opening act. After Weeks left the tour to resume his session work, Cowan played bass for both bands. Bumpus also left to join the reunited Steely Dan, giving way to saxophonist, keyboardist, and harmonica player Danny Hull. Former band member Chet McCracken temporarily filled in for an injured Hossack in July, 1993. Their 1994 tour included co-headlining appearances with the band Foreigner.
With renewed energy in the mid-1990s, the band began to experiment with different arrangements of several tunes. They even sampled McDonald's songbook from time to time, eventually restoring Takin' it to the Streets to the setlist on a permanent basis with Simmons and new bassist Skylark (who joined in 1995) substituting for McDonald on lead vocals.
The band has toured continuously since 1993. In 1995, they reunited with McDonald for a brief co-headlining tour with the Steve Miller Band. The "Dreams Come True" tour featured all three primary songwriters and singers and reflected all phases of the band's career. Cornelius Bumpus rejoined for the 1995 tour, with Chet McCracken replacing the absent Knudsen and Bernie Chiaravalle sitting in for John McFee. A 1996 double live album, Rockin' Down the Highway: The Wildlife Concert, featured guest star McDonald on three of his signature tunes. McDonald remains an occasional "special guest" and has joined the group for benefits, private corporate shows and parties (such as the wedding reception of Liza Minnelli and David Gest), as well. Baxter has also played with the band during some concerts.[citation needed]
In 1996, Dale Ockerman was replaced by keyboardist Guy Allison (ex-Moody Blues and Air Supply). Marc Russo (ex-Yellowjackets) joined in early 1998, replacing Danny Hull.
In the late 1990s, the current band was forced to obtain an injunction preventing confusing or misleading uses of "The Doobie Brothers" moniker in advertisements promoting a tribute band featuring former members McCracken, Bumpus and Shogren and backup musicians.
For their 2010 and 2012 summer tours, the band was once again paired with the band Chicago, as they had been previously in 1999 and 2008.
In March 2010, longtime bassist/vocalist Skylark had to resign following a serious stroke. John Cowan returned to take Skylark's place, and has been with the band since. Three months later, before the band would embark on their 2010 summer tour with Chicago, Hossack was forced to sit out following a diagnosis of cancer. Tony Pia, a member of the Brian Setzer Orchestra, was recruited to substitute for Hossack. Following Hossack's death in 2012, Pia became a member of the band.
On September 28, 2010, the Doobie Brothers released their thirteenth studio album, entitled World Gone Crazy, which was produced with their longtime producer Ted Templeman. World Gone Crazy is the first Doobie Brothers album to be produced by Templeman since 1980's One Step Closer. The first single from the album was entitled "Nobody" and was free-streamed on their official website.[15]
On February 26, 2011, the Doobie Brothers performed at the Grand Ole Opry for the first time in their career, leading the audience in singing favorites such as Black Water and Listen to the Music.
By March 2012, five members of the Doobie Brothers family were deceased: percussionist / vocalist LaKind on December 24, 1992 following his lengthy struggle with terminal colon cancer;[16] original bassist Shogren of unreported causes on December 14, 1999;[17] saxophonist, keyboardist, vocalist, and flutist Bumpus of a heart attack on February 3, 2004 while in the air en route to California for a solo tour;[18] drummer, vocalist, and activist Keith Knudsen on February 8, 2005 of cancer and chronic pneumonia;[19] and drummer Michael Hossack of cancer on March 12, 2012.[20]
On November 13, 2012, the Doobie Brothers released an official documentary entitled Let the Music Play: The Story of The Doobie Brothers which featured interviews and rare footage from their early days of the 1970s to the present day. Johnston, Simmons, McFee, McDonald, Porter, and Baxter, along with manager Bruce Cohn and longtime producer Ted Templeman were among those interviewed for the film.
In March 2014, the Doobie Brothers, in conjunction with Sony Music Nashville, announced that its fourteenth studio album would be released featuring the greatest hits of their 40+ year career. The album would feature lead and backing vocals from several country artists and Michael McDonald returned to collaborate on the album. Featured artists included Sara Evans, Vince Gill, Hunter Hayes, Casey James, Toby Keith, Love and Theft, Jerrod Niemann, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, Tyler Farr, Chris Young, Charlie Worsham, and the Zac Brown Band.
The album, entitled Southbound, was released on November 4, 2014. The following day, on November 5, 2014, the Doobie Brothers and Michael McDonald were featured musical guests on the 47th Annual CMA Awards to celebrate the release of Southbound, joined by Hunter Hayes, Jennifer Nettles, and Hillary Scott in their performance of Listen to the Music. At the end of the awards ceremony, they were also joined by host Brad Paisley for Takin' it to the Streets.
The Doobie Brothers performed at Music City Roots on May 13, 2015, sharing the stage with Béla Fleck and Dan Tyminski. This was the band's second performance at the venue - their first performance being an all-acoustic performance back in March, 2011. The acoustic portion of the 2015 show featured songs that had not been heard by audiences in years, including the bluesy Chicago and the title track from Toulouse Street.
In early August 2015, keyboardist / vocalist Guy Allison was called to fly out to Japan to work on an album project. Bill Payne was selected to temporarily fill in for Allison in his absence. Allison returned to the band after their September 5 show at Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, New Jersey.
On August 20, 2015, the Doobie Brothers and Michael McDonald were the featured musical guests on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where they performed a medley of Long Train Runnin' and Takin' it to the Streets. The band also performed a Web-exclusive performance of What a Fool Believes that was made available via The Tonight Show's website.
On the afternoon of September 11, 2015, the Doobie Brothers performed at the Lockn' Festival in Arrington, Virginia, sharing the stage with the jam band String Cheese Incident. That same date, following the performance, the Doobies flew to Cherokee, North Carolina for an evening concert.
In October 2015, Bill Payne took over Guy Allison's duties as the Doobies' keyboardist. The announcement was officially made by the band on December 1, 2015.
On November 24, 2015, the Doobie Brothers, together with Journey, launched a 2016 tour featuring Dave Mason. The tour started on May 12, 2016 at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre and concluded on September 4, 2016 when the Doobies and Journey joined the Steve Miller Band and Santana at AT&T Park.
Johnston was forced to miss the Warren Haynes Christmas Jam on December 12, 2015 due to knee surgery that he had a few weeks earlier.
Since the early 2000s, they have headlined and performed at many benefit concerts including manager Cohn's B.R. Cohn Winery in Glen Ellen (once again sharing the stage with McDonald in 2006 and 2012). Cohn sold the winery in 2015 to focus on managing the band, and the B.R. Cohn Charity Fall Music Festival was relocated to the Sonoma Valley Field of Dreams. The festival was renamed the Sonoma Music Festival. The Doobie Brothers and McDonald, Chicago, and Ringo Starr headlined the three-day event, respectively.
In March 2016, the Doobie Brothers announced the hiring of Irving Azoff for personal management.[21] It is unknown if Cohn decided to retire from the position or was forced to step down.
As of 2016, the band continues to tour regularly. They continue to remain popular among their audiences. They have maintained a continuous and active presence on the Internet through their official website since 1996. In addition, they maintain an active presence on their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
On January 1st 2017, the Doobie Brothers announced a co-headlining "Chicago and The Doobie Brothers North American Summer Tour".
In 2014 Michael joined them to re record somem of their biggest hits with country rock artists for a new CD called "Southbound". It was the first album to feature Michael Macdond, Pat Simmons and Tom Johnston since the 70's.
The current lineup is
Tom Johnston
Patrick Simmons
John McFee
John Cowan
Bill Payne
Marc Russo
Ed Toth