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The Doobie Brothers
American rock band
The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in San Jose, California, in 1970. Known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies, the band has been active for over five decades, with their greatest success taking place in the 1970s.
The group's current lineup consists of founding members Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons, alongside Michael McDonald and John McFee, and touring musicians including John Cowan, Marc Russo (saxophones), Ed Toth (drums), and Marc Quiñones. Long-serving former members include guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, bassist Tiran Porter, and drummers John Hartman, Michael Hossack, and Keith Knudsen.
members: Michael McDonald, Patrick Simmons, Willie Weeks, John Hartman, Tom Johnston, Tiran Porter, Bobby LaKind, Keith Knudsen
formed in: San Jose
labels: Arista Records, Capitol Records, Warner Bros. Records, Warner Records
genres: rock music, soft rock, pop music, blue-eyed soul
awards: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Facts from Wikidata and Discogs, free to use.
rockpop rocksoft rockblue-eyed soulclassic rockfolk-rock music
The Airwaves CourierExtra
Original incarnation
Drummer John Hartman arrived in California in 1969 determined to meet Skip Spence of Moby Grape and join an aborted Grape reunion. Spence introduced Hartman to singer, guitarist, and songwriter Tom Johnston and the two proceeded to form the nucleus of what would become the Doobie Brothers. Johnston and Hartman called their fledgling group "Pud" and experimented with lineups (occasionally including Spence) and styles as they performed in and around San Jose. They were mostly a power trio (along with bassist Greg Murphy) but briefly worked with a horn section.
Blue eyed soul - roots rock band.
Formed in San Jose, California, U.S.
They have sold over 40 million units (albums) worldwide throughout their career.
Fronted by Tom Johnston from 1970 to 1975, and Michael McDonald 1975- 1982.
The group officially split in 1982 but re-formed in 1987 with Johnston resuming the lead.
They have released 13 albums.
Their 1973's "Long Train Runnin'", "Black Water" as well as "What a Fool Believes", "Minute by Minute" are considered all time classics.
Also known as: D. Brothers, Dobbie Bros., Dobbie Brothers, Doobie Bros, Doobie Bros.
From Discogs (free to use). Their entry
Liner notes
The Doobie Brothers, the records, oldest first
The Doobie Brothers
1971 album
Toulouse Street
1972 album
wanted
The Captain and Me
1973 album
The Captain and Me
1973 ep
What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits
1974 album
What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits
1974 ep
Agua Negra (Black Water)
1975 ep
Stampede
1975 album
The Doobie Brothers
1975 ep
Takin’ It to the Streets
1976 album
Livin’ on the Fault Line
1977 album
Minute by Minute
1978 album
The Doobie Brothers
1979 ep
One Step Closer
1980 album
Cycles
1989 album
Brotherhood
1991 album
Long Train Runnin’
1998 album
Sibling Rivalry
2000 album
World Gone Crazy
2010 album
Southbound
2014 album
The Doobie Brothers
2021 ep
Liberté
2021 album
Walk This Road
2025 album
Learn to Let Go
2025 ep
Records from MusicBrainz; covers from the Cover Art Archive.
"Black Water" is a song recorded by the American music group the Doobie Brothers from their 1974 album What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits. The track features its composer Patrick Simmons on lead vocals and, in mid-March 1975, became the first of the Doobie Brothers' two No. 1 hit singles.
Composition
Patrick Simmons recalled that he chanced on the basic guitar lick for "Black Water" while at Warner Bros. Recording Studio (NoHo) for the recording sessions for the Doobie Brothers' 1973 album The Captain and Me: "I was sitting out in the studio waiting between takes and I played that part. All the sudden I heard the talk-back go on and [producer] Ted Templeman says: 'What is that?' I said: 'It’s just a little riff that I came up with that I’ve been tweaking with.' He goes: 'I love that. You really should write a song using that riff.'"
Original B-side release
Ted Templeman said that "we never thought [of] it as a [potential hit] single." - "I put 'Black Water' on [a] B-side because I figured [it was] an acoustic thing." "Black Water" was utilized as the B-side for the lead single from the Doobie Brothers' 1974 album release What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits, the A-side being "Another Park, Another Sunday" whose June 1974 Billboard Hot 100 peaked at No. 32: regular group lead vocalist Tom Johnston said that "Another Park..." "was doing real well [in single release], and then it got yanked off the radio for the line 'And the radio just seems to bring me down'".
Album track success/A-side release
From 11 September 1974 WROV-AM in Roanoke VA began airing "Black Water" off the album What Were Once Vices... - the Blackwater, a Roanoke River tributary, is a 25-minute drive from Roanoke city center - with listener response so positive as to cause music director Chuck Holloway to opine: "No one was requesting anything else." Hampton Roads broadcaster WQRK-FM was soon also airing "Black Water", and the track's intense regional success came to the attention of Warner Bros. national promotion director Gary Davis causing an A-side single release of "Black Water" in October 1974, five weeks after WROV had begun airing the track ("Song to See You Through", a Tom Johnston composition off What Were Once Vices..., was utilized as B-side). "Black...
Reception
Cash Box praised the song, saying among other things that "trickling, bubbling acoustical guitars and flowing harmonies keep this track running true to course with a fiddle flashing just below the surface." Record World called it "an impressive change of pace item" and said that "spiced with acappella vocals coming out of an acoustic guitar and fiddle mood, it flows nicely." Ultimate Classic Rock critic Michael Gallucci rated "Black Water" as the Doobie Brothers' 3rd greatest song, commenting that it contains "a cappella breakdown, a viola solo and a bunch of acoustic instruments." The staff of Billboard rated it as the Doobie Brothers' 2nd best song, saying that the elements noted by Gallucci plus "a melody that meandered like a lazy,...
"Listen to the Music" is a song by American rock band the Doobie Brothers, released on their second album, Toulouse Street (1972). The song was written by Tom Johnston and was the band’s first major hit.
In 1994, it received a remix by Steve Rodway a.k.a. Motiv8, which eventually peaked at No. 37 in the UK and No. 3 in Iceland.
Background
Writer Tom Johnston described the inspiration for the song as a call for world peace:
Cover versions
"Listen to the Music" was covered by Sonny & Cher on their 1973 LP Mama Was a Rock and Roll Singer, Papa Used to Write All Her Songs, and by The Isley Brothers on their 1973 LP 3 + 3. The song was also copied and used as the theme song of All India Radio FM in 1996 sung by Shibani Kashyap.
