First Time Hearing The Doobie Brothers! Vocal ANALYSIS of "What A Fool Believes"

The bouncy song is the fool's perspective, the lyrics are the reality he ignores. It is a masterpiece of a pop song.

Can't wait for the Black Water reaction, my absolute favorite Doobie brothers song

"What A Fool Believes " is one of the happiest sounding sad songs ever!

My mom went to school with Micheal McDonald, these guys were playing in our house my whole life growing up. Still sounds great every time I hear it.

It's a very upbeat and happy way of hammering home the message "She's not that into you, dude"

Doobies "Takin' it to the streets" is my favorite.

This is pretty much how they sounded live back then. No autotune. No crazy delay. No jacked up compression. A little enhancement on the chorus. Talent. Pure and simple.

What a fool believes, he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away. Incredible lyrics

Michael McDonald is all over 70’s and 80’s music. He did background vocals for steely Dan, lead vocals for the doobie brothers, and background vocals Toto, Christopher cross and a crap ton of other records. Also, he’s from my hometown of St. Louis😊

What A Fool Believes won the Grammy Awards in 1980 for the Song of the Year (lyrics and music) and the Record of the Year (the actual recording). This masterpiece was written by Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins. They also collaborated on the hit jams "This Is It" and "Heart To Heart". Also, this song is a great example that soul has no color and showcases why Michael McDonald is such a great singer, you know his voice the minute you hear it. One of the greatest singer of all times.

Michael is one of the most recorded vocalists ever. Doobies, Steely Dan, Toto, etc, etc. Incredible.

My very first thought when you said you picked this song because its a "happy" song was "No! It's horrific!" I'm glad you figured that out. Its actually a guy who is in complete denial when he comes across an old crush who he has pined for and loved for years, only to see that she has never even thought of him in all that time. A soul-crushing song, but of a guy who's just bopping along in denial.

The Doobies have done some great stuff over the years. Long train runnin' is my personal favourite

I was a junior in high school in 1987, and was in my second year as the bassist for the jazz ensemble. Towards the end of the school year, we played a lunch hour gig in a downtown square and after the show, a skinny white guy with long hair and round sunglasses and a big black guy with dreads approached us told us our rendition of Watermelon Man was the best they’d heard. They then explained that they were in town with the Doobie Brothers and asked if we’d be interested in seeing the show. Several of us said yes, and so they set up tickets for us at will call. They turned out to be Skunk Baxter and Cornelius Bumpus. This was their first tour since they had broken up a few years prior and it was a great show. I was never a huge fan, growing up, they were my parents’ music, but I never hated them and came away from the show a more proper fan, plus I got a fun story out of it. I doubted our version of Watermelon Man was really the best either had heard, but I really appreciated their generosity and eagerness to support the next generation of players.

Hearing The Doobie Brothers for the first time is like seeing the ocean for the first time.

As a San Jose resident, I am unabashedly proud of this band! I had the good fortune to work at a legendary guitar store (Guitar Showcase) for many years and became friends with Tiran, the bass player/vocalist. He lives in the nearby Santa Cruz mountains and would come into town almost every Tuesday, which quickly became the high point of my week.

The quote I love about the Doobie Brothers is in Romancing the Stone. Michael Douglas is reading an old magazine and exclaims “oh no! The Doobie Brothers broke up!!!”

Michael McDonald playing a melody line on the piano, harmony on the organ, and singing with emotion, and precision. I still struggle to play bass and melody lines together on the guitar. WOW The song "I Keep Forgetting" is like a companion song to this one. Love is an Action Verb.

Elizabeth, as an older guy, I love your reactions and professional insight into songs and artists I grew up listening to. Please never change xx

Girl, this is the creator at his best. This is the soul behind the the genre known as yacht rock. Michael is self taught on the piano and his explosion onto the music scene created a whole new sound. From studio musician to rock star. He was working on everyone’s albums. C Cross, Doobie Brothers when their lead vocalist got sick and the tour was about to be cancelled. His influence on the Doobie Brothers completely changed their direction. Michael was on everyone’s albums. Background, he didn’t care he just wanted to work.