Michael McDonald didn’t tell his story in public because of himself. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, who had won many Grammys, didn’t believe he had one.
McDonald was in both Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers, and his solo hits like “On My Own” and “Sweet Freedom” made him a unique soul artist. He thought he was just a small part of rock history.
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“I was afraid that people would think, ‘Well, what kind of story is this?'” He said in an interview, “My experience is pretty much me living vicariously through other people’s successes.”
McDonald is finally telling his story in his honest and humble book “What a Fool Believes,” which comes out May 21. A friend, actor and comedian Paul Reiser, pushed him to do so.
It depicts the story of an incredible singer-songwriter who experienced both highs and lows in his career, battled alcoholism and self-doubt, rose to fame, faced ridicule, and then rose to fame once more.
The speaker said, “I think we both learned that this story is really just about how random life is, no matter how much we think we have a plan and a direction we want to go.” “We must be prepared for life’s unexpected changes and embrace the unpredictable.”
According to a different interview, Reiser said that the book came about because he asked McDonald a lot of questions about his life. “It’s all about me.” Lieber said, “I just wanted to read it.”
“Everyone is amazed by his voice.” His music is loved by everyone. “But I don’t think anyone knows anything about him,” he said. “He kind of floats on this frequency that no one pays much attention to.”
The story begins in 1971, when the author is drunk and in county jail. After a 48-hour cocaine and Jack Daniels binge, a 19-year-old McDonald passed out in a pancake house, leading to an arrest. As a hint, it’s true.
Then it tells the story of McDonald’s life, from his humble beginnings in St. Louis, Missouri, to his world tours with two great rock bands, even though he had a “tendency for making bad choices.”
When he was 12, McDonald’s first band played at parties and community events with a guitar he made himself. Jerry Jay and the Sheratons, a local pro band, came next, followed by the Delrays, a touring band. In his 18th year, RCA Records gave him $3,000 and flew him to Los Angeles, but they didn’t put out his first record and fired him. “My quickly rising star fell to the ground,” he writes.
A few months later, he would travel back to California, this time by car, with a more stable job offer as a session worker. “I was set on delaying my return to St. Louis until I had something to show for my hard work,” he writes.
When Steely Dan asked him to sing background vocals and play keys, his career took a big leap forward. Classic Steely Dan records featured his unique, soulful voice on memorable tracks like “Gaucho,” “Katy Lied,” “The Royal Scam,” and “Aja.” He’s singing “Peg” in the background.
While Steely Dan was on tour, McDonald moved on to the Doobie Brothers, who were also big in the 1970s. In 1975, just before their fifth record came out, their first lead singer, Tom Johnston, got sick and couldn’t go on tour. The band brought in McDonald to replace him, giving him 48 hours to learn their entire set.
The Doobies asked McDonald to join them full-time, offering him $1,500 a week plus a $100 daily fee. He would become controversial because the band’s sound would change from country rock and blues boogie to a smoother, more emotional one.
“It was clear that there was getting to be trouble within our ranks.” McDonald writes, “And I will be the first to take some of the blame for that.”
McDonald isn’t afraid to show the bad things in life, like having crabs as a kid and acid reflux as an adult. He says he got drunk and went to a rehab support group twice in a row. Once, they caught him in his pajamas, a joint in his mouth, and a bowl of Lucky Charms on his chest.
In the interview, he says, “If you’re going to tell a story, tell the whole story.” “You know what?”We all get where we’re going in spite of ourselves. That’s kind of what the story is about, too.
If musicians read the book, they will learn how to behave on tour and write songs with very detailed information, like chromatically descending II-V passing chord progressions.
There will also be stories about playing hoops with James Taylor and helpful tips on how to open for Cher. “Just generally, it’s time to leave when you see a guy dressed up as Cher and standing on a chair giving you the finger.”
McDonald sang on songs by Elton John, Luther Vandross, Kenny Loggins, and Christopher Cross, as well as his own records. In fact, that’s McDonald singing “Such a long way to go” on Cross’s “Ride Like the Wind.” For the song “Sweet Freedom” from the movie “Running Scared,” he received a Grammy nomination. On “On My Own,” he worked with James Ingram and B.B. King.
Due to his frequent appearances on other artists’ songs, McDonald soon became the target of jokes. “No one wanted to hear another Michael McDonald background vocal—I had probably used that well too many times, somewhere between fifty and one thousand times,” he writes.
McDonald improved when he began releasing well-reviewed Motown covers in the 2000s. He made music with Solange Knowles and Grizzly Bear, and in 2017, he played at Coachella with Thundercat, a jazz-funk drummer.
McDonald, who is 72 years old, says that writing the book helped him look back and forgive people who he had long seen as getting in his way. “I likely owe those people more than I have a reason to be angry at them,” he says.
