| With his
husky, soulful baritone, Michael McDonald became one of the
most distinctive and popular vocalists to emerge from the laidback
California pop/rock scene of the late '70s. McDonald found the
middle ground between blue-eyed soul and smooth soft-rock, a
sound which made him a star.
He initially essayed his signature
style with the Doobie Brothers, ushering in the group's most
popular period with hits like "What A Fool Believes" and "Taking
It To the Streets."
McDonald disbanded the group
in 1982 to pursue a solo career, which was initially quite successful,
but by the end of the decade, his popularity had faded away,
since he was reluctant to work regularly and hesitant to update
his sound to suit shifting popular tastes.
After singing backup on several
Steely Dan albums in the mid-'70s, Michael McDonald joined the
Doobie Brothers in 1977. He was largely responsible for moving
the group away from boogie-rock and toward polished, jazzy blue-eyed
soul.
Prior to the Doobies' farewell
tour in 1982, he sang harmony on several hit single, including
tracks by Donna Summer, Toto, Kenny Loggins and Christopher
Cross. As it turned out, McDonald's solo work was a cross between
the Doobie Brothers' white-bread soul and Cross' adult contemporary
ballads.McDonald released
his solo debut, If That's What It Takes, in 1982. The record
climbed to number six on the strength of the number four single
"I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)," which also crossed
over into the R&B Top Ten.
In 1983, he had another Top 20
pop hit (and a Top Ten R&B hit) with his duet with James Ingram,
"Yah Mo B There." McDonald didn't deliver his second solo album,
No Lookin' Back, until 1985. The record wasn't as successful
as its predecessor, producing only one moderate hit in its title
track.He bounced back
the following year, when his duet with Patti LaBelle, "On My
Own," shot to number one and "Sweet Freedom," his theme for
the Billy Crystal/Gregory Hines comedy Running Scared, climbed
into the Top Ten.
Instead of capitalizing on his
revitalized success, McDonald didn't release another album until
1990. The resulting Take It To Heart was a bomb, peaking at
number 110. Two years later, his fortunes were revived somewhat
when he sang on Aretha Franklin's minor hit, "Ever Changing
Times," and he toured with Donald Fagen's New York Rock and
Soul Revue.The following
year, he released Blink of an Eye, which was ignored. In 1994,
"I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)" was sampled heavily
in Warren G's smash hit "Regulate." By 1996, McDonald had returned
to the Doobie Brothers, touring the oldies circuit with the
reunited group.
The following year, McDonald
planned to release Blue Obsession, his first album of new material
in three years, but the record was pulled from the schedule
due to a conflict between him and his label, Reprise. |
