The Doobie Brothers

After reuniting to celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2021, the Doobie Brothers’ members Tom Johnston, Michael McDonald, Pat Simmons, and John McFee were feeling the buzz. It was that vibe they carried into the studio for the first full-length album in the band’s storied 54-year career featuring the 3 principal songwriters writing, playing, and singing together. Walk This Road was recorded in Los Angeles with producer John Shanks, with whom Johnston and Simmons worked on 2021’s Liberté, and expertly blends the distinctive voices and styles of its songwriters. It’s an inspiring display of togetherness from a group that has been creating classic hits like “Black Water” and “What a Fool Believes” for half a century. As with past Doobie Brothers albums, each singer-songwriter brought his own songs in, but this time they each worked with Shanks to come up with the finishing touches. They all played instrumental tracks and sang on one another’s songs, then Shanks wrangled session aces including Victor Indrizzo, Pino Palladino, John Cowan, and Bob Glaub to round out the productions. With its multiple distinctive voices and songwriters, the Doobie Brothers have long been a unique presence in American music. Their recordings have rightly been celebrated as bona fide rock & roll classics and in 2025 the trio of Johnston, McDonald, and Simmons will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, an honor that gets at the core of why they became a band in the first place.