Michael McDonald

Michael McDonald, born in St. Louis in 1952, has the kind of voice you know in two notes: husky, soulful, a little mournful, the sound of blue-eyed soul at its smoothest. He first put it to work as a backing singer for Steely Dan from 1973 to 1980, and in 1975 he joined the Doobie Brothers on lead vocals and keyboards, writing and singing a run of hits for them, "Takin' It to the Streets", "It Keeps You Runnin'", "Minute by Minute" and "What a Fool Believes" among them.

In 1982, the year that stint ended, he went solo with If That's What It Takes, and "I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)" rode a sleek, rolling groove straight into the hit parade. His harmonies turned up all over the era's airwaves, too, on records by Toto, Christopher Cross and Kenny Loggins, and he later worked with everyone from Aretha Franklin and Van Halen to Grizzly Bear and Thundercat.

Nine solo studio albums and five Grammy Awards later, he entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Doobies in 2020 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2025.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.