E-mail a friendMichael McDonald
airdate January 13, 2005
Michael McDonald's unique voice was first noticed in the early '70s when he was a guest vocalist with Steely Dan, but it was the Doobie Brothers that made him a "blue-eyed soul" singing star. He's gone on to enjoy a successful solo career, winning multiple Grammys, and also providing backing vocals and doing duets with many other artists, including Kenny Loggins and Patti LaBelle. In '03, McDonald received a star on the Walk of Fame in his St. Louis hometown. His latest project is "Soul Speak."
Michael McDonald
Tavis: I am delighted, with a capital "D," to welcome Michael McDonald to this program. The multiple Grammy award-winning musician was, of course, the enduring and driving voice behind the Doobie Brothers. He's gone on to achieve enormous solo success, including the release of his latest CD--bam...'Motown Two.' In just a few minutes, minute-by-minute, he'll perform a song from the new disc. But first, Michael McDonald, nice to have you on, man.
Michael McDonald: Tavis, a pleasure.
Tavis: I'm honored to meet you.
McDonald: Same here.
Tavis: One of the great things about doing a show like this is you can actually put the word out that you want somebody to come on your show, and once they hear it, they come on.
McDonald: Well, we're glad to be here.
Tavis: We're in our second season now, but I put together a list for Neal Kendall, our executive producer. I said, you know what? Before PBS fires me, if you can get these people on the show to perform, then you and I will be friends forever. And you were on that list. So I'm glad you finally made it here.
McDonald: Well, thank you. I'm glad to be here.
Tavis: Yeah. What--I mean--I think--I can guess the answer, but I don't want to. I want to hear it from you. Um, the Motown sound is so enduring, but what was it--and it's been covered by so many people--but what was it about the Motown sound that attracted you to want to do not one, but 2 discs?
McDonald: Well, it's a great question, 'cause, uh, there was just this moment--I had been approached a couple times in the past to do like classic R&B records, and I've always loved that--looked for every chance to do those songs, you know, the songs that we grew up hearing in the sixties and--uh, you know, we would actually, uh, live for the moment to throw together some kind of just local charity thing just so we could put together a sixties band and play all the hits that we all love. But--uh, so in--you know, every night in the bar after gigs, especially back in the days of the Doobies when I could actually stay up that late...
Tavis: Yeah. Ha ha ha!
McDonald: We would go in and, you know, just go into the wee hours singing all these songs, you know. So, um--and I grew up in bands playing these songs. But...uh, I stayed away from the idea of doing one of those records for the longest time. And then it was really just the word Motown that--the guys whose concept it actually was, was 3 guys from Universal Music in the London office who came backstage to a show we did in London and--one of the guys I knew years prior. He was a record producer--Tony Swain--he and Snodgrass and Max Hole--and they proposed the idea to me and said, you know, we own the Motown masters, and, uh, we're really thinking of doing this project. What do you think? Would you consider being an artist on at least the first record? And I--you know, without thinking I said yes. And it really was just because, you know, of all the songs--and I love all the music of the sixties. There's so much great music that came out during that time. There was just something about the Motown thing. The allure of that for me was really great, 'cause I--those writers, uh, you know, Ashford Simpson, and, uh, Holland-Dozier-Holland are certainly among some of the greatest of this whole century.
Tavis: You know, the irony of it is, it never, you know--shows you how bright I am--I would never have imagined, on a record, Michael McDonald doing Motown music. But when you think about it, after you hear the CD...I mean, I'm on the late freight here--but when you think about it after you hear the CD, it makes perfect sense. You have one of the most soulful sounds of anybody, black or white, that ever lived. Why not match a soulful voice with soulful music? I mean, it makes sense when you actually think about it.
McDonald: Well, and, uh, I think when I was asked, I could have easily thought, oh, gosh, you know, I'm not the guy for this. Uh, only because I had sung the stuff so much over the years and I kind of had my, uh, my, uh, introduction to it over the years, and I thought, even in doing the project, that one of the talents I might bring to the project is that I've played so many clubs for so many years and emulated these singers for so many years--in my own way, you know--uh, which is what club singers do--you know, you try to sound like the record. And, uh, so I thought, well, I, you know, I could probably bring a little bit of that to the project, too, which--because for me, the only excuse for doing it was to celebrate those original performances, you know, to somehow, uh, bring to light, uh, once again, uh, some of those original performers and producers, you know.
Tavis: Let me ask an impolitic question, and I'm not even sure I know how to phrase the question, uh, but I'll do my best here. When we talk inside of black America--as a matter of fact, Tom Joyner, who you performed on Tom's cruise last year--Tom Joyner and I are dear friends. I still do commentary on Tom's radio program every week. And we have on Tom's radio show a question of the day, and I remember a year or so, one of the questions of the day was--to this urban audience of 10-12 million black radio listeners--so we asked all these black people, who's your favorite white performer? And we had a lot of fun with it for 4 hours on the radio show. Who's your favorite white performer? And Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins were at the top--I didn't think folks that day would like anybody. I raise that because nowadays there are a lot of young--and I cast no aspersion on--they're awfully good--there are a lot of young white performers who really made their way by having that soulful thing that so many black artists for years gave the world.
McDonald: Yeah. Yeah.
Tavis: You see them on 'American Idol.' You see them all over the place. Everybody wants to have that soulful sound. But you were sounding this way, I mean, your voice is so distinctive--you were sounding that way many, many years ago. But--but what is it, you think, that gives you or a guy like Kenny Loggins, who you've written and worked for and worked with before--what gives you guys that--that sound that a particular culture seems to have had for years as a wholly owned subsidiary?
McDonald: You know, I think it's really only just the love of the music and--and, uh, and realizing that, uh--I mean, I think for me, when I think of R&B music, I don't really know, uh, of any of any other music, uh, aside from country western, and of course jazz, which is, again, so much, uh, comes from the African culture influence in this country, you know. And, uh, and yet it's uniquely American. You know--that I would call truly American music, you know? And I think that, uh, you know, black America has probably made the largest contribution, even if you take all the genres together--painting and, uh, uh, dance, I mean any of the art forms--uh, their contribution to dance and music, in its, uh, seems to be probably the largest in the musical area...But in so many areas, you know? But still, uh, it's the most impactful cultural influence there is, and to the extent that most of the world sees American music, you know, as rhythm and blues and jazz and--and, of course, country western music--but even so much of that, it really travels so much along the same lineage, you know, uh, historically speaking, you know, um, uh--it was really born out of the same, uh, cultural background. Whether it be white or black, it's--it was kind of like, um, poor America's, you know, uh, cultural, uh, evolution, really.
Tavis: In--in--I suspect even when you do 2 CDs now of Motown music, you're still pulling your hair out trying to figure out what to put on the CD. Ha ha ha!
McDonald: Oh, yeah, absolutely.
Tavis: How'd you navigate that process? I mean, 2 CDs, you still ain't scratched the surface yet.
McDonald: No, and--and--and--The second record for us was a great opportunity to do some of those songs we--we--we--
Tavis: Didn't make the first one.
McDonald: Yeah. And it's funny, the ones that made it, and then it's funny the ones that didn't make it, like 'Grapevine.' I did not want to do 'Grapevine.' I didn't want to go near it, you know?
Tavis: Tell me why, though. Tell me why--
McDonald: Well, I just didn't want to even attempt to do the Gladys or the Marvin Gaye version. I just felt like, uh, you know, that's asking for, you know, the guy with the balpeen hammer who's just outside the door to, you know--
Tavis: Like setting yourself up.
McDonald: Oh, yeah, you know. Uh, but, uh, still, you know, I'm glad in retrospect that we did do it, because I felt like, uh, uh, it just wouldn't have been the same record without that tune, without that--and I understood their thinking on it, you know, the A&R guys. Uh, but it was daunting. That one scared me the most, I think.
Tavis: I got less than a minute here and this is an unfair question to ask you with 45 seconds to go, but with regard to the way your career has gone, you know, do you regret any of the decisions that you made to stay and leave and do things that you did when you did them? In regard to your career.
McDonald: Um, I don't know that I regret--I think I've learned over the years that, uh, you can regret things all you want, but they are still just pieces of the puzzle, you know? You wouldn't be, you know, where you are in this moment without the broken roads that lead you here, you know? And, um, there's a lot of things I regret, but at the same time, I--I--I guess I have to be a little bit philosophical and see the fact that so many of the things that are really, truly of value to me in my life today, uh, are only really a direct result of--of those things happening, yeah.
Tavis: Well, I'm glad you took the path and the journey that you took, and I'm glad that that journey brought you to this program. And I'm glad, more importantly, that Michael McDonald's going to perform a song from his latest CD. But first, I wanted to mention a website that Michael wanted to highlight so you can be enlightened and encouraged and empowered at the website--the American Red Cross at redcross.org. Up next, Michael McDonald performs on this program. I can't wait for this. Stay with us.
Tavis: From the CD 'Motown Two,' here is Michael McDonald performing the classic song 'Second That Emotion.' Enjoy. Good night from Los Angeles and keep the faith.
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