Today’s classic song of the day comes from the second generation of the Doobie Brothers (let’s call it Doobie II), the one prominently featuring new keyboardist/singer/songwriter Michael McDonald. The song is “Minute by Minute” and, when it was released as a single in April of 1979, it made it all the way to #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, #13 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #13 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.
Doobie II was more mellow and soulful than Doobie I, which was more of a hard rockin’ outfit. That’s entirely due to the presence of Michael McDonald, fresh off a stint singing backup on Steely Dan records. Mr. McDonald joined the Doobies in 1975 and had an immediate impact on the group’s sound and musical direction.
Mr. McDonald explained how he put the Steely Dan experience to good use writing the song “Minute by Minute”:
“Where Pretzel Logic [the Steely Dan album] had those major suspensions in the chord progression disguised as minor blues chords, it came out as jazz. It created a whole different harmonic ambience to what was really just a blues song. ‘Minute by Minute’ had the same idea in mind.”
Mr. McDonald wrote “Minute by Minute” with Lester Abrams, an R&B-influenced musician who contributed some backing tracks arrangements to the Doobie Brothers’ Minute by Minute album. Abrams also wrote for or played with artists such as B.B. King, Peabo Bryson, Quincy Jones, Rufus, and Stevie Wonder.
Interestingly, although “Minute by Minute” was credited to the Doobie Brothers, it’s pretty much an all-Michael McDonald production. The man with the strangled voice played all the keyboards and synthesizers on this track, accompanied only by Doobies Tiran Porter on bass and Keith Knudson on drums. No guitars.
“Minute by Minute” won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group, or Chorus. The song was also nominated for Song of the Year, losing to another Doobie Brothers’ track, “What a Fool Believes.” The Minute by Minute album was nominated for Album of the Year, losing to Billy Joel’s 52nd Street.
As previously noted, the keyboard-based music of Doobie II didn’t sound a whole lot like the guitar-based songs of Doobie I. In fact, one could call “Minute by Minute” and similar tunes more adult contemporary or Yacht Rock than hard rock. That seemed to appeal to listeners and give the band a new lease on life.
For today’s daily bonus video of the day, here’s the official music video for “Minute by Minute” from 1979. It shows the whole band playing, but they’re really lip synching to the all-Michael McDonald track.
