Classic Rock Music Monday

The stuff that now passes as "music", particularly rock 'n roll, leaves me cold. So, to start off the week, here's a video of a classic rock artist. 

This week's spotlight is on the Doobie Brothers, who are still active. My preference of the Doobie Brothers are the pre-Michael McDonald years with Tom Johnston on lead vocals. I first heard them on the old FM progressive rock station KPPC (which later became KROQ) in Los Angeles in 1971. The song was "Feelin' Down Farther" from their first album, which I have on cassette. The song greatly influenced their 1972 hit, "Listen To The Music".

Above, the Doobies appeared at the Route 66 Hotel Casino a few years ago. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

From Wikipedia:

The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in 1970 in San Jose, California, known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies. Active for five decades, with their greatest success in the 1970s, the group's current lineup consists of founding members Tom Johnston (guitars, vocals) and Patrick Simmons (guitars, vocals), alongside Michael McDonald (keyboards, vocals) and John McFee (guitars, pedal steel, violin, backing vocals), and touring musicians including John Cowan (bass, vocals), Marc Russo (saxophones), Ed Toth (drums), and Marc Quiñones (percussion). Other long-serving members of the band include guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter (1974–1979), bassist Tiran Porter (1972–1980, 1987–1992) and drummers John Hartman (1970–1979, 1987–1992), Michael Hossack (1971–1973, 1987–2012), and Keith Knudsen (1973–1982, 1993–2005). They performed gospel influenced songs such as "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" and "Jesus is Just Alright".[4]

Johnston provided the lead vocals for the band from 1970 to 1975, when they featured a mainstream rock sound with elements of folk, country and R&B. Michael McDonald joined the band in 1975 as a keyboard player and second lead vocalist, to give some relief to Johnston, who was suffering health problems at the time. McDonald's interest in soul music introduced a new sound to the band. Johnston and McDonald performed together as co-lead vocalists for one album, Takin' It to the Streets, before Johnston retired fully in 1977. Frequent lineup changes followed through the rest of the 1970s, and the band broke up in 1982 with Simmons being the only constant member having appeared on all of their albums. In 1987 the Doobie Brothers reformed with Johnston back in the fold; McDonald, who had previously made several guest appearances since their reformation, returned to the band full-time in 2019 for their 50th anniversary tour.

The following music video if of their 1975 hit, "Take Me In Your Arms", which reminds me of my final year at El Camino College.