Posts

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Steely Dan- Pretzel Logic 50th- Donald Fagen, the late Walter Becker

The third Steely Dan album,"Pretzel Logic" in February 1974, has always served as a distinct demarcation line in the evolution of the eclectic band led by my guests, songwriting duo Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. "Pretzel Logic" by Steely Dan is significant because it contained the #4 Billboard hit, "Rikki Don't Lose That Number", with the album Top Ten in sales as well. Rolling Stone magazine ranks "Pretzel Logic" at #386 on their Top 500 Albums of All Time.
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Doobie Brothers- Minute by Minute- Tom Johnston, Pat Simmons, Michael McDonald

Even though my guest Tom Johnston sang and wrote their early hits "Listen to the Music" and "Long Train Runnin' ", and guest Michael McDonald did likewise on million-sellers "Takin' It to the Streets","It Keeps You Runnin'", & Grammy winners "What a Fool Believes" and"Minute by Minute", it is  guitarist/singer/songwriter Pat Simmons around whom the 25+ members have always rotated.
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Doobie Brothers- Takin’ It to the Streets- Tom Johnston, Pat Simmons, Michael McDonald

The fact that the Doobie Brothers reinvented themselves for their March 1976 album "Takin' It to the Streets"  is quite widely known, but the reasons for the musical shift, and the manner in which they made it work so successfully, is a fascinating back-story worthy of an HBO mini-series.. On the album's 45th anniversary, Tom Johnston, Pat Simmons, & Michael McDonald are all here In the Studio to recall how it really went down.