Doobie Brothers- Takin’ It to the Streets 50th- Tom Johnston, Michael McDonald 3-16

A head transplant on a popular rock band has to be the most high-risk gamble in the music business (just ask Van Halen, Journey, and Foreigner), but as in the case of the Doobie Brothers’ Takin’ It to the Streets, it’s almost never elective surgery. Replacing the lead singer of a multi-million selling rock band is a manager’s and record label president’s worst nightmare, and is attempted only in a last ditch desperate move to salvage a priceless franchise. Such was the case when Doobie Brothers’ Tom Johnston abdicated his role as lead singer/songwriter after million sellers Toulouse Street, The Captain and Me, What Were Once Vices…, and Stampede. But why?

Find out the answer from Tom Johnston and his thankless replacement, Michael McDonald, here In the Studio on the golden anniversary of the Doobie Brothers’ Takin’ It to the Streets the week of March 16. -Redbeard