One of the staples of Classic Hits 101 Gold is the Doobie Brothers. The band has gotten back together to record new music. Here’s a story from the website Best Classic Bands with a taste of the Doobies new tunes.
The Doobie Brothers have announced their “Walk This Road” 2025 North American tour in support of their new studio album of the same name. Both feature former member Michael McDonald who joined Patrick Simmons, Tom Johnston and John McFee in the recording studio and writers room. Tickets to the tour, produced by Live Nation, are available here. Special guests for the tour will be the Coral Reefer Band, the touring and recording band of beloved American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. The band performed with Buffett until his passing in 2023, and continues celebrating and performing his music at his request. The first 19 dates of the tour were announced on February 10, with more dates to come.
The Walk This Road album, coming June 6 on Rhino Records, is available for pre-order in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here. Listen to many of the tracks below. On the day of the album announcement, the Songwriters Hall of Fame also revealed that McDonald, Johnston and Simmons were among those selected for its Class of 2025.
From the January 22 album press release: Walk This Road was recorded with producer John Shanks and showcases the band’s unique songwriting process and diverse stylistic perspectives. All three of the songwriting members of the band worked one-on-one with Shanks, bringing their individual vibes to their trusted producer and songwriting partner for what would be melded into one cohesive work, featuring the signature Doobie Brothers sound.
The title track, featuring Mavis Staples, embodies a sense of hope and togetherness, in terms of searching for the right path forward. “We all sang on ‘Walk This Road,’ that’s a different kind of track for us to do,” says Johnston. “I think it’s good to try to do things you haven’t done before, that’s the way it should be.”
“Getting back in with the guys and playing again is great,” said McDonald. “In my heart I’ve always been a Doobie Brother. We’ve all remained friends over the years. We’ve all been enjoying it tremendously, even more than we thought we would.”
“Learn To Let Go,” featuring all three vocalists, was shared on March 12. “It’s a song about what might be the hardest lesson we learn and one of the last things we do in this life,” McDonald says.
The band will tour in support of the new material.