It’s hard to believe that a band with a history dating back more than half a century could be enjoying one of its greatest years yet, but 2025 just might qualify as such for The Doobie Brothers.
Long renowned for their genre-spanning style and classic hit songs like “Listen to the Music,” “Black Water,” “Takin’ it to the Streets” and “What a Fool Believes,” The Doobies are fresh off a 50th anniversary tour covering several years in which founding members Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons reunited with Michael McDonald and were also joined by John McFee. Inspired by the experience, they decided to record new music together and wound up with their first album since 2021—and the first including McDonald since 1980.
Walk This Road, released in June, is the first Doobies album to feature selections from the group’s three principal songwriters: Johnston, Simmons and McDonald, who all worked one-on-one with producer John Shanks before collaborating with the other musicians and completing the songs. The finished product revolves around themes like recovery and enlightenment and includes guests such as Mavis Staples and Mick Fleetwood.
Also in June, Johnston, Simmons and McDonald were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, which honors the contributions of a wide range of artists to popular music. Unlike the band’s enshrinement into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2020—which did not include a live ceremony because of the pandemic—the honorees were able to take the stage during a concert celebration in New York, following their introduction by country star Garth Brooks.
The Doobies are currently capping off their whirlwind year by hitting the road in support of their new album. The tour, which kicked off in Europe, is concluding with 20 stops in North America, including a show at Camden’s Freedom Mortgage Pavilion.
We spoke with Johnston (guitar, keyboards, harmonica, vocals) ahead of the tour about performing new tunes in front of a live audience, connecting with fans of all ages and why The Doobie Brothers’ busy 2025 in no way signals the end for the band.
What an exciting summer this is for The Doobie Brothers, with a new album, a 26-date tour and your induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. I want to ask you about all of that, but first off, do you just feel blessed to still be doing what you love more than 50 years into your history as a band?
That’s a good description. Either that or lucky, whichever you choose. We have worked hard, we never quit, but … it’s [all due to] the people coming to see the show and showing interest in this new album, and all the [previous] albums we’ve done over the years. It’s pretty much about the crowds, they’re what makes everything happen, and we try to come up with material to keep them coming back. That’s not what we’re thinking when we’re writing, but they’re very important and we’re lucky to have people come out to watch the band on a regular basis from year to year. We don’t take it for granted.
Is it true that the new album was inspired by the 50th anniversary tour and reunion with Michael McDonald?
You can say that. It really came out of touring together for the last five years and this formation of the band. It kind of brought up the idea, “Well why don’t we go do a couple of songs?” That’s initially how it started over the last year, especially. We said, “Why don’t we just do an EP? We’ll do three or four songs and see what it sounds like.” That was just a generalized idea with no focus on where we were going. Then we got hooked up with John Shanks—we had done the last album with him as well, so I was familiar with working with John. We did a couple of songs and everybody liked what they were doing, and that’s important. You should like what you’re doing, it should be something you’re happy with. So we just kept writing with John, he co-wrote on every song, and working that way is a faster way to get an album done.
This is the first time that all three primary songwriters—you, Pat and Michael—have contributed songs to the same album. Do you feel it is a nice blend of your distinctive styles?
I do. What I’ve found with this band is that everybody still sounds like themselves, no matter what. You don’t ever change as far as the way you write, and the way you sing is of course the way it is. This album didn’t change any of that, this album just put us all together. We all worked on each other’s tunes, like we would on any other album, but you still had the individuality of the three guys, and John McFee is also playing on it a lot. It’s what we do when we’re out on the road, essentially, they’re just brand-new songs. I think that’s what people want to hear, with us anyway, and I think that’s a positive.
Were there certain themes on the album that happened organically or naturally, or did you come into the project with ideas in mind?
I think organically and naturally is exactly how it happened. Except for one song I brought in, all the stuff I did was right there—we built it from the ground up. I think Mike was the same way, and Pat brought in a couple of songs but they built them up and fleshed them out right there. I don’t think there was any target in mind, if you will, for the band to do any kind of arranged outcome on this. It was just write songs, make them as good as you possibly can, put them in a sequence that works best, and that’s what you have.
The album also could have been named after one of the songs you wrote, “Here to Stay,” considering The Doobies’ longevity and continued influence. One of the lyrics that sticks out to me is: “Came so close to losing, I almost said goodbye, and I changed my way of thinking, now everything is alright.” What does that line mean to you?
I believe that came from working with John. That song was actually something I had here at the house for, geez, I don’t know, five years or something. I had fleshed it out completely and turned it into a finished song … and I brought it to John and said, “What do you think of this?” He said, “Yeah, it’s cool, let’s do a little work on the lyrics.” It was originally written about a drummer for the band, Keith Knudsen, who had passed away in 2005. It was a sad event for me because Keith and I were really close friends—we rode motorcycles together and did a lot of stuff together. His passing unlocked a portal, for lack of a better way of putting it, and I just started writing songs like crazy. There was only one about Keith, that’s the one we’re talking about. When I brought it down to John, we kind of changed the direction of all of that and turned it into a more positive thing, a way of looking back, if you will. That’s where those lyrics came from.
Are you looking forward to playing these songs in front of an audience?
This is the most new songs we’ve ever put in a set: We’ve got four in the set we’re going forward with, and that’s more than we’ve ever done. We usually only do two, sometimes even one. It’s pretty ambitious in and of itself, but at the same time, we played a couple of gigs using all of these songs and everybody really responded to them well. I think it’s going to go well, but we’ll find out when we start [traveling] around the country. We’re also going to Europe first before coming back to the U.S., and we’re looking forward to it. I think it will be fun. The new stuff keeps you on your toes, the crowd has been responding so far, and we hope they continue to do so.
You have The Coral Reefer Band opening, so it’s going to be an enjoyable night all around. Are you expecting a mix of generations, from longtime fans to new ones just discovering your music?
It’s kind of been that way for the last five years. This configuration, with Mike in the band again and being able to play songs from all eras of the band, has brought people out of all ages. We’ve got the people who have been coming to see us for 50 years, and sometimes they bring their kids. Sometimes the younger fans come because they already like a few songs from the band … and they’re pretty enthusiastic. That makes us happy to see that, because that means we’re reaching people of all ages, the songs have stood the test of time and apparently still speak to people.
Does playing outside on a summer night add to the experience?
Yes, because I think everybody needs that now, in a big way. The crowds have always been very good to us and we’re really fortunate in that respect. They come to the shows, they know the songs and they’re up singing and dancing and having a great time. That’s really appreciated, and not only appreciated, but that’s what makes the magic happen on stage. You have to bang around in a bus for hours and hours, crash in a hotel, get up and go to the show. What makes it all come together is getting out on the stage. In some instances, we’ve been playing these songs 40 million times, and if they weren’t doing to the audience what they do, you would probably say, “Can we do something else?” But that doesn’t happen. They respond in such a huge and favorable fashion that it makes the song more fun and all of a sudden the song takes on new meaning, each and every night with each individual crowd, and that’s amazing. You can’t plan for something like that, it just happens.
What did it mean to you to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in a class that included George Clinton and Mike Love?
It was special to go in at all. None of us saw this coming—it came out of the blue. Myself, Pat and Mike all went in at the same time, and I have to say, when you look at the people who have already been inducted, it’s amazing. Then when you look at the people you’re being inducted with, it’s people you grew up listening to, people who affected the way you hear music and the way you play music. It’s an amazing list of people, and for us to be included with them, we were pinching ourselves. You don’t think of yourself being that way, you just write songs. You get great feedback being on stage, and some of the songs end up on the radio a lot and I suppose streaming now. When you see that connection with the crowd, you know you’ve written something that matters in their lives, and that’s huge. You don’t ever know you’re going to do that. I think the only song I’ve ever written that I knew was a single was “Listen to the Music” way back when. And it was—it was our first single that went on the charts.
Your induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020 was of course impacted by the pandemic. Was it special to have this opportunity for a live ceremony and to perform this time?
It was an amazing night. I really didn’t know what to expect having never been there before. The people we went in with were amazing, and I got to talk to most of them, although maybe not for as long as I would have liked. Watching Living Colour get up and back George was a treat. I really enjoyed the hell out of that, because I’ve always been a big fan. Mike Love getting up and doing all of The Beach Boys stuff was great, and everybody else too. It didn’t matter who it was, it was just a fun night. There were also people there from the industry who didn’t perform, and I got to see some people I hadn’t seen in a long time from BMI and other places. It was a lot of fun and we were blown away to get inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Since you’ve all been performing together for so long now, is it easy to communicate with just a look when you’re on stage?
It is. The chemistry between us, the vibes or all the goofy words you want to come up with, those feelings are something you don’t think about, you just do it. It’s like breathing—you get up and play. You know what the other guy is going to do, you know what you’re going to do, and it becomes second nature after a while. And as I said before, what makes it so special is the audience reaction.
Are you all able to bring your families on the road?
Occasionally. I had my wife and daughter at the induction ceremony, and my wife went to a couple of the PR things and TV shows we did. Over the years they’ve come to a lot of gigs, but it’s not a continuous thing where you bring your family on the road. That doesn’t work—there’s too much chaos.
I’m sure you’re at the stage where you have to evaluate after each tour and album, but do you anticipate more music and performances coming?
We’re certainly planning on it. There’s no endgame here, we just keep going. There’s actually been some talk about doing another album, even though we haven’t even started touring yet for this one. That is a possibility. I think everybody just digs playing, and it’s great to have the permission from the folks who come to see you and say, “Please keep coming back.” They have a great time, we have a ball, and I think we’re just really fortunate. We don’t take it for granted and we make the most of it.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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Published and copyrighted in South Jersey Magazine, Volume 22, Issue 4 (July 2025)
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