What a fool believes : a memoir

What a fool believes A memoir

Michael McDonald, 1952-

Book - 2024

"A sweeping and evocative memoir from the Rock Roll Hall of Famer, Grammy Award-winning, platinum selling singer-songwriter Michael McDonald, written with his friend, Emmy Award-nominated actor, comedian, and #1 New York Times bestselling author Paul Reiser. Doobie Brothers. Steely Dan. Chart topping soloist. Across a half-century of American music, Michael McDonald's unmistakably smooth baritone voice defined an era of rock and RB with hit records like "What A Fool Believes," "Takin' It to the Streets," "I Keep Forgettin'," "Peg," "It Keeps You Running," "You Belong to Me," and "Yah Mo B There." In his candid, freewheeling memoir, written with his fr...iend, the Emmy Award-nominated actor and comedian Paul Reiser, Michael tells the story of his life and music. A high school dropout from Ferguson, Missouri, Michael chased his dreams in 1970's California, a heady moment of rock opportunity and excess. As a rising session musician and backing vocalist, a series of encounters would send him on a wild ride around the world and to the heights of rock stardom--from joining Steely Dan and becoming a defining member of The Doobie Brothers to forging a path as a breakout solo RB artist. Interwoven with the unforgettable tales of the music, Michael tells a deeply affecting story of losing and finding himself as a man. He reckons with the unshakeable insecurities that drove him, the drug and alcohol addictions that plagued him, and the highs and lows of popularity. Along the way he relays the lessons he's learned, and that if he's learned anything at all it's that there's often little correlation between what you get and what you deserve. Filled with unbelievable stories and a matchless cast of music greats including James Taylor, Ray Charles, Carly Simon, and Quincy Jones, What a Fool Believes is a moving and entertaining memoir that is sure to be a classic"--

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Subjects
McDonald, Michael, > 1952-
Doobie Brothers.
Steely Dan (Musical group)
Rock musicians > United States > Biography.
MUSIC / History & Criticism.
Rock musicians.
United States.
Autobiographies.
Biographies.
Genres
Autobiographies
Biographies
Published
New York, NY : Dey Street Books [2024]
Language
English
Main Author
Michael McDonald, 1952- (author)
Other Authors
Paul Reiser (author)
Edition
First edition
Item Description
Includes discography.
Physical Description
x, 325 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 23 cm
ISBN
9780063357563
  • Preface
  • 1. Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing
  • 2. My Parents, Ray Charles, and Dr. Bilskey
  • 3. God, Girls, and Guitars
  • 4. Thank You, but That Won't Be Necessary
  • 5. New Threads and New York City
  • 6. High School and Marijuana (and Not Necessarily in That Order)
  • 7. LA Calls
  • 8. California Dreams and a Couple of Nightmares
  • 9. One Hit Shy of a One-Hit Wonder
  • 10. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
  • 11. Steely Dan and the (Almost) Murder of Aunt Mame
  • 12. The Dan's European Adventures
  • 13. Michael and Walter's Not-So-Great Adventure
  • 14. Meet the Doobies
  • 15. Doobie or Not Doobie, That Is the Question
  • 16. Livin' on the (It's Not My) Fault Line
  • 17. Minute by Minute
  • 18. Don't Stop to Watch the Wheels Come Off
  • 19. Amy
  • 20. If That's What It Takes
  • 21. Our Love
  • 22. Soundtracks, Duets, and Pigeons
  • 23. The Million-Dollar Question
  • 24. In the Blink of an Eye
  • 25. Orientation Day
  • 26. Nashville
  • 27. Tears to Come
  • 28. As Luck Would Have It
  • 29. Takin' Motown to the Streets
  • 30. Through the Many Winters
  • 31. Doobie Continued
  • 32. How Do We Land This Thing?
  • Michael McDonald Discography
  • Acknowledgments
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Singer and songwriter McDonald debuts with an affecting account of his early life, career trajectory, and struggles with addiction. Born in St. Louis, Mo., in 1952, McDonald first stepped into the music industry when, at age five or six, he accompanied his father to sing at local saloons, per the suggestion of his mother, who knew that "a certain percentage of the usual patronage my dad's many female admirers." His break came in 1969, when record producer Rick Jarred attended one of his high school band's gigs in Illinois and offered him a production contract. The '70s portion of the memoir will be familiar to McDonald's fans--he moved to Los Angeles, where he joined up with Steely Dan as a background vocalist and keyboardist, and then the Doobie Brothers, as a core group member--but the author enhances these sections with detailed accounts of writing his biggest hits. "Takin' It to the Streets," for example, was inspired by a conversation with his socially conscious younger sister. The most powerful sections deal with McDonald's addiction to drugs and alcohol, which precipitated profound self-loathing that led him, after showing up drunk to his wife's rehab, to get sober in the mid-1980s. McDonald's down-to-earth approach gives this rock and roll tell-all more weight than others of its kind. Agent: Rob Weisbach, Rob Weisbach Creative. (May)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review

Yacht rock--the neologism for a style of soft rock from the late 1970s and early '80s--has many big names, but none have made their presence felt across the genre more than McDonald. As a solo artist, member of the Doobie Brothers and backing vocalist on dozens of classics, McDonald's uniquely soulful voice is practically a signature on a song. Steely Dan, Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross, and many others have utilized his vocal talents to take their songs up a notch. How this Midwest musician from modest beginnings became such a recognizable star is the subject of this autobiography. McDonald recruited actor/comedian Paul Reiser, who is also one of his friends, to be his coauthor, an unusual but winning choice. The narrative moves along at a steady rhythm while not getting too bogged down in the details. Having a talented monologist like Reiser help out with an autobiography is something that should happen more often in this genre. VERDICT An engaging story that readers of music bios will enjoy. McDonald's musical journey as a backing singer, a side musician, and a front man is fascinating because it is different from that of many other pop/rock stars.--Brett Rohlwing

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

The veteran singer and keyboardist covers much of the same ground that many of his contemporaries traveled, but his memoir is filled with charming surprises. A lot of the surprises have to do with his co-writer. Reiser, best known as the star and co-creator of the sitcom Mad About You, gives McDonald's stories the structure and pacing of a TV show. The resulting chapters--especially those about McDonald's family and how his love for his father shaped his life as a teenage performer--fly by early on, even though they cover the lesser-known years of the acclaimed musician's life. McDonald doesn't offer many salacious details about his split with the Doobie Brothers following the success of the chart-topping hit "What a Fool Believes," which won record and song of the year honors at the Grammy Awards in 1980. He is gracious about the band's internal battles and forthcoming about his substance abuse without discussing the drug use of others. "My attitude was: coke should be reserved for a special occasion," he writes. "But as time went on, I managed to christen more and more occasions as 'special.'" The emotional heart of the narrative is his exploration of how he realized his addiction made it impossible for him to help his wife, the singer Amy Holland, battle her own problems. McDonald offers insights into the creation of some of his most famous songs, including "You Belong to Me" with Carly Simon, as well as his worries about tackling the Motown catalog for his career-boosting Motown album series. McDonald writes from a solid, self-aware place, able to joke about his position as one of yacht rock's most famous voices, alongside Christopher Cross, Kenny Loggins, and others. Like its namesake song, McDonald's memoir is refreshingly self-deprecating and, at its core, an underdog's triumph. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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