Doobie Brothers

Out of San Jose, California in 1970, the Doobie Brothers carved out a sound that refused to sit still. Anchored early on by guitarist Tom Johnston and drummer John Hartman, the band blended rock, R&B, and country into something deceptively easygoing but musically sharp. Johnston's raspy vocals drove early hits like Listen to the Music and Long Train Runnin', establishing the Doobies as a reliable engine of feel-good rock with genuine chops underneath the groove. When Johnston's health forced him to step back mid-decade, Michael McDonald slid in and essentially reinvented the band, steering them toward a slicker, soul-drenched sound that dominated radio with What a Fool Believes off the 1978 album Minute by Minute, which won the Grammy for Album of the Year. The two distinct eras of the band have given them a broader fanbase than most of their peers, even if purists still argue about which lineup was the real deal. Their catalog holds up remarkably well, and their influence runs deep through classic rock radio and beyond. The band reunited in the late 1980s, has kept touring ever since, and earned a long-overdue Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2020, cementing their place as one of the most underrated American rock acts of their generation.