Hey there, tiptoes and tulips!
It’s time for another edition of “In Defense Of…”, a forum in which I, your old buddy Schmooz, make a case for an artist or music group that many people have written off as irrelevant or a joke.
I picked Michael Mcdonald today because he’s a polarizing figure.
Half of you saw the title of this post and thought to yourselves, “Who?” and the other half only know this guy from the utter hatred of his music expressed by the characters in The Forty-Year Old Virgin.
A lot of folks lump Michael McDonald and Michael Bolton into the same musical ghetto, ya dig? Blond-haired, blue-eyed guys trying making a joke out of R and B, they claim.
And that ain’t right.
Because, if any of my loyal readers know, Michael Bolton is a stone cold phony.
Many a respectable R and B group have been ruined by his actions.
Michael McDonald, on the other hand, is a really fun, goofy, music-loving guy.
Maybe it’s the fact that he cut his teeth as an accomplished back up singer, but the man has no ego whatsoever. He just sings well.
Let me tell ya a story: It was 1982, and Michael just scored some big success with his first record apart from the Doobie Brothers. Any other cat would’ve turned on his friends, put on some airs, and tried to make themselves feel like a million dollars.
Not Michael McDonald. For him, having his buddies over for Monday night poker was all that mattered.
One night, I started teasing him a bit, and we entertained our friends that evening. I made up some really wacked-out songs, and he sang back-up on them.
Stuff like:
“I’m so sad, baby momma, because your french teacher looks better than you do”
Gotta parle vous my way into her heart
Or
“Nobody told me about the twenty-sixth amendment”
If you’re eighteen and up, you gotta right to vote your way
Seriously – you imagine Michael Bolton poking fun at himself like this?
I don’t think so.
And with that, here’s a few other reasons why you should give Michael McDonald another shot back into your earspace:
1) Ride like the Wind (background vocals) - I’ll be the first cat to say that Christopher Cross is not everyone’s cup of tea (hell, he could even be a future “In Defense of…” post in his own right)
But, if you want to see the man who earned Christopher Cross his Grammy, just listen to Michael McDonald at work. He makes this song sound much cooler than it is, just by nature of his chops.
2) What a Fool Believes - Here’s the very moment where McDonald takes the Doobie Brothers to another level. There is so much power and range in this little number. Just listen to it, and let it weave a spell over you.
3) I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near) - Here’s a tip, dear readers: If rap samples an R and B song, that means it’s a fantastic song.
McDonald sang this with his sister on his first album after he left the Doobie Brothers, and you can feel the pain and desperation in his heart.
4) Eyes of a Child - This is a perfect song to sum up how cool and funny McDonald can truly be. Trey Parker wrote this song for the South Park movie, and McDonald agreed to sing it.
It’s a perfect send-up of his sonorous, passionate tone, and reminds all of us soul singers that every once in a while we can make people laugh as well as make them wet.
Any other reasons you have to defend Michael McDonald?
Leave a comment!
THE SCHMOOZ
- Reginald Thurgood is known to his legions of fans as "THE SCHMOOZ," an international Rhythm and Blues singing sensation who has made love to thousands of women across the planet and loves to share every poetic detail. He answers all questions on love and relationship...as he is an expert, baby.
2 comments:
I agree. It was good to see, and I very much agree with the Michael Bolton, and ego thing.
Most, of my admiration for him. for over 28 years. is his total lack of conceit.
I just, hope someday he gets the credit he diserves as a songwriter. He is not just a Blue eye Soul singer. Not by a long shot.
To me Michael McDonald is a guilty pleasure. You don't want to admit to anyone that you like him, but what a voice! It simply doesn't get any better than when he sings what a fool believes.
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