with all this talk about Ashanti I wanted to Know if others think like I do that if things were like they are now back in the day Michael Mcdonald would have been even Huge than He was for all the Hooks He did with Chirstopher Cross,Kenny Loggins,etc..??? I was listening to Him Last Night&the Guy could do so much for a Song with His Pressence.

What Michael McDonald tunes were you listening to? I'm a huge Michael head. He could have been huge if he had wanted to be marketed that way. I think it's actually cooler the that he stayed somewhat anonymous.

I never thought I would encounter a Michael McDonald fan on a Prince web site!

i thought michael mcdonald *was* huge...with the doobies, on his own during the early eighties...

tell me im not smoking crack...lol

Jestyr said:

I dig His Solo Stuff&His Playing.Bumping"Sweet Freedom"&other Jams from His Greatest Hits Set.Peace

I Looove me some Michael McDonald! Esp. "I keep forgettin'" I saw him in concert with Stevie Nicks a few summers ago.. it was great. I only have his GH tho.. an import I believe, but so worth it.

He's great if you like that bullshit M.O.R. crap.

IrishAsshole said:

Name me a Artist that has been Big that hasn't gone M.O.R with some of there Biggest Hits???

I like Mcdonald. He put in some great session work with Steely Dan. My favorite track by him though is Sweet Freedom from the movie Running Scared, the 1986 movie starring Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines. The hook on that chorus is infectious.


"Shine sweet freedom...shine the light on me"...

Thank God he sang lead on Takin It To The Streets...godbless Michael McDonald. His voice is what smoke would sound like if it had a sound.

I'm "Here To Love You"

"Minute by Minute", "Yah Mo Be There", "Ride Like The Wind".

I too am a GREAT admirer of Michael's singing & music..


Don't forget, he had a nice run with my favorite "band still in existence"..
STEELY DAN, especially on "Peg"
as well as "I Got The News" & "Any World" from the album "Katy Lied"..
supposedly, he would have stayed with The Dan had they not been so against touring at that time..


Then, of course, Michael moved on to the Doobies, where he really established himself. As great as he was with the Doobies, he changed the overall sound of the group, from a "rockin' bar band" to a "rock" band that played mostly POP..

My favorite MM/Doobie songs:
Takin' it to the streets - quintessential
What a fool believes - great pop song
Minute by minute - I LOVE this song, I love to sing it too.. very impassioned..
It keeps you running - great synth/clavinet lines.. but WHY was this song included on the Forrest Gump soundtrack???
One by one - another solid pop effort


I also dig the work MM did with Kenny Loggins:
"This Is It" & "Heart to Heart"
in fact, those are my 2 favorite KL songs, likely because MM is singing on them..


Michael's distinctive voice is rich, soulful & passionate.


At the risk of diminishing his overall skill as a singer & musician..

"ain't no other caucasian brother who can bring it like Mike"

I say it like that because it IS rare to find a caucasian singer who sings so soulfully, & he seems to do it effortlessly..
a lot of them TRY-
Michael Bolton, a CLASSIC example-
but very few can actually do it..
it's strange, how Bolton seemingly- at least, in terms of sales- has been more popular than MM among caucasian music listeners, but Bolton is much less soulful, quite contrived..
maybe some people can only tolerate so much "soul" from these "blue-eyed" soul singers..

it all seems to have balanced out, though..
I've heard very little-
thankfully-
from Bolton the last several years..


This post reminds me:
it's time for me to buy that MM compilation cd with all his good stuff, including "I Keep Forgetting"..


Michael McDonald-
as soulful as they get.
For real.

From his work with the Doobie Bros., 2 his solo stuff, 2 his guest appearances on his friend's albums...Michael McDonald is a class act with an awesome voice!

I've had the opportunity 2 see him live 3 times! Once as the headliner and twice with Kenny Loggins, where he just jams with him and does duets or his backgrounds. They really seem 2 b great friends.

"Minute By Minute"
"What A Fool Believes"
"Takin' It To The Streets"
"It Keeps You Running" (on the Forrest Gump Soundtrack, 2 coincide with the long running stint Forrest did after his mom died...)
"Ya Mo Be There (with James Ingram)
"I Keep Forgettin'"
"Sweet Freedom" (funny video with Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines)
"This Is It" (background on the Kenny Loggins classic, adds so much heart and soul 2 this already soulful song)
"No Lookin' Back" (both he and Kenny did a version of this song on two separate albums they both released around the same time. Kenny sang background on Michael's and Michael sang backup on Kenny's. I still don't know who's version I like better!)
"Ride Like The Wind" by Christopher Cross, Michael's background vocals ("such a long way to go") actually make this song listenable.

I know I'll think of more later... good thread mistermaxxx!

Michael has also done many duets with other artists...



***"On My Own" Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald (1986)
***"Everchanging Times" Aretha Franklin and Michael McDonald (1991)
***"Ya Mo B There" James Ingram and Michael McDonald(1983)

How could I 4get "On My Own"...one of my favorite ballads, and duets!

Story behind the duet.

Did u know?

Neither of them were in the studio 2gether during the production of that song. Patti in N.Y., Michael in L.A., they did the duet via separate recording sessions.

The video was done the same way...

The end result...great chemistry and great song! I couldn't believe they weren't there 2 sing that song so beautifully off one another.

Amazing!

June7 said:

Yeah,that's actually a common occurence.I'm not totally sure,but I think the 1989 Aretha Frankin/Elton John duet "Through The Storm" was recorded the same way (in seperate studios).

DavidEye said:

also "Gimmie Your Love" James Brown&Aretha Franklin with Nareda Michael Walden Producing.Prince had a tight Ass Re-Mix on it though.it was Grooving.

mltijchr said:

My favorites too.



And, I love "Real Love". I think it's excellent...

Darlin' I know...I'm just another head on your pillow...If only for tonight, girl...Let me hear you lie just a little...Tell me I'm the only man...that you've ever really loved...

LoL...Can y'all hear it??...lol

Michael MacDonald, he is great!