What's Happening!!!: Doobie Or Not Doobie {1978} - Doobie Brothers

Fans still ask Doobie Brother, ‘What’s happening?’

September 01, 2012 - David Burke

Here’s how it works when I interview a well-known performer: Instead of complimenting him or her on their big, career-making endeavor, I’ll mention something less consequential from their body of work.

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That was the case Thursday afternoon, when I met Doobie Brothers guitarist Patrick Simmons at the Chief Blackhawk Antique Motorcycle Swap Meet at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport.

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I didn’t mention any of the band’s hits, but did toss out the title “So Wrong” — his only solo single that barely cracked the top 20, in 1983.

He smiled and nodded.

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But there was another left field question I wanted to ask.

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Spurred by an online list of the worst musical appearances on a TV show, where the Doobies were No. 1, I asked him about the band’s 1978 appearance on the sitcom “What’s Happening!” — a two-parter to boot.

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“The thing we’ll always be remembered for, probably,” Simmons answered, his tongue firmly in cheek. “After the music, they’ll always remember us from ‘What’s Happening!’ ”

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In the episode, the Doobs are back at their “old school” for a concert. The character Rerun is forced into secretly taping the concert by a bootlegger.

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“It was just a lot of fun,” Simmons said. “We got to know the people from the TV show and enjoyed the whole experience of a situation comedy.”

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But it gave them a line from Rerun, trying to identify the band members, that will live on: “Which Doobie you be?”

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Simmons wife, Cristine, chimed in: “That was a very popular show. They’re making fun of it, but I think everybody loved it.”

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An online listmaker’s deciding factor in making the Doobies No. 1 was that they were on a show with an entirely black cast.

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“Our bass player (Tiran Porter) was African-American,” Simmons said. “We were the token white guys.”

[Edited 2/3/14 18:35pm]

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MickyDolenz said:

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MickyDolenz said:

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