While most bands tend to stick with one genre of music, The Doobie Brothers proved that their style could fit in any genre. Having released 15 studio albums and selling 40 million records worldwide, their contributions to music also landed them a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. With such a rich history in music that spans five decades, it appears the group isn’t done yet as musician Pat Simmons shared updates on a new album and hitting the road once again.
Giving fans an update on what the future looks like for The Doobie Brothers, Simmons revealed that the band was working on a new album. But it wasn’t just a new album as the rocker revealed that Michael McDonald was returning to the studio with them. Marking the first time McDonald contributed to an album since the 1980s One Step Closer, Simmons said, “We are very close to finishing up an album’s worth of new songs. We’re lucky once again to have John Shanks producing and Michael McDonald joining in with us on this one! Tom [Johnston], Michael, John and myself have composed a great bunch of songs that we’re really proud of and John McFee is really a stand out on the tracks.”
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Sharing his own excitement about getting to record with McDonald once again, Simmons added, “It’s the first time in 40 years that Michael has recorded a whole album with the band and in my humble opinion it’s turning out to be some of the best music we’ve ever made together!”
Pat Simmons Discusses New Tour
Although sharing news about a new album, Simmons didn’t share an exact date when fans should expect some new songs. He did give a range, explaining they were looking for a “spring/summer release.”
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Besides getting back into the studio, in June, The Doobie Brothers will once again hit the road for another tour. Scheduled to start rehearsing sometime in May, Simmons admitted, “I’m hoping we’ll be able to debut a few of our new songs [on the tour]. There’s some really high energy stuff that will be fun for us to play and hopefully work well with our better known tunes. We’ll keep you posted and let you know how that’s workin’ out.”
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