A biography for Michael McDonaldhasn’t been written yet.
“Aretha Franklin is and will always be a national treasure.”
“Whenever I sing blues from the '50s or the kind of blues that you might have heard Eric Clapton or Duane Allman emulate, I often feel the similarity of some of the ragtime stuff I sang early on. A lot of the phrasing and the harmonization is the same.”
“It's funny how, as we get older, what become our fondest memories are not necessarily the happiest times of our lives but the times of our lives that shaped us the most.”
“I have friends who write all the time, and I envy them terribly.”
“For me, one of the best things of having been a Doobie Brother is that the people involved always were great people.”
“When I was with the Doobies, the style of music was that we all went over the falls with chord progressions, trying to make things as complex and interconnected as possible.”
“Each generation tries to disassociate itself with the last generation. And then, about three decades later, people kind of start to maybe appreciate what you might have done a while back that you don't even realize you did.”
“Honestly, I've never thought of myself as a mover and shaker of songwriting.”
“Brian Owens is a young guy from Ferguson, Missouri, my hometown, who I don't think emulates me at all, but I really enjoy his particular style. He kind of makes me think of the older school of soul singers like Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye.”
“In order for life to be more than a frustrating game of one-upsmanship, one has to remain emotionally open and vulnerable.”
“I truly cherish the time and experience with friends that I have been making music with for so many years, even decades now.”
“I love Coldplay.”
“I think it takes longer for me to make a record than most artists.”
“I'm always like the guy who wants to date the pretty girl so bad, and when he finally gets the chance, he blows it because he spends too much time worrying about it.”
“I've always been an artist that has had a problem with genres, staying in the box, and being told what I had to be.”
“Pat Simmons and I always had a great blend together. We did the background vocals on a Little Feat track called 'Red Streamliner,' and that was great fun. I always really loved the way it turned out.”
“The 'Motown' detour for me was almost like it wasn't work. It was more fun than work, and that's all it takes for me to not be very responsible to other things I should have been paying attention to.”
“Probably some of the most miserable years of my life were grappling with some definition of what success was.”
“I wish I wrote songs like Donald Fagen, Walter Becker, Don Henley, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, so many of the songwriters I admire. They have the ability to say things.”
“I write about humility, because it's something I hope I one day actually possess.”