Album of the Day

The Doobie Brothers started out the 1970s playing to bikers and hippies in Northern California before original frontman Tom Johnston fell ill; enter Steely Dan vets Jeff “Skunk” Baxter and Michael McDonald on guitar and vocals, respectively, and the band was ready for its close-up. With horns and keyboards more prominent in the mix, the 1978 Warner Bros. album MINUTE BY MINUTE showed The Doobies to be masters of blue-eyed soul and easy-going funk. Songwriting duties are split pretty evenly between Patrick Simmons and McDonald on these ten tracks, though the latter's “What A Fool Believes” got the lion's share of attention, winning Grammys for both Song and Record of the Year on this day in 1980. With additional hit singles in the form of “Dependin' On You” and the title track, MINUTE BY MINUTE went to No.1 on the album chart and became the Doobies' all-time top seller.