This Day in ’78: The Doobie Brothers Do Some Bootleg-Busting on What’s Happening!!
41 years ago today, one of the greatest music and comedy crossovers of all time took place on prime-time television.
That’s right: we’re talking about that time the Doobie Brothers guest-starred on What’s Happening!!
If it seems like an unlikely crossover, well, you’re not entirely wrong, but it’s become the stuff of legend, as is only appropriate for a sitcom that gives one of its characters the opportunity to deliver the now-infamous line, “Which Doobie you be?”
The premise of the crossover event involves a tough-guy criminal type forcing Rerun to bootleg the Doobie Brothers’ concert in town, only for Rerun to get caught in the act. After he explains himself, the bad guys reaps his just reward, and Rerun – along with his pals Raj and Dwayne – end up learning a valuable life lesson.
If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that any band capable of holding their own against the formidable trio of Rerun, Roger, and Dwayne was destined to top the charts sooner than later, so it was only to be expected that the Doobies would – within only a few months of their guest spot on the sitcom – secure the first and only #1 album of their career with MINUTE BY MINUTE.
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