The Doobie Brothers could have gone either way. I knew of the top 10-20 songs but had no idea if their entire catalog would be comparable. It doesn’t seem like anyone really talked about The Doobie Brothers or claim them to be some iconic group. I was thinking they were very similar to The Guess Who or Grand Funk Railroad (to be determined). I can see similarities, but I also see some striking differences.
Where The Guess Who started in the 60s, The Doobies were all 70s. They morphed into an early 80s group and helped created the Yacht Rock sound. I’m generally a fan of Hall and Oates, Toto, and Steely Dan – but that doesn’t mean all of the music is good.
The Doobie Brothers had plenty of jam band songs and plenty of forgettable calm grooves. These usually don’t score the highest in my rankings and earn 2 or 3-stars. Even though The Doobie Brothers earned ~30 positive tracks, they couldn’t find their way on the top of the rankings or even push into the top 20. they landed right below REM but dethroned Nirvana (which will be a common trend).
They finished right around where they started. It will be interesting to see what upcoming bands will give them a run for their money and try to push them out of the top thirty.
Read my full artist breakdown of the The Doobie Brothers.
Next Artist: Foreigner
