Michael McDonald will tell the story of his life and musical career in a new memoir co-written with comedian and actor Paul Reiser, People magazine reports.
Dey Street Books will publish the Doobie Brothers singer’s What a Fool Believes next year. The press describes the book as “a moving and entertaining memoir that is sure to be a classic.”
McDonald was a member of the band Steely Dan before joining the Doobie Brothers in 1975. He wrote and provided lead vocals on some of the band’s best-known songs, including “Takin’ It to the Streets” and “What a Fool Believes.” He’s been nominated for 13 Grammy Awards and won five, most recently for “Yah Mo B There,” a duet with James Ingram.
Reiser told People that he broached the idea of memoir to his friend McDonald. “I would periodically ask Mike questions I didn’t understand about the Doobies, about him, and I said, jokingly, ‘You should write a book so I don’t have to bother you all the time.’ And he jokingly said, ‘I’ve thought about it, but I don’t know how you start that.’”
Dey Street says that in the book, “Michael tells a deeply affecting story of losing and finding himself as a man. He reckons with the unshakeable insecurities that drove him, the drug and alcohol addictions that plagued him, and the highs and lows of popularity.”
What a Fool Believes is scheduled for publication on May 21, 2024.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
