The band’s 16th studio album, “Walk This Road,” features McDonald’s original material for the first time since “One Step Closer” was released in 1980, cleveland.com reporta.
McDonald, who joined The Doobie Brothers in 1975 but first left in 1982, previously sang on the band’s 2014 covers album, “Southbound.” He re-joined The Doobie Brothers as a full-time member in 2019, but didn’t appear on the band’s 2021 album “Liberté.”
The Doobie Brothers will debut a new song from “Walk This Road” sometime “soon after the first of the year,” with the full album to be released in the spring or summer, the band wrote in a Facebook post.
“We have 10 new songs sung by Tom, Michael, and Pat,” The Doobie Brothers wrote. “The three of us wrote songs and collaborated together. We had a lot of fun recording it and we feel very proud of the results.
“John McFee added his incredible musical talents as well. Once more we turned to the amazing John Shanks who produced, wrote, and played on the tracks with us. Fortunately we’re back working with our friends at Warner Brothers/Rhino Records on this release.”
In its Facebook post, The Doobie Brothers also acknowledged its “almost 56 years together as a band” since first forming in 1970 in California. The classic rock band released its first self-titled album, “The Doobie Brothers,” in 1971, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020.
“We are so fortunate to have your continued support and thankful for the opportunity you’ve given us to play the music we love and work so hard to create,” the band continued. “It’s such a privilege to share the songs that connect us with you, hopefully rekindling happy memories and creating new ones together.”
