Michael McDonald: The Voice That Defined a Generation

both, you know, uh um, even with songs that weren't mine, but with songs that were mine. I remember thinking, uh, yeah, what a belief the single should be. I agreed with Ted that I didn't know if it was going to be a hit or not, but you know, I thought it was the best, that it was one of the things on the record that could be a single, you know, there were moments where I thought than other things, Rat should be the single, and I was totally wrong, you know, and I should have listened to other people when I was a producer, you know?

I produced my wife, I always inherently picked the wrong single, you know, me and I would fight the record company about it, listen, damn, I'm the producer here, you know, you know, and I'd go toe to toe with the guy and usually he was right and I was wrong, you know, would the band members fight over those things like with the dubies or would they just accept whatever? T said that ours was always kind of a group consensus and we were all pretty comfortable with whatever the majority thought, you know, I think we're still like that, I think we're still very flexible, we approach our records in terms of no one Of us is looking to take it, I probably suffered from it more than the others even.

Tommy and Pat, who were totally responsible for the success of the band as far as I was concerned, you know the band was huge when I joined them, yeah, but I never saw those guys try to control them, you know, I remember it being so I had very afraid of ruining the band and that caused me a different reaction. I was like the skinny guy walking in a bar and I want to fight with everyone you know because I feel like the skinny guy walking in the bar uh I remember thinking, you know, I gotta make sure this thing works out, this record, we play it. well and it turns out that, you know, and sometimes we get a little authoritarian, I tortured the poor. drummers, you know, and Jeff Baxter, you know, I tortured him, you know, and here's a guy who got me the gig, you know, and I, you know, gave him a fit because of what he played, you know, but It was not necessary to bring it.

I got the best of me sometimes, you know, but those guys were remarkably forgiving, you know, and poor Keith, I mean, when we did it minute by minute, it came down to him and me alone in the studio, you know, I think Ted prevented me. You know, going into a psychotic episode, look guys, take a break, everyone come in, Keith, stay there, he says, Mikee, why don't you brush Keith off? You get the song that suits you, you know, and uh, because we were going for this kind of almost mechanical hypnotic feeling like 68, you know, yeah, and I tortured the poor guy for it, you know, and he was playing nice the whole time, You know, any of those takes were probably fine, but I was so neurotic, you know? moment and then he and I turned it down and I was going to do it and it had a bit of a funky sound on the piano, but I thought, well, I'll get a better piano sound later and I couldn't play it with his track later I couldn't play it, It was just the way we played it together that made the feel of the song close to you you know what we were I guess we were searching you know but at the end of that session you know and then all the guys came back and they all put your parts on that drum and piano track, what do you think was difficult to get the feel of?

I think when I was writing the song I had the idea that if this something could seem almost hypnotic and later that kind of music came to Vogue, you know, with drum machines and loops and stuff, you know where, the rhythm was so constant, yeah, it hypnotized you and there was something about that song I felt like it had that quality that could feel that way, but every time we played it it felt more like a blues shuffle, you know? I didn't want it to feel like a blue, I wanted it to feel like a Dunk Dunk, you know, and so on, and not speed up or slow down because with a random move you're usually moving either way, you know, yeah, what is it? what most people would call swing?

Know? Did you play that with one click? We did not. Unfortunately, Keith took the brunt of that and we tried to skip as much of the swing as we could. You know, I want to play the beginning of the song here, don't worry. I liked it. I have been here. many times before girl, don't worry, I'm the word, I don't need this, I don't need your hand, I know I could turn L, you would be gone, I must be ready at any moment to continue, I continue Keep it incredibly stable, yeah, and very stable. It's hard for me to hear it.

Just because of the unbearable pain I put in, so you even take a while to listen to it, it takes you back to that, doesn't it? If you know? uh uh, but you know Keith did an extraordinary job, you know, and we all miss him, you know, just hearing him play again brings back a certain kind of melancholy, I think for all of us, um, but uh, yeah, he , he, he, he earned his money. the day you know uh and I think uh you know it was like we were like we had that feeling that if we could reach that kind of really rocking, stable 68 feel that the song could take on us, a certain personality, that's the real take.

Right there, that's the keyboard and the drum pass, yeah, and the piano was almost the introduction, it was almost kind of an exercise to set up the feel so that we fell into that feel, you know, and of course. We rehearsed it, you know, a few times, so he knew what he was doing. Many people say that it is a very complicated piano. Actually, it isn't if you know where it is. They're just triplets, you know? and it's a lot simpler than it sounds, you know, uh, but we use it to set up the feel of the song, you know, can you play it a little bit?

That's it, it was amazing. I'd love for you to do it if you want. just sing a song or something, if that's cool or safe, you know how to talk about, you know songs and, uh, what's the perfect song or all of those, uh, you always know from the first day I heard Ray Charles, uh , singing all this country. songs that might have been mistakenly considered simplistic compositions, you know, but you know three chord songs or four chord songs, that to me was the real genius of Ray Charles and he, he, you know, took it to that level of uh .

Commerciality and all things considered, you know it's a hit record because the public noticed. You know, when he sang a lyric, you had the feeling that he had never sung that song the same way twice in that moment. and this is what he was saying at the time and it would never be the same even if he sang it, you know, one of those songs that I always loved to listen to and I don't know if I can do it on this piano. but you give me your hand and then you say hello I can hardly be my heart is being and soul oh anyone can tell you do you think you know me well you don't know me you don't know someone who thinks of you at night who longs to kiss your lips longs to have time for you you I'm just a friend that's all I've ever been you never know me I never knew the honor of making love although my heart aches with love for you fre and Sh I love let go of my chance by chance you my love give it to you hand and then you say goodbye I'll watch you walk away with that lucky God for you you'll never ever know who loves you Alma you don't know me don't love me that was great Michael uh thank you so much for doing it thank you it's a pleasure for me it really has been great meeting you here in person and talk to you about your career thank you so much thank you thank you for having Yo okay that's a wrap that was amazing oh thank you man thank you that was beautiful.

I never go out without hitting some stinkers, but you know, it's real life that was really cool, thanks guys.