Black History Month: Michael McDonald

Don't lie to me, child! You know when you first heard Michael McDonald you thought he was BLACK! I know I did.  It wasn't until I saw him and the Doobie Brothers on "What's Happening!" that I was hit in the face with reality: HE is WHITE! Michael McDonald should make white people from Boston to Bejing proud! That's one blue-eyed soul brotha! The man is as soulful as a pot of collard greens after a 4 hour praise-a-thon at a Black Baptist church in the heart of downtown Tuskegee.

I love, love, love Michael McDonald. I had the pleasure of seeing him in Montgomery in 2011 with my dear friend Priscilla. She was so quick on the Ticket Master draw that we sat close enough to feel the floor vibrate when MikeMc rocked side to side like Ray Charles in an earthquake. It was a magical night!

The list of hit songs this man has written and SANG, and I mean, SANG, is ginormous. Michael McDonald is a true Black History pioneer. Michael was in a band named after the marijuana long before high ass Rick James (RIP) concocted the Mary Jane Girls in his glitter-braided head, and as students of Black History, we all know being the first Black person to do something can sometimes be a bad thing---see: first black dude to die in every war, first black dude to try to fly the airplane, and first black dude to hold a grenade.. But, in Michael McDonald's case white America gained the bragging rights to "first white dude to totally fool black people into thinking he was black because he was in a band named after reefer and white folks just don't name bands after reefer, so he's gotta be black, because that is straight up gangsta take that Billy Ocean!"

Whip out your James Earl Jones Voice for this one, chirren, as we salute the BLACKEST SOUNDING WHITE MAN OF THEM ALL, Mr. Michael " I BET HE GOT A SECRET BLACK GRANDDADDY! " McDonald :

Source: Wikipedia

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, McDonald played in several local bands (such as Mike and the Majestics, Jerry Jay and the Sheratons, the Reeb-Toors, the Del Rays and The Guild) while attending McCluer High School in his hometown of Ferguson, Missouri, now a city of some 25,000 people in St. Louis County, Missouri. McDonald was discovered while playing with a group called Blue and consequently moved toLos Angeles in 1970.

McDonald was recruited by the band The Doobie Brothers in April 1975 when lead singer Tom Johnston became ill during a national tour. His time with the band proved so successful that they decided to retain him as a full time member.

As a member of the Doobie Brothers he recorded some of his best-known songs such as "Real Love", "Takin' It to the Streets", "Little Darling", "It Keeps You Runnin'", "Minute by Minute" and "What a Fool Believes" (which became a number one single in the U.S. and earned him a 1980 Grammy Award for Song of the Year along with co-writer Kenny Loggins). At the same time he appeared as a session singer and piano player for artists such as Christopher Cross, Stephen Bishop, Jack Jones, Bonnie Raitt, the rock band Toto and Kenny Loggins.

Trying to pick my favorite Michael McDonald son is like trying to pick my favorite child: Yeah, I have one, but depending on my mood, it could change... So, Yah-Mo-Be on YouTube trying to watch them all...

Here's a bootleg of Michael singing  the  CLASSIC Teddy Pendergrass hit Love T.K.O.

Doing a slow roll dance, wavin' my hands in the air like my Granny at church,yall! Sing it, Michael! Sang that song, BABY!!!

Because I am the "Food Stamp President" of YouTube bootlegs, here is Michael and the Doobies  "Minute By Minute"...with CHORDS, so you can get off welfare and start a band...

That man's voice is like hot buttered CORNBREAD!

I love Black History Month!!!!  I love Michael McDonald, the George Washington Carver of the keyboards!

Intention: The Key to Comedy Success

Every stand-up comic wants a chance to perform on Leno or Letterman, just like every writer wants to be number one on the New York Times Bestseller List. The key to being successful as a comic is to decide very early on what you really want from your comedy career.


In the beginning, I wanted to cover myself in caramel and jump all over Jay Leno. This had nothing to do with being successful. In the beginning, I just wanted to be famous. Now, not so much. These days, I want to book 100 performances or speeches at churches, colleges, conferences, and nursing homes. I want to use my voice to uplift people.


Since moving to Oklahoma, I’ve had a chance to do comedy in a variety of places. I’ve won the semi-final round of Funniest Comic in Tulsa. I’ve produced my own shows at alternative comedy venues. I’ve been writing this blog. I’ve spoken and performed at conferences big and small. I have been featured in a national magazine and in the Tulsa World newspaper. I am, according to my own definition, successful.


Years ago, when I trained under Judy Carter, the legendary expert on building a successful comedy career, she said something in my class that has stuck with me to this day, “Decide if you want to be successful or famous. There are hundreds of successful comedians who work every day, and there are thousands who will struggle forever because they want to be famous.” It took almost ten years for this sage advice to really hit home with me. I will be eternally grateful to Judy for her wisdom and guidance.


The key to being successful at comedy, at work, in our relationship is simple: Decide what your intentions are, and work diligently towards fulfilling your goals. I intend to make people laugh and think. I intend to build a successful business that uses my strengths to make my little corner of the world a better place. I don’t intend to get on a stage and belittle myself, my race, or others in general. I intend to make a living without having to drive 500 miles just to make $100 a night. Hell, I can go back to scrubbing toilets and make more money! I intend to be happy doing what I love, and maintaining my integrity.

It took me a long time to be honest about what I wanted. It has taken almost ten years to see glimmers of success. I feel blessed to have the support of my husband and my friends who cheer for me, when I have a little thing go right. I am happy. I am walking on my path. I am living my dreams.

In case you’re wondering, I still keep a jar of caramel in my car, in case I decide to run off to LA and meet up with “The Chin!”

Little Lessons on the Prairie

The move to Owasso has been tough. Back home in Alabama I was in the middle of everything. It’s kinda hard for a social butterfly to be without places to land, light, and spread a little pollen. Here, I am pretty much unknown. I say that like I’m Angelina Jolie, huh? Well, I wasn’t famous enough to hire some nanny to take care of the McBrothas, but I was famous enough to have my own seat at the bar.

While the changes over the last 12 months have been hard, I can definitively say that they haven’t been all bad. I’ve grown in ways I never imagined. I am free of most distractions… them young ‘uns and that husband of mine still keep me away from the navel gazing and lint picking I miss.

I’ve learned some pretty valuable lessons while being frozen stiff, whipped around like a chubby tumbleweed, and dry roasted:

I will not die, if I cannot plant my big butt on a bar stool in Old Cloverdale. (I did pout about not having any fun people to hang out with for 9 months. I have abandoned the entire idea of going to nursing homes to meet new friends and calling them the names of old friends, just to make myself feel better. I get a sense that that is frowned upon…)

Hot glue is all that. How did I live without it?

Walking to the library is really more fun than listening to some lying ass politician/ lobbyist/ legislative aide tell you about his glory days as second-string quarterback at the University of Alabama.

A guy who bought 2,000 copies of his own book is not really a writer. Oh, and another thing, just because some dude works for a bookstore doesn’t mean he’s a writer, either. Oh, yeah, one more thing, I have just as much right to publish my crappy books as you do. I can’t believe it took me 10 years and 750 miles to finally get my drawers pressed enough to accept this fact!

Drama free living is as refreshing as lemonade spiked with a little vodka at a church potluck. I’ve done both, now.

The same guy that irked the cow crap out of me in Alabama irks the cow crap me on Facebook and Twitter. Some things never change.



MCBrotha Navel Gazing Expo:

Life as a comedian isn’t any easier here. There are just more comedy venues. That just means there are more people who are funnier than me. Not that I care. I’ve learned how to hot glue stuff. I can always make a living working for NASA.