| "What a Fool Believes" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 U.S. 7-inch vinyl picture sleeve (also used for the parent album) | ||||
| Single bythe Doobie Brothers | ||||
| from the albumMinute by Minute | ||||
| B-side | "Don't Stop to Watch the Wheels" | |||
| Released | January 1979 | |||
| Recorded | August 1978 | |||
| Studio | Warner Bros. Recording Studios (North Hollywood, Los Angeles) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
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| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | Ted Templeman | |||
| The Doobie Brothers singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio | ||||
| "What a Fool Believes" onYouTube | ||||
"What a Fool Believes" is a song written byMichael McDonald andKenny Loggins. The best-known version was recorded by the Americanrock bandthe Doobie Brothers (with McDonald singing lead vocals) for their eighth albumMinute by Minute (1978). Debuting at number 73 on January 20, 1979, the single reached number 1 on theBillboard Hot 100 on April 14, 1979, for one week.[7] The song receivedGrammy Awards in 1980 for bothSong of the Year andRecord of the Year. In 2024, the song was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame.[8]
The song was one of the few non-disco No. 1 hits on theBillboard Hot 100 during the first eight months of 1979.
Michael McDonald andKenny Loggins, who had wanted to collaborate for some time, wrote the song together inLos Angeles. Loggins went to McDonald's house and heard him playing a tune on piano, and suggested they work on that as he already had ahook line, "She had a place in his life" in mind. The song they wrote was influenced by songs they grew up listening to such asthe Four Seasons' "Sherry" and "Walk Like a Man". They finished the song by the following day.[9]
Both Loggins and McDonald recorded the song around the same time. Loggins' version was a creative arrangement with record producerBob James.[9] Loggins released his version of "What a Fool Believes" five months prior to the Doobie Brothers' version on his second studio albumNightwatch, released on July 12, 1978.
The Doobie Brothers, with McDonald on lead vocals, recorded a version with record producerTed Templeman. They recorded numerous takes of its rhythm track over five or six days, but had a problem finding a version that they liked, so Templeman ended up playing drums withKeith Knudsen to try to achieve a "floppy feel" with the song.[10] Templeman eventually decided, to the band's horror, to cut up themaster tape of a recording into sections, and put together a usable version. McDonald came up with the rest of the arrangement, adding keyboards, vocals and strings to the song. The resulting song was stylistically unlike any song the Doobie Brothers had done before.[9] Templeman was still not satisfied with the result; when he played the song to the executives of Warner Bros., he suggested discarding the song, but they said: "Are you crazy? That's great!"[9]
In December 1978, five months after Loggins' original recording was released, the Doobie Brothers included their version on their eighth studio albumMinute by Minute, with their version being released as a single the following month. This is the best-known version of the song, debuting at number 73 on theBillboard Hot 100 on January 20, 1979, and then reaching number one on April 14, 1979, for one week.[7]
This version receivedGrammy Awards in 1980 for bothSong of the Year andRecord of the Year.
Apparently as a joke,Michael Jackson claimed in a videotaped phone conversation with English and American actressElizabeth Taylor in 2003 that he contributed at least one backing track to the original Doobie Brothers recording, but was not credited for having done so.Entertainment Tonight broadcast this claim with viewers being unaware that Jackson was joking. The band later denied his participation.[11]
This version of the song appeared in the action-adventure gameGrand Theft Auto V (2013), on the fictional radio station Los Santos Rock Radio, which also featured Loggins as theradio host.[12]
Billboard praised the vocal performance, synthesizers and production.[13] The reviewer described the song as building from a melodic first verse "to a heart warming hookchorus".[13]Cashbox said it has an "easyfunk backing, strings overhead and characteristically unique vocals which soar upwards."[14]Record World said that in the song the Doobie Brothers go to "an easy going beat with distinctive lead and high harmony hook."[15]
Ultimate Classic Rock critic Michael Gallucci rated "What a Fool Believes" as the Doobie Brothers all-time greatest song, particularly praising "McDonald's soulful vocals and soft and warm keyboardriffs."[16] In 2021, it was listed at No. 343 onRolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[17]
The song is considered one of the pinnacle examples of theyacht rock genre, which spawned from the2005 web series by comedians J. D. Ryznar, Hunter Stair, David B. Lyons and Steve Huey. On their "Yachtski Scale", created on theirpodcast Beyond Yacht Rock, songs are rated from 0 to 100 based on how "Yacht" they are, "What a Fool Believes" has a score of 100 from all four co-hosts and is the song that all other songs are compared to.
Additional players
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[39] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[40] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
In 1978, Warner Brothers released a12-inch singledisco version by the Doobie Brothers (backed with "Don't Stop to Watch the Wheels"), which peaked at number 40 onBillboard'sNational Disco Action chart in April 1979. Mixed by disco record producerJim Burgess, at 5:31 the song is considerably longer than the 3:41 versions on the 7-inch single and theMinute by Minute LP. The 12-inch version also has a more pronounced bass-driven drumbeat.[41]
A reissue of the single was released in 1987 credited to the Doobie Brothers featuring Michael McDonald. It was included on McDonald's compilation albumSweet Freedom (1986) and was credited as Michael McDonald with the Doobie Brothers. It reached No. 57 on theUK singles chart in January 1987.[42]
A version featuringSara Evans is included on the Doobie Brothers' albumSouthbound (2014).
In 1980, the song was covered byAretha Franklin for her albumAretha.[43] This version hit number 46 on the UK pop chart.[44]
The British bandMatt Bianco released a cover of "What a Fool Believes" on their fourth albumSamba in Your Casa in 1991. The song served as the album's final single, and reached number 23 on theIrish Singles Chart in early 1992.[45]
In 1998,Peter Cox ofGo West had a top 40 hit in the UK,[46] with his version coming from the 1998 reissue of his debut albumPeter Cox.
The Americanpop rock bandSelf covered the song on their fourth albumGizmodgery, released on September 5, 2000.[47] Although not released as a single, the cover reached number 69 on Japan's Top 100 Alternative Songs in 2020.[48] Carlos Ramirez of No Echo praisedMatt Mahaffey's ability to differentiate himself from the Doobie Brothers' version.[49]
"What A Fool Believes" stood out...Today, the song is considered a foundational yacht rock classic.
The defining hit of the Michael McDonald-era Doobie Brothers, a soaring yacht-rock track that defies singalong attempts.
They comment: 'Disco from an unlikely artist ... "What A Fool Believes" was remixed by the late Jim Burgess to enhance its dance floor appeal. Another good Doobie Brothers 12 inch release was "Real Love" '
Templeman, Ted; Renoff, Greg (2020).Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer's Life in Music.Toronto:ECW Press. pp. 280–5.ISBN 9781770414839.OCLC 1121143123.
