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MICHAEL MCDONALD’S HOLIDAY ROAD
By John Benson
Michael McDonald has been turning people’s heads for nearly four decades.
Now the classic-rock singer, who enjoyed hits with Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers, is traveling right down Santa Claus lane with his holiday show that comes to Warren’s Packard Music Hall on Wednesday.
“We’re playing our typical Christmas songs and also performing some we haven’t done in the past,” said McDonald, calling from New Jersey. “We’re doing ‘Children Go Where I Send Thee,’ which was kind of a popular track from our 2001 album ‘In the Spirit: A Christmas Album,’ that we never did live.”
For the upcoming Warren show, a local choir will join McDonald and his band to provide a sense of gospel authenticity. The set list includes numerous holiday tunes from his aforementioned seasonal album debut as well as its follow-up, 2005’s “Through the Many Winters.” Originals that McDonald may perform are “Every Time Christmas Comes Around,” “To Make a Miracle” and “Christmas on the Bayou.”
As far as venturing down the holiday show road, McDonald said he was first introduced around the turn of the century to the genre as a touring member of “Colors of Christmas Tour,” which included Peabo Bryson, Sheena Easton and Oleta Adams.
“That was a lot of fun,” McDonald said. “It was Christmastime and a chance for us musicians to do music we just haven’t done all year. It’s something different.”
McDonald’s upcoming show also will feature plenty of familiar tracks from his past. McDonald began his career as a session and touring musician with Steely Dan before joining the Doobie Brothers (“What A Fool Believes”) as its frontman. He eventually went solo (“I Keep Forgettin”) in 1984. McDonald also enjoyed a resurgence of interest a decade ago tied to his two Motown cover albums — 2003’s platinum “Motown” and 2004’s gold “Motown Two.”
When it comes to McDonald’s solo career, one of his biggest hits is “Sweet Freedom,” which is not only from the “Running Scared” soundtrack but also was co-written by actress Maya Rudolph’s father, Dick.
McDonald said early on, after his friend Irving Azoff gave his approval, he had a sense that song would connect with the mainstream.
“There was something about it that told me it was just that much different from anything I’ve done before, and that it might have a shot of at least capturing the imagination of the audience that we had as the Doobie Brothers,” McDonald said.
“There was something about it that sounded kind of hippie to me, but those things are always one in a thousand chance you’ll actually get on the radio. It turned out it was one of the biggest singles we ever had.”
The idea of capturing the imaginations of radio listeners with something unique and different is truly the secret to McDonald’s career. His voice, with its groove and howl, is very unique. Perhaps that’s why he’s lasted for so many years across various projects.
“You know, I come from an old-school belief that people want to hear something different,” McDonald said. “They want to have their heads turned.”