Courtesy of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Gijsbert Hanekroot/RedfernsAs announced Tuesday, The Doobie Brothers are among the nominees for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2020. Although the band has been eligible for the honor since 1997, this marks the first time that the group has been nominated.
In response to the news, The Doobies posted the following message on their official website and social media sites: “We are honored to be nominated for the @RockHall of Fame and thrilled that members of the band, past and present, have been included.”
Nine musicians who have played with The Doobie Brothers will enter the Rock Hall if the band gets inducted, including founding and current singer/guitarists Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons, former singer/keyboardist Michael McDonald and longtime multi-instrumentalist John McFee.
Rock Hall CEO and president Greg Harris tells ABC Audio that he’s excited about The Doobies’ nomination, while noting that the band’s complex history may have been one of the reasons why the group was overlooked for so long.
“When a band has two distinctly different eras or changes over time, it sometimes takes a little bit longer for the nominating process,” Harris maintains. “And The Doobies enjoyed…great success in one era, and then, had a bit of a transformation to be more of a piano-driven…band, and saw a resurgence in another era.”
Harris was referring to the period from the mid-’70s to the early ’80s, when McDonald fronted the group.
Last year, Tom Johnston told ABC Audio that he felt induction into the Rock Hall would “be a great feather to have in your cap, and a compliment that people recognize that…you are of quality to be in the [Hall]. And, frankly, I think we are.”
The full list of 2020 nominees is at RockHall.com.
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