Listen to the Music (1972) – the Doobie Brothers

Posted on April 22, 2023 by observationblogger — 1 Comment

I always enjoyed that line from Jack Colton played by Michael Douglas in Romancing the Stone – ‘Dammit man, the Doobie Brothers broke up! Sh*t! When did that happen‘?
When something bad happened as kids, my brother and I said “Aw man! The Doobie Brothers broke up!” Apart from this song I knew next to nothing about the Doobie Brothers until researching it here.

The Doobie Brothers did break up in 1982 but in 1987 they reformed. They are an American rock band formed in 1970 in San Jose, California. Today’s song Listen to the Music was recorded on their second album Toulouse Street and their first big hit.

[Verse 1]
Don’t you feel it growing, day by day?
People getting ready for the new
Some are happy, some are sad
Wo-oh-ah, we gotta let the music play
Mh-hm

[Verse 2]
What the people need is a way to make ’em smile
It ain’t so hard to do if you know how
Gotta get a message, get it on through
Oh now, mamma don’t you ask me why

[Chorus]
Woh-ho-ho, listen to the music
Woh-uh-oh, listen to the music
Woh-uh-oh, listen to the music
All the time

Writer Tom Johnston described the motivation for the song as a call for world peace:

“The chord structure of it made me think of something positive, so the lyrics that came out of that were based on this utopian idea that if the leaders of the world got together on some grassy hill somewhere and either smoked enough dope or just sat down and just listened to the music and forgot about all this other bullshit, the world would be a much better place. It was very utopian and very unrealistic (laughs). It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

The song remains a staple of adult contemporary and classic rock radio. The band also uses it as an encore song during live shows. The staff of Billboard rated it the Doobie Brothers‘ best song, saying that it “ranks high in the pantheon of rock n’ roll feel-good hits” and should “get your foot tapping and bring a bit of a smile to your face“.

Reference:
1. Listen to the Music – Wikipedia