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Buzz Feed
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
41 Wild Vegas Stories That Did NOT Stay In Vegas
Recently, we wrote about wild things that happened to people in Vegas that did NOT stay in Vegas, and the BuzzFeed Community chimed in with their own experiences. Here are 43 more wild Vegas stories. "I went out for a few beers in LA with some friends, woke up the next day in bed with an attractive lady, but couldn't recall much. I opened the curtains to see Vegas out the window. I was very confused, turns out we had rented a car and driven to Vegas (while so hammered we couldn't remember), met a hen do, and joined them for the weekend (no, it wasn't the bride I shared a room with). I took the car back to LA on Monday, and the rental chap was happy; there were no marks, scuffs, or signs of anything. Apparently, my English accent convinced him we were fine to drive (I have no doubt we were not). I have never been near a car after having even a sip of alcohol since, and in fact have been sober for the last 13 years." "I was outside talking to my friend's felon boyfriend. The next thing I knew, I was on the ground at gunpoint, surrounded by government agents and a film crew. I was in the middle of a sting operation of a motorcycle theft ring. A few years later, I got a Facebook message with a picture of me on their TV from the bust. Not only did Vegas not stay in Vegas, it was on national TV." "I was living in Vegas, and two of my pals came to town, joining me for a conference in our industry. It was an electric and balmy Saturday night in September 1996, with people everywhere and a Tyson fight in town. After leaving a Doobie Brothers concert at the Riviera, we were stopped as the first car at the intersection of Koval and Flamingo. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! We didn't know what happened until we drove back past a short time later. Turns out Tupac Shakur got shot right then and there." "It was my 21st birthday, and my best friend and I decided to go just the two of us to Vegas for three nights. The first night we got drunk and separated, I made my way back to our hotel with the help of an unhoused man who said he could get me cocaine but ended up robbing me. The next night, we got separated again, and my friend lost her purse and wallet, which we never found. I ended up getting drunk at the hotel bar with a credit card that I stole from a guy I hooked up with. I was drunk in the bathroom and a 'nice' woman helped me up to my room, but ended up robbing me and taking my cash once I fell asleep. So I got robbed twice!!" "I went out with a group of friends for a bachelor party. One night, we were partying at a club when one of my friends got separated from our group; we figured he probably met some girl and was doing just fine, and we didn't worry too much, as he was an adult and was capable of taking care of himself. We didn't hear from him until the next day, and when we finally saw him, he was visibly shaken up, looking like he hadn't slept all night. We asked him what happened." "A buddy of mine was in Vegas for business, and I was in town for a press junket. We were both in our mid-20s at the time. I drove into Vegas with my stepdad as he likes to gamble. We got into town, and I met up with my buddy. From around 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., it was nonstop drinking on my part because at the press junkets, there was free booze. My buddy and I eventually met up with my stepdad and hit some tables. I won about $1200 on roulette. My buddy and I then split to hit some industry parties. But before, I took some of the $1200 I won for spending and stashed the rest in my buddy's hotel room." "I went to celebrate a bachelorette party in Vegas. We stayed there for five days and were having a blast. That first night, we went clubbing and danced the night away. It was 4–5 a.m., and the bachelorette party was heading back to sleep. I noticed the bride-to-be was not with us. I asked her maid of honor where she was, and she told me the bride-to-be went with some guy to his hotel room." "Fifteen years or so ago, back when I was a bartender, I had one of my regulars come in (pretty typical middle class dad type, khaki shorts and polo shirts, basic white guy haircut) and tell me all about going to Vegas the week before with some friends, and his experience smoking crack out of a lightbulb in the backseat of a Honda Civic with a couple of sex workers, just prior to taking advantage of their services. I told him that was exactly the kind of story they meant needed to stay in Vegas. It was always weird seeing him at the restaurant with his wife and kids after that." "I was at the Palms for a bachelor party, and three friends and I sat down at the same blackjack table. One friend, let's call him Tom, who is not much of a gambler, pulls out a hundred and buys chips. For the next two hours, he literally could not lose. It was the wildest run I've ever seen. It didn't matter what two cards he was dealt or how he played them. He turned that $100 into 12-15k. People were gathered around cheering, the pit boss was watching and cracking jokes, everyone was drinking, and it was an absolute blast. Tom then decides, while still playing, to call his mom and girlfriend and tell them how much he's won. He even tells his girlfriend that he can buy her a ring." "I showed up at 9 a.m. for my restaurant manager job in the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace. On the bench outside the restaurant was a man, about 30-35, in a button-down white shirt and dress slacks. He looked disheveled and distraught. I asked him if he was okay. He said that he had been gambling and drinking since he arrived two days prior. He was on a business trip with his boss and had missed all the meetings and the trade show. He had lost all his money, including his savings. His boss fired him. He was working up the courage to call his wife, who was pregnant with their first child." "My best friend and I ran into Scary Spice (Mel B.) in a bathroom at the Venetian and ended up partying with her and her posse til early morning. She was filming her reality show back then, we were asked to be in some club scenes but ended up eating gelato instead." "I live in Las Vegas. It didn't happen to me. We saw it happen in a parking garage when we were heading to breakfast on Fremont Street. We had just parked, and the four of us were getting out of the car. Two women were looking for the car. (They even asked us if we happened to see it parked anywhere.) They clearly had been all over the garage looking for it. They finally called some guy and asked if he knew where Kevin was. He said, 'Yeah, in the hotel room asleep. He's hungover and broke. He was up til 4:30 a.m. drinking & losing all of his money.' So then she asked if he knew where Kevin had moved the car. She needed her purse and a bag out of the trunk. I kid you not, the guy answered, 'Oh, Kevin sold the car last night to some guy, he wanted more gambling money!' Both women FREAKED OUT." "This was at the Bellagio, I think, in the massive reception area. Around 10 at night, about a thousand people were walking and rushing through. This one tall guy in a suit was walking through the crowd. Two guys with sunglasses on (security-looking guys but not bouncer types, almost looking more like law enforcement but for the matching black suits) marched up behind the tall guy and literally cracked a bottle over him from behind. It knocked the guy to the ground, perhaps knocking him out. They picked him up, threw him over one of their shoulders, and took him out of the hotel." "I met a hostess one night. I spent the weekend with her and we fucking hit. It. Off. I proposed two weeks later, and we were engaged. She was fucking hotttttt. The sex was great, we were a perfect match. I flew back and forth every weekend and moved out there shortly thereafter. We lasted three months because she was absolutely out of her mind. We broke up at my mom's wedding, lmao! I went to pick up my shit and my cat (which I feared she would have gotten rid of just to spite me but she didn't, thank god). When I got out there, she already had her new bf, who was 40+ (she was 25) and the widow of her 'former best friend' who died of cancer like two months prior. I moved back home with my cat. 10/10 would Vegas again." "Back when the Hilton was Star Trek: The Experience, my girlfriends and I got drunk with a Klingon and a Ferengi in the bar and ended up taking them up to our hotel room for a five-some. I'm still friends with one of the girls and the Klingon." "Not me, but a friend blacked out at Encore Beach. He gave his sandals to a girl, so he was walking back to the Venetian barefoot. He was so drunk he didn't realize his feet were burning and bleeding from the summer sidewalk until people on the strip said something to him. Ended up spending a few days in the hospital before he could go home with second and third burns all over his feet." "My dad went to Vegas for a week, and my parents had fought a few weeks earlier. I found out two weeks later that my dad cheated with someone in the same car my mom helped pick out and pay for. Fuck Vegas." "I went to college in Vegas and got hired at a very exclusive underground sex club to be in sex shows fucking regular girls (not strippers or anything) in front of rich people who were members. It helped pay my way through college. Needless to say, it was hard to keep that all private, and I got questioned by investigators since it was attended by some famous Hollywood, sports, and business people, since it was highly illegal." "I had sex with my then-girlfriend, later wife, on the roof of the MGM Grand. It was going great until eight security guards came out of the two-door that led onto the roof. Seems people 30 floors below on the sidewalk could see us..." "On a work trip, we were in Vegas for a weekend. One of the work managers got caught feeling up one of my coworkers. It was kinda an open secret he was creeping on the women in the office, but then he got caught by several employees with the owner in the room, so he got canned." "My friend and I were approached in a casino by two guys. We were all visiting from out of town. My friend was really into one of the guys. I had no interest in the other and told him so. Despite that, we decided to be good wingmen and talked until the sun came up while our friends made out all night. Anyway, we've been together for twelve years now. We're happily married with two kids. And yes, of course, we came back to Vegas to elope." "My wife got married to a guy as a joke. Twenty years later, after we had been married and had adopted kids, we found out that marriage had been legit. She had to get an annulment, and thank god the judge thought her story was hilarious, or it would have undone our marriage and adoptions. Getting married in Vegas is real, y'all. Even if Elvis married you. Even if you're a piss drunk lesbian marrying some random dude because 'fuck the system.' 🙄" "This happened 10+ years ago. It's a story from a family member who worked at a large corporation holding an annual conference in Vegas. For lodging the employees, they'd randomly pair them up in rooms. The first night, I believe, a sales guy was getting shit-housed at a casino bar (with customers also present). He decided it would be a good idea not only to take a sex worker up on an offer to continue the party in his room, but also bring her friend along to share with his roomie…who he'd only met that day." "I worked with a manager who went to Vegas for a conference, took his affair partner, who was also our coworker, and posted photos of them during the daytime, not at the conference, to Facebook. His wife, also our coworker, and upper management saw the photos and fired him." "I paid for my wife to go to Vegas with her 'best friend' because she had tickets to Blue Man and hadn't had a single night away from our kid since they were born (six years). I thought this would be the beginning of us being able to take adult vacations. When she got back, she was weird, and I started asking questions and got weirder answers. Then her 'best friend' texted her the following morning asking how Vegas was. (I only saw it because she didn't have her notifications for messages private; it always showed the first sentence.) By texting, her best friend exposed the affair she was having and the fact that I helped set up the whole trip for her and her boyfriend." "My sister went to Vegas for a week and came back married to a dude she had never met before the trip. The week after, he moved in with my sister (he was from a different state) and they've been together ever since. Over 10+ years together, and they have beautiful twin boys." "I used to work with a married lady (we'll call her Tracy). Every year, she and her married girlfriends all went to Vegas at the same time as their husbands. It was supposed to be a four-day shopping trip. What actually happened is that they would all pick up guys and get laid. I found out because Tracy got drunk one night and blabbed to another female co-worker, whom I happened to be dating at the time. I guess it started about 10 years ago with all four ladies in on it. They had gone for a stagette to Vegas, and I guess that's the first time it happened. The husbands have no idea." "My co-workers got drunk and hooked up in Vegas while we were there for business. She got pregnant, they decided to give it a shot, and they've been together happily for ten years." "Vegas was one of the many stops on a road trip across the country. We went to a strip club that was quite far away from the strip. One by one, my friends and I started separating to get lap dances. One of our friends never returned. We waited for what seemed like hours until we saw him getting escorted to a private room. He signaled for us to just head back to the hotel. Fast forward to six in the morning. He showed up at the hotel room covered in blood. He left the strip club with no way to get a cab/Uber. He walked eight miles to get back to the hotel. In the process, he fell down a highway embankment and cut up his arms and legs." "I had a nice suite at the MGM and brought my significant other while in town for a business conference. One of the bigwigs was down the hall from us and had a party in his suite on the first night we were in town. Fifteen to twenty people were there; various drugs were being used after not too long. I didn't partake; my girlfriend did. I got drunk and fell asleep on the balcony. I woke up to find my girlfriend getting absolutely reamed in the bedroom. I approached the door to find a second naked guy in the room. I left for the airport and have never been back to Vegas." "My girlfriend went to a bachelorette party in Vegas. The bride got married soon after. Six months later, I was at a party and I overheard my girlfriend (a bridesmaid) talking to her friend: 'Well, we were partying with some guys who offered to give us drugs, and she was really drunk, and they talked her into the shower. She thought it was her fiancé; she kept saying his name.' She realized I could hear her conversation and said, 'But we went in and got her out before anything happened.'" "I married my college boyfriend three weeks after I graduated. I had only dated/been intimate with two other guys ever. I also never got a bachelorette party. Fast forward two years, my company sent me to Vegas for a conference. While there, the guys I was attending with got some strippers to come up to our suite. I came up to the room to find four strippers, coke, and pills all over the suite. I just snuck off to my bedroom and closed the door, but forgot to lock it. About an hour later, one of the strippers slipped into my room to hide and take a break. She locked the door, and we started chatting. We ended up talking for hours. After a bit, the conversation turned to sex. Neither of us had been with another woman, but we ended up hooking up that night. Almost 20 years later, we are still together and have raised two awesome kids. Thanks, Vegas." "A coworker and I had to take a load out to Nevada (truck drivers) and, since we had a day off between arriving and leaving (so they could unload our truck), we decided to go out and have a little fun. We got our hotel rooms, went out, grabbed a bite to eat, and then went to the casinos. After I lost about $100, I said 'Screw it.' left the casino, stopped at The Hard Rock to grab some souvenirs for my wife and daughter, went back to my room, and crashed. The next morning, we went to get our truck to start heading home (we're from Virginia), and I noticed that my partner looked like he hadn't slept and was pretty I asked him what happened." "Trade shows happen in Vegas all the time, so I'm there at least once a year for a week. Five or six years ago, I had a new guy working for us as a salesperson. He was issued an Amex card prior to the trip. Sometimes we take customers and vendors out to dinner and shows. Well, this guy proceeded to find every sexual massage place and sex worker that accepted Amex. He racked up over $6500 in charges in four days, neglected to do his job, and was terminated. That was an awkward flight back." "My husband was drugged at a pool party (most likely not meant for him but for the swarms of bikini-clad girls). The last thing he remembers is walking down the strip, then waking up in the hospital. Turns out he tripped/passed out outside the Venetian, hit the sidewalk like a sack of vodka-soaked potatoes, knocked out his front tooth, and split his lip and his forehead. It took a year before his smile was back to normal. Oh, and I was three months pregnant at the time, so that was a cool 7 a.m. call from the ER." "20+ years ago, I was the engineering director of planning for the local telecom that served a good part of the city at the time. I had the Western US, but Vegas was one of our biggest territories. I was headed down an alley with a couple of engineers at the north end of the strip right after lunch, and turned a corner just in time to see one person stab another person to death." "My then-fiancé and I did a joint bachelor/bachelorette thing in Vegas with all our groomsmen and bridesmaids. The plan was that the two parties would party separately for a few days, then we would all meet up on Saturday night. We planned to get everyone together for a nice dinner to thank them for making the trip out there, but ended up taking them to an Elvis chapel where our parents and siblings were waiting for us! The bridesmaids all started crying, and my best man was out of sorts because he had taken a strong edible with one of my other groomsmen in preparation for the dinner we had promised everyone. It was the wedding we wanted, and we were thrilled no one guessed what we had planned. Anyway, still happily married one year later! 10/10, would recommend a Vegas wedding with Elvis." "I was in Vegas with a group of coworkers for an industry event that also included several nurses. I was casual friends with two nurses who were good friends with each other. One afternoon, Nurse #1 stopped by my room and started giving me a back rub, which quickly led to afternoon delight. We decided not to make a big deal out of it — it's Vegas. Later, I was drinking with her and Nurse #2, who didn't know about the hookup, and started making moves on me. In a moment alone with Nurse #1, she said she was fine with it. The three of us ended up back in their hotel room. Nurse #1 fell asleep (or at least pretended to), and Nurse #2 and I slowly started touching each other right there in the next bed." "I went to a solar energy conference in Vegas a few years ago. The biggest conference of the year. One of my sales guys was very excited as it was his first time in Vegas. The first day of the show went great; everyone left for the day feeling good about day two. On day two, he didn't show up. On day three, he didn't show up. On day four, we were all calling, texting, and banging on the door, but we couldn't find him. He showed up on the last day with a black eye; he could barely explain what happened. He ended up going to a club, getting drunk/high on something, gambling away his $40k down payment he and his wife had been saving for years, and getting herpes. He lost his job, his wife, and his kids. What happens in Vegas rarely stays in Vegas." "I met a guy online. Two weeks later, on our second date, we (sober) drove to Vegas and eloped. We've been married for 12 years and have a 10-year-old daughter. It's the best and dumbest thing I've ever done." And finally..."Married my boyfriend of four months. Thirteen years later, we're happy as can be." What's your wild Vegas story? Let us know in the comments below or via this anonymous form. Submissions have been edited for length/clarity.
Boston Globe
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Mike Love celebrates Brian Wilson and George Clinton shines at 2025 Songwriters Hall of Fame gala
Love's speech was filled with gratitude, with one of his greatest thanks reserved for 'my cousin, Brian Wilson,' he said. 'My first cousin by blood and my brother in music.' Stamos then joined Love for a few Advertisement It was a notable moment in an evening full of them: The funk rock group Living Colour opened the energetic gala with a cover of Funkadelic's 'Cosmic Slop' to honor new inductee George Clinton. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up George Clinton performs during the 54th annual Songwriters Hall of Fame induction and awards gala on Thursday, June 12, 2025, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York. Charles Sykes/Charles Sykes/Invision/AP The annual event, held at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City Thursday night, also featured inductees spanning genres, an inspiring mix of funk, rock, R&B, country, and beyond: Clinton, the Doobie Brothers, Ashley Gorley, Rodney 'Darkchild' Jerkins, and Tony Macaulay. 'What an incredible honor this is,' Clinton said in his speech. He talked about his early days in the legendary He then jumped into a performance of his own: The Parliaments' '(I Wanna) Testify.' Advertisement Country legend Garth Brooks introduced the Doobie Brothers with a raucous rendition of 'Long Train Runnin'' into 'China Grove.' When it was time for the inducted members — Tom Johnston, Teddy Riley introduced the groundbreaking producer Jerkins, whose touch is heard across countless R&B and pop hits. His speech included an animated impression of 'I didn't grow up chasing fame,' he said. 'I grew up chasing feeling. … Creativity has no limitations.' His four children, R.J., Heavenly, Hannah Joy, and Royal Jerkins, performed one of his best-known hits, Brandy and Monica's 'The Boy Is Mine.' It was a night for families: Country songwriter superstar Gorley's daughter also performed one of her dad's originals, When Gorley took the stage for his speech, he said he felt like he was in a 'fever dream' or that he had 'crashed a royal wedding.' Legendary English songwriter Macaulay was also honored. He is best known for such classics as the Foundations' 'Baby Now That I've Found You' and 'Build Me Up Buttercup,' the latter of which was performed for Macaulay by a spirited Debbie Gibson. Advertisement Musical theater composer Stephen Schwartz was the recipient of the esteemed Johnny Mercer Award; Kristin Chenoweth performed 'For Good' from 'Wicked' in his honor. The Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 1969 to honor those creating popular music. A songwriter with a notable catalog of songs qualifies for induction 20 years after the first commercial release of a song. Some already in the hall include Gloria Estefan, Carole King, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Brian Wilson, James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Lionel Richie, Bill Withers, Neil Diamond, and Phil Collins.
CBS News
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Music legend Nile Rodgers on Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees receiving prestigious honor tonight: "The most important award"
A look at the 2025 Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees The 2025 class of the Songwriters Hall of Fame will be inducted on Thursday night, with a group that includes music legends George Clinton and The Doobie Brothers, among others. "I think that as a composer, nothing means more to you than your art form touching, as my old guitar tutor would say, the lives of a million strangers," said Nile Rodgers, a multi-Grammy award winner and chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Rodgers was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2016. There are currently more than 470 members in the organization. "I've won a bunch of Grammys and of course I love the Grammys, but when I got into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, that was the most important award," he said. "So when you walk into the room where you know that you're doing something that touches people that you will never meet but somehow it impacts their lives in an important way, that's just incredible." The Doobie Brothers: Tom Johnston, John McFee, Michael McDonald and Patrick Simmons. Clay Patrick McBride Rodgers called composing a "solitary" process, saying, "we create something from nothing." "It's just an idea or it's your, the color of your dress or something like that. We turn this nonfictional event into something that's consumable by strangers," he said. Rodgers, who started in classical music and has also produced jazz, has collaborated with stars from David Bowie to Madonna. But he admitted he only knew one song would be an instant hit. "I knew 'We Are Family' was a monster, and I thank God I had creative control and I stopped the record company from putting that out first. Because if they had put that out first, we would have never heard the rest of the album," Rodgers said. The 2025 Songwriters Hall of Fame induction will be held tonight in New York City. This year's inductees are: George Clinton Ashley Gorley Mike Love Tony Macaulay Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins Tom Johnston, Michael McDonald and Patrick Simmons of "The Doobie Brothers"
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Frontman Records With Classic '70s Rock Band For First Time in 45 Years
Frontman Records With Classic '70s Rock Band For First Time in 45 Years originally appeared on Parade. An iconic 1970s rock band announced this week that they reunited in the studio with their former frontman, 45 years since the last time they all recorded an album together. The Doobie Brothers dropped a new album called Walk This Road on Friday, June 6, and they brought back the iconic Michael McDonald, who was last with the band full-time for the 1980 album One Step Closer. McDonald was a lead vocalist for the Doobie Brothers from 1975 to 1982, then appeared with the band sporadically over the years, but has not been on one of their albums since One Step Closer. The 73-year-old Hall of Fame vocalist also famously performed with Steely Dan, Toto, Christopher Cross and Kenny Loggins. RELATED: Iconic '60s Rocker Talks Wild Times With Elton John, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix and More McDonald reunites with Doobie Brothers founding members Patrick Simmons (guitar, lead/backing vocals), Tom Johnston (guitar, piano, lead/backing vocals) and John McFee (guitar, steel guitar, backing vocals) to go on tour starting August 4 in order to promote Walk This Road, their 16th studio album. The album also features Mavis Staples and Mick Fleetwood. You can pre-order the 10-track album here. In an interview, McDonald told USA Today that times sure have changed in the recording studio due to all of the technological advances. "The technology has changed, for better or worse… The new procedure is interesting. As you're writing the song, you're recording it into a file, and that is the basis you use for the track, even if it's just a feeling," said McDonald. "So it's kind of fun to feel like the song hasn't had to morph into something else. Some of my fondest memories of being in the studio are the first time I heard the band play 'Takin' It To the Streets.' I was like, wow! When the band started playing it, it took on a whole new life. RELATED: Rock Icon, 78, Being Honored by Trisha Yearwood and James Taylor in Concert About the upcoming tour, Simmons told USA Today that they do realize they are in the 70s now and that makes performing live and the grind of a tour a bit harder, but they've been preparing for it. "I've got a hill I live on and walk it several times a day, and am always working on a project. Not that that counts as calisthenics. But I try to always stay in motion and on the road try to get out and walk every day. We're all in our 70s now. I used to think that was old. I do feel it, but it's hard to believe we're out here doing it at this age, and in my head, I'm still 16. You have to think beyond your age. It's a life adventure," said Simmons. The Doobie Brothers released a string of hits starting in 1972. They are best known for "Listen to the Music," "Jesus Is Just Alright," "Long Train Running'", "China Grove," "Black Water," "Takin' It to the Streets" and "What a Fool Believes." 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 Later this summer, McDonald, Johnston and Simmons will all be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in the Performing Songwriters category. Frontman Records With Classic '70s Rock Band For First Time in 45 Years first appeared on Parade on Jun 6, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
CBS News
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
The Doobie Brothers on songwriting
In a Nashville rehearsal studio, the Doobie Brothers are getting ready for another summer tour, playing "Long Train Runnin'." More than 50 years in, and 48 million albums sold, they still want to be sure they sound sharp, even on hits they've played thousands of times. It was 1973, when co-founder Tom Johnston wrote down words for a riff they'd been jamming to for years in bars and clubs. Down around the corner Half a mile from here See them long trains runnin' And you watch 'em disappear Without love Where would you be now? (Without lo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ve) How long did it take for him to come up with the words? "I would like to say it was a labor of love, but it wasn't; it was about 20 minutes in the bathroom using the tile to sing with," Johnston said. The Doobie Brothers in rehearsal for their latest tour, which was launched this week. CBS News Which tells us something when it comes to the Doobie Brothers' songwriting: As much as their hits are a triumph of technique and theory (as Michael McDonald shared with "Sunday Morning" a few years back, detailing the writing of "Takin' It to the Streets"), sometimes, says Patrick Simmons (who wrote the band's first #1 hit, "Black Water"), it's a lot less complicated. "Accidents happened," Simmons laughed. "A lot of things kind of fall out of the sky and hit you on the head, you know?" The Doobie Brothers sing "Long Train Runnin'": But you can't argue with their methods. This week, Johnston, McDonald and Simmons will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. John McFee has been a member of the Doobies for the last 38 years. Asked about Johnston, McDonald and Simmons' songwriting, McFee laughed, "There's a reason for the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction. I'm a writer, and I've had songs nominated for Grammys. I'm a member of the band. I'm not included in the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction. That's how good these guys are!" The Doobie Brothers: John McFee, Michael McDonald, Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons. CBS News The Doobie members are joining such legendary songwriting teams as Lennon and McCartney, John and Taupin, and Holland-Dozier-Holland. "I think we all feel honored by it," said Johnston. "When we started doing this many years ago, nobody was thinking about anything like that." Does recognition like this matter? "To be in the company of those people," said McDonald, "is what matters. To think that you would ever, you know, be counted among them in any category is just too much to wish for." The Songwriters Hall of Fame is a long way from the house on 12th Street in San Jose, California, where Simmons and Johnston started the band. "When we started out doing this, we were just trying to pay rent and put gas in your Volkswagen and get around, you know?" said Johnston. At biker bars like the Chateau Liberté, they honed their hard-driving Southern rock sound … a style that softened when Johnston left the band in the late '70s, and McDonald joined, bringing with him a more mellow feel that propelled the band to their multi-platinum selling album "Minute By Minute" in 1978. "What a Fool Believes," from the Doobie Brothers' album "Minute By Minute": If the changes in personnel, sound and style created strains and rifts among some of the Doobies as younger men, a historic 50th anniversary tour in 2021, when these four united to play together for the first time, seemed to melt them away. Simmons said, "Michael came to do a few shows with us, and stuck around!" I asked, "Somebody told me … 'They're getting along as well as ever. They're enjoying being together as much as they ever have.'" "I think they said they were getting along in age or something!" Simmons laughed. McFee said, "We all appreciate it more as time goes by, how lucky we are and all the good things that are a part of the band, you know?" "And you suddenly realize, 'I just gotta keep doing this as long as I can keep doing this,'" McDonald added. Because it's still the most joyful thing you can do? "Absolutely," Johnston said. "And it's that hour or two hours that we get on stage where we actually feel like we're in our 20s again," McDonald said. "The rest of the day, we pretty much feel 75!" That feeling sparked a new studio album, "Walk This Road," and another Doobies milestone: Simmons, Johnston and McDonald all recording together in the studio for the first time ever. McDonald said, "Originally it was kind of like, 'Hey, you guys are doing this first album together in a long time. You've been together over the years, 50 years. And you've walked this road together, you know? Let's write a song about that.'" 'We've all made mistakes," Simmons laughed. "We all have things that we wish we'd made some different choices at times. And the choices we made, and you look back on that, and you go, 'Oh gosh, hopefully I learned something!'" Redemption, unity, cohesion – not just good themes, but Hall-of-Fame-worthy ones, relevant for the Doobie Brothers, and for all of us. McDonald said, "We all live on this one tiny, little blue ball. We're all walking down the same road. Just by virtue of that, you know? And we're gonna have to learn to get along with each other and listen to each other, you know?" Simmons, 76 years young remarked, "This could be the start of something really great!" Worth a chuckle perhaps – as the Doobie Brothers ponder more than 50 years together. Asked how long this will go on, McDonald replied, "That's anybody's guess." "We're a Seventies band in a whole different sense now!" laughed McFee. To hear the title track "Walk This Road" by the Doobie Brothers (featuring Mavis Staples), click on the video player below: For more info: Story produced by Gabriel Falcon. Editor: Joseph Frandino. See also:
