Why didn't Doobie Brothers change the band name in 1975?

I mean no other band changed their sound so much with a new singer as they did when McDonald joined. It was like an entirely different band. Why not change a band name? The McDonald years would be viewed and liked a lot more if they did IMHO.

 

They wanted to before they even broke nationally in the states but it was too late then already. No need to confuse the public further with a name change when one of your signature voices was already different, it's business.

 

This....

....but also, I think it just happened too fast. They were making an album per year at that point and, when Tom Johnston had to drop back for health and burnout reasons, they needed somebody in fast who could fill his shoes as a songwriter and as a singer/performer. Michael McDonald fit the bill and brought a few songs with him as well. The rest of the band was the same, so my guess is that they just didn't foresee how much he would change the sound of their music, at least right away, and couldn't be bothered with the contractual and promotional challenges that a change in the band's name would have presented. They had an album to record and release.

I think they also saw that they needed to change their sound. The sort of folky, rootsy Americana vibe of the majority of their music up to that point was no longer fashionable by 1976. Stampede hadn't sold as well as their previous albums and they needed to move in a different direction to stay commercially relevant. In retrospect, I don't think it could have worked out any better than it did for them.

 

Fleetwood Mac with Nicks/Buckingham changed a huge amount but kept the name.

The better question is why change? Why abandon the name recognition because one new guy enters the picture?

 

They're touring with McDonald/Johnson/Simmons et. all, this coming summer. I for one would love to see it.

 

Same here. Better see these classic artists while they're still around and sounding great.

 

I think it's really sad what happen to this band, I loved Stampede, it's one of my all time favourites. To me when McDonald came in the identity of what they stood for had gone forever and I never bought their albums afterwards. Maybe in hindsight they should have stayed in their original style and would be looked at more favourably today?

 

The Smoothie Brothers would have been an apt band name.

 

Name recognition sells.

There might have been a lot of buyer's remorse after their first album with McD, but a lot of the sales were based on the DB name.

 

Possibly? I also preferred their original sound, which does seem a bit more "timeless" today than the work they produced in the late 70s and early 80s. Unfortunately, they weren't living in the future - they had a career to maintain and they correctly saw that a move away from country/folk and toward R&B was what the market was essentially demanding at that point in time. And they made some great music in that genre -- there are gems scattered all over the four studio albums they made with McDonald, including some very strong deep cuts.

The Eagles also dropped most of the country aspects of their music at around the same time, choosing to go harder into rock and also to incorporate some R&B on The Long Run (albeit not as successfully as the Doobies, who had stronger, more flexible musicians in their band).

 

. . . again . . .

. . . as they had through three previous iterations.

Especially when it has already worked three times.

 

I suggested McDoobies but they wouldn’t go for it...

 

They did the right thing by keeping the name.

 

I understand what you say, but Stampede had reached no 4 in the US charts and so had the previous album. These were the first albums by the Doobies to make the top 20 chart in the UK. So to my mind they were heading in the right direction anyway. The first 2 albums when McDonald joined did worse.

 

Changing their sound doesn't necessitate a band name change. Just think of the number of bands that changed or evolved drastically through the years.

Genesis
Chicago
Rush
Fleetwood Mac
Pink Floyd
Radiohead
Bee Gees
Depeche Mode
Pantera
Journey
T Rex

 

I understand the "classic rock" audience preference for the pre-McDonald sound, but there was no reason to change the name.

They brought in McDonald to help out while Johnston figured stuff out. And during said transition they kept the name, as most bands did through lineup changes.

And of course, the band was really successful with McDonald as its primary songwriter into the 1980s. Biker pop/rock + pop/soul. Best of both worlds, basically.

So the Doobies were pretty smart - not just a collection of ragtag stoners. (Even if that's kinda what they looked like...)

 

I rather liked the McDonald years and find the albums equally as good as pre-McDonald.

 

Me too.

Cache is why they wouldn’t change the name.

 

Post of the day

 

As do I

 

see Fleetwood Mac

 

Duuude... They were totally gonna get around to that.

Just chill and give ‘em some space. Stop, like, harshing their mellow, maan.

 

Jefferson Airplane missed the lecture on branding. They changed their name and their career never really recovered.

 

Right? 15 Top 40 hits, 3 #1s. Quite the comedown.