1989 Rock Hit Released 37 Years Ago Today Came From an Iconic Band That's Still Touring in Their 70s
In May, 37 years ago, The Doobie Brothers released their hit single, "The Doctor." It was one of the tunes on their 1989 album, Cycles. The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard mainstream rock chart and No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song is about the band's love for music. It has lyrics like: "From coast to coast, there's a question everybody's always asking me. People wanna know, everywhere I go, what can the answer be? I tell them music is the doctor, makes you feel like you want to, like I don't listen to the doctor, just like you ought to. Music is the doctor of my soul."
As one fan on YouTube said, "If you weren't around when this song came out, it was everywhere in the summer of 1989." Another said, "This video clearly shows what a fantastic group The Doobie Brothers are. Every band member is smiling and having a blast. You never see videos like this anymore. Thank you for providing us decades of great music!"
The Doobie Brothers, who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020, are still actively touring to this day. The current members include Tom Johnston (77), Patrick Simmons (77), Michael McDonald (74), and John McFee (75).
When asked about the band's longevity in a 2025 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Johnston said, "Boy, I don't know. That's not a planned thing. Once again, it just happens. You don't make a plan to be doing this if you're sitting in your 20s, thinking, ‘Well, what are we going to do in 50 years?' Well, nobody knows."
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Simmons added, "I will say this, and I believe this wholeheartedly, that whether it's a band or you're on your own or whatever you're doing, you have to have a passion for it. You have to love what you're doing. And I suspect a lot of folks, they kind of got into it for fame and fortune. That only lasts so long, and then pretty soon, you're back to, OK, I got to write a good song. We're not playing Madison Square Garden, we're playing auditorium theaters. We're not playing for 20,000, we're playing for a thousand people."
The Doobie Brothers are touring through the United States this summer.
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This story was originally published May 17, 2026 at 5:36 AM.