1978 Soft Rock Classic Producer Called a ‘Piece of Crap' Was Nearly Scrapped Before Hitting No. 1

One song that would become an enduring hit of the 1970s almost didn't make it to release, only to go on to become a huge success. That track is none other than The Doobie Brothers' song "What a Fool Believes," which came out as an official single for the album Minute by Minute in 1978.

The song is a cover of a track originally recorded by Kenny Loggins and released on his 1978 album Nightwatch. He wrote the song with the lead vocalist of The Doobie Brothers, Michael McDonald, who decided to give the tune a go with his own band's version the same year. Loggins' version came out only five months before McDonald and The Doobie Brothers' version.

The Doobie Brothers worked with producer Ted Templeman on their version of "What a Fool Believes," but he didn't have the same faith in the song as they did. In the book Inside the Hits, Templeman revealed how much they struggled to find the right arrangement for the track. Eventually, Templeman played the drums for the song himself, giving it a "floppy feel... It flops around, the drums aren't perfect, nothing's perfect on it."

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Years later, Templeman made a bold admission in an interview with The Guardian in 2022. He said that he still felt like the song "wasn't right" when he presented it to Warner Bros. and executives, telling them, "This thing is a piece of crap. but I'll play it for you anyway."

"I was just about ready to throw it away," the producer declared. Luckily, the record label felt differently about the song. Templeman recalled people in the room telling him, "Are you crazy? That's great!"

In the end, "What a Fool Believes" made it on The Doobie Brothers' 1978 album, and they're probably really glad it did. The song was an unexpected hit, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1979. Going even further, the song earned the band two of the biggest Grammy Awards of the year, for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

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This story was originally published May 24, 2026 at 5:46 PM.