Michael McDonald With Paul Reiser “What A Fool Belives: A Memoir” Book Review

Singer/songwriter/musician Michael McDonald (The Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan, Solo), along with actor/comedian/writer Paul Reiser (My Two Dads, Aliens, Mad About You, Stranger, and much more) wrote Michael’s autobiography “What A Fool Belives:  A Memoir” and released it on May 21st of 2024.

I’ve been a fan of Michael’s work since I was a teenager, but I really did not know much about him outside of his work.

This book taught me a lot about him. 

I honestly thought he was fairly squeaky clean, but he partied as much as many musicians have.

Luckily, he’s been sober since the 1980s, but for a while there, he was a party guy.

Like most autobiographies, Michael talks about growing up, getting into music, various bands he was in, ultimately joining Steely Dan by a chance encounter with a fellow musician, getting a call to join The Doobie Brothers initially as a fill-in, but ultimately stayed and helped the band attain just as much, if not more success, solo career and working with various musicians, relationships, and much more.

Michael is a PHENOMENAL talent.

If you are a fan, you must read this book.

If I have one complaint, I wish he would have mentioned the time he worked with Van Halen singer David Lee Roth on what would become a big hit for them “I’ll Wait”.  But that’s OK.  I’ve read that story in Michael’s frequent producer, particularly with The Doobie Brothers, Ted Templeman’s book.

Aside from that, Michael has a lot of stories and as a fan, it was great learning a lot more about him.