'What a Fool Believes' & 'Steal Away'

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by voicebug, Feb 18, 2003.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. voicebug

    voicebug Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    now in Houston, TX
    Apologies all around if this is a beaten to death subject, but what is the deal with the similarities between The Doobie Brothers 'What A Fool Believes' and Robbie Dupree's 'Steal Away?'

    Is 'Steal Away' a homage? Or is this a plaigarism suit that never happened? The instrumental/keyboard riff is definately too close for comfort. However, I do love both songs.

    Anyone have any insight on this ever being an issue, or am I off my rocker? :)
     
  2. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    It's a plaigarism suit that never happened, or so I haven't heard about one...
     
  3. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Doesn't Michael McDonald sing backup on "Steal Away"? I swear I remember Casey Kasem mentioning that on American Top 40. Or am I delusional?
     
  4. tim_neely

    tim_neely Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Central VA
    I believe you are correct. Perhaps Robbie played the "plagiarism suit avoidance" card.

    Michael McDonald got to be so omnipresent in those days (among other places, he was on hit records by Christopher Cross, Amy Holland, Nicolette Larson and James Ingram, all seemingly within months of each other, and I think he also might have been on a Kenny Loggins hit) that it was almost a joke after a while.
     
    Grant and painted8 like this.
  5. JonUrban

    JonUrban SHF Member #497

    Location:
    Connecticut
    Patti Labelle too (On my Own), and yes, Kenny Loggins, Carly Simon (You Belong to Me) and a bunch of others.

    There is a new DVD Video with DTS 5.1 of a "tribute" concert with Michael and a lot of these "co-artists" performing their co-written tunes.

    Unfortunatly, it is horrible! Age has taken it's effect.
     
  6. YaQuin

    YaQuin Formerly Blue Moon

    Location:
    Madison, WI
     
  7. Norbert Becker

    Norbert Becker Senior Member

    Location:
    Philadelphia PA
    I thought the Doobies were the backing band on Steal Away, sort of like
    how Fleetwood Mac does the backing on (ex-member) Bob Welch's
    "Sentimental Lady".
     
  8. stever

    stever Senior Member

    Location:
    Omaha, Nebr.
    Michael McDonald seemed to guest on many recordings in the 70's and early 80's. He also had a couple of solo LPs around this time.

    I never put two and two together, but, "Steal Away" does sound a bit like, "What a Fool Believes."
     
  9. reechie

    reechie Senior Member

    Location:
    Baltimore
    I just checked the discography on Robbie Dupree's web site http://robbiedupree.com, and according to the personnel listing for his debut record, there's no sign of Michael McDonald, or any other Doobie Brothers anywhere on "Steal Away" or the rest of the album

    I'd completely forgotten about the follow up single "Hot Rod Hearts" though. That one was all over radio when I was a teen.
     
  10. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    There was a lot of silent guest starring on records back in those days. Stevie Nicks, Lindsay Buckingham, Michael McDonald, Carly Simon, the Bee Gees, all sang on each other's records.

    That was the sound of southern California rock!
     
    zebop and driverdrummer like this.
  11. shampoo

    shampoo New Member

    Ironically was listening to random soft rock on spotify which inspired me to search this topic when Steely Dan's Peg came on which of course meant MM backing two tracks back to back (for me at this moment anyway).
     
  12. JozefK

    JozefK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dixie
    For those like myelf who do not like Michael McDonald or the entire LA soft rock sound, check out a classic SCTV bit from around the time of C. Cross' album. We see the recording session for "Ride Like The Wind", and M. McDonald (Rick Moranis) reading a magazine, then rushing to the microphone to get in his "Such a long way to go" backing vocal. He'll be chatting with the producer, drinking, a coke, eating a donut, or some other mundane activity, then racing back to the mike just in time to sing his line.

    I was the only person I knew who hated that whole LA sound and it was omnipresent on the radio where I lived. I remember I saw this sketch when it first aired, and I was in hysterics -- a wee bit of revenge I guess. :laugh:

    ETA: Holy Sheesh -- you bumped a thread from 2003?

    :laugh:
     
  13. ampmods

    ampmods Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston, MA, USA
    Also in a similar jaunty r&b type song that Michael McDonald co-wrote and actually the Doobies did first... but Carly Simon's "You Belong To Me" has a similar vibe to me. And Laura Branigan's "Gloria" felt like a faster version of the same sort of vibe.
     
    driverdrummer likes this.
  14. Catch22

    Catch22 Forum Resident

    Same deal with "He's So Shy" by the Pointer Sisters. Same drum beat and similar keyboard line.

     
    zebop and Grant like this.
  15. RoyalScam

    RoyalScam Luckless Pedestrian

    Oh, you mean THIS?
     
    ralph7109, Michael, kouzie and 4 others like this.
  16. WayOutWardell

    WayOutWardell Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    ^^ oh man, my sides are hurting from laughter!!!
     
  17. Monosterio

    Monosterio Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Florida
    Why do you think the song is called "Steal Away"? ;)
     
    Ringmaster_D likes this.
  18. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    I kinda remember that! Fun stuff!

    It was all over the radio where I lived, too, and was the only real counterpoint to disco and funk music also on top 40 radio. But, I loved soft rock/California rock. It was all kinds of things: folk, classical, jazz, R&B, disco, country, and rock all rolled into one.

    I once made a nice CD-R collection of it about fifteen years ago. I sent my buddy in Florida a copy of it, but as I put paper labels on them, they probably don't play anymore. Now, with these Doobie Brother threads, i'm in the mood to make a new comp.
     
  19. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    It was just one big musical community. They were all friends and acquaintances. Top musicians and songwriters. You can also include Steely Dan and Toto in that bunch.

    For me, the late 70s/early 80s was a great time for pop music. I loved it.

    This CD contains a few rare singles from the time period, including one hit by James Taylor's brother Livingston:
    [​IMG]

    This next CD is part of a nice 5-CD series that somewhat wraps up a lot of the hits that straddled the line between Rhino's "Have a Nice Day" series and their "Just Can't Get Enough" collections:
    [​IMG]
     
  20. Slokes

    Slokes Cruel But Fair

    Location:
    Greenwich, CT USA
    "A wee bit of revenge," indeed... Never tick off anyone from Toto.

     
  21. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    Can I just say that both songs are equally terrible?
     
    Michael and agundy like this.
  22. Combination

    Combination Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Orleans
    Yet secretly, you wish Double M sang on both, don't you? :p
     
    GodShifter likes this.
  23. segue

    segue Psychoacoustic Member

    Location:
    Hawai'i
    I always considered the L.A. soft rock sound to be Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Redd Kross, and The Minutemen.

    [​IMG]
     
    WayOutWardell likes this.
  24. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    So busted ;)
     
  25. misterdecibel

    misterdecibel Bulbous Also Tapered

    I could go for the rest of my life without hearing either one again.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine