In what certainly seems like on odd collaboration, longtime Doobie Brothers singer/keyboardist Michael McDonald is preparing to release an autobiography that he co-wrote with—wait for it—Mad About You star Paul Reiser. The book is titled What a Fool Believes, named after the chart-topping hit McDonald co-wrote for the Doobies, and will be published May 21, 2024.
According to a message about the book posted on McDonald’s official website, the project came together during the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of years after the singer/keyboardist developed a friendship with Reiser when they met at a party. The two bonded over their mutual passion for music, as Reiser also was a skilled pianist and songwriter.
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Besides his successful acting career and musical ability, Reiser also is an author who has penned the bestselling books Couplehood, Babyhood and Familyhood.
McDonald and Reiser on Writing the Book
In an exclusive interview with People, Reiser revealed that he was the one who proposed the idea of McDonald writing a memoir.
“Because I would periodically ask Mike questions I didn’t understand about the Doobies, about him, and I said, jokingly, ‘You should write a book so I don’t have to bother you all the time,’” Reiser explained. “And he jokingly said, ‘I’ve thought about it, but I don’t know how you start that.’”
Since both of them had plenty of time on the hands during the pandemic, Reiser said they agreed to try putting a book together.
Work on the book began in the spring of 2020, with Zoom interviews between the two serving is the basis for the project.
McDonald told People that he initially wasn’t sure if there was enough of interest in his life to fill out a book.
“Because my story really, I’ve always felt, existed more in the people I worked with,” the 71-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer maintained. “It wasn’t really so much about me as my good fortune to work with a lot of different people.”
However, as work on the book progressed, McDonald noted, “the story emerged for me, and I think for the first time, I understood my own story a little better on a more personal level.”
Of course, beyond his work with The Doobie Brothers, McDonald has had many noteworthy aspects to his music career. They include being an important contributor to several Steely Dan albums, enjoying success as a solo artist, and collaborating with the likes of Ray Charles, Carly Simon, Kenny Loggins, James Ingram, and Patti LaBelle.
“There’s so many touchstones of music that he straddles, and there aren’t a lot of people who have that kind of breadth of career,” Reiser told People. “Along the way, Mike’s personal story comes forward. So much of it is uniquely his, but even the parts that are uniquely his, I think, resonate with people.”
What a Fool Believes also delves into McDonald’s past issues with drugs and alcohol and his struggles with insecurity.
Plans for Other Collaborative Projects
Meanwhile, McDonald and Reiser revealed to People that they were planning collaborations beyond the memoir. They’ve been discussing a possible Broadway musical, and Reiser also said they were writing a song together.
“We have a lot of overlap in the music that we both love,” he noted. “So we’ve thrown silly, half-baked ideas about doing stuff together, and we’ll see. It’ll probably be a lot easier and quicker than writing a book.”
TV Taping Tonight
McDonald and Reiser are in Nashville tonight, December 13, to tape a TV show that according to a post on MichaelMcDonald.com, “will include stories, music and some highlights” from What a Fool Believes.