Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers Reconnects With Son He Put Up for Adoption at Age 14, Nearly 6 Decades Later
Billboard ·
“I’m still trying to get my head around all of it," says 59-year-old Michael Goessling, who just learned his biological father's identity.
One of the Doobie Brothers has reconnected with a long-lost Doobie son.
As reported by NBC , Michael McDonald made contact a year and a half ago with biological son Michael Goessling, who recalls putting it together over a preliminary phone call that he was related to a rock star.
Adopted as a baby, 59-year-old Goessling told the outlet that he never knew his biological parents until last year, when he received a letter informing him that they wanted to meet him. His first conversation with McDonald was over the phone.
“I just said: ‘What a voice that guy has!’” Goessling said. “It just sounded so familiar, but I couldn’t place it. Finally, I just said: ‘Are you Michael McDonald?’ And he chuckled and he said, ‘Yeah, I’m afraid so.’”
Goessling also figured out the identity of his birth father after McDonald told him he was a musician with a gig that night at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheater. A quick Google search showed that the Doobie Brothers were booked for the venue on that date.
“There are still days I wake up, and my first thought is I am coming out of the craziest dream, and it’s been a year and a half,” Goessling added. “I’m still trying to get my head around all of it.”
Back when McDonald was 14, he had a child with his middle-school girlfriend. The pair put the child up for adoption, and the musician went on to replace Tom Johnston as the lead singer of the Doobie Brothers. McDonald has five Grammys to his name and helped the Doobie Brothers score Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 “What A Fool Believes,” as well as other top 10 hits such as “Real Love” and “The Doctor.”
Goessling also told NBC that he never harbored resentment for his biological parents — who he says are still good friends — for putting him up for adoption. “I just wanted to thank them for the choices they made on my behalf and for giving me a shot in this world, and how grateful I was for that,” he said. “They were always heroes in my story.”