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What a Fool Believes
A Memoir
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Narrated by:
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Michael McDonald
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Paul Reiser
About this listen
A sweeping and evocative memoir from the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, Grammy Award-winning, platinum selling singer-songwriter Michael McDonald, written with his friend, Emmy Award-nominated actor, comedian, and #1 New York Times bestselling author Paul Reiser.
Doobie Brothers. Steely Dan. Chart topping soloist. Across a half-century of American music, Michael McDonald’s unmistakably smooth baritone voice defined an era of rock and R&B with hit records like “What A Fool Believes,” “Takin’ It to the Streets,” “I Keep Forgettin’,” “Peg,” “It Keeps You Running,” “You Belong to Me,” and “Yah Mo B There.”
In his candid, freewheeling memoir, written with his friend, the Emmy Award-nominated actor and comedian Paul Reiser, Michael tells the story of his life and music. A high school dropout from Ferguson, Missouri, Michael chased his dreams in 1970’s California, a heady moment of rock opportunity and excess. As a rising session musician and backing vocalist, a series of encounters would send him on a wild ride around the world and to the heights of rock stardom—from joining Steely Dan and becoming a defining member of The Doobie Brothers to forging a path as a breakout solo R&B artist.
Interwoven with the unforgettable tales of the music, Michael tells a deeply affecting story of losing and finding himself as a man. He reckons with the unshakeable insecurities that drove him, the drug and alcohol addictions that plagued him, and the highs and lows of popularity. Along the way he relays the lessons he’s learned, and that if he’s learned anything at all it’s that there’s often little correlation between what you get and what you deserve.
Filled with unbelievable stories and a matchless cast of music greats including James Taylor, Ray Charles, Carly Simon, and Quincy Jones, What a Fool Believes is a moving and entertaining memoir that is sure to be a classic.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2024 Michael McDonald and Paul Reiser (P)2024 HarperCollins PublishersRelated to this topic
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- Narrated by: Donald Fagen
- Length: 4 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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A witty, revealing, sharply written work of memoir and criticism by the cofounder of Steely Dan. Musician and songwriter Donald Fagen presents a group of vivid set pieces in his entertaining debut as an author, from portraits of the cultural figures and currents that shaped him as a youth to an account of his college days and of life on the road. Fagen begins by introducing the “eminent hipsters” that spoke to him as he was growing up in a bland New Jersey suburb in the early 1960s.
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Phoned It In
- By Consumer Jane on 07-29-20
By: Donald Fagen
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Not Dead Yet
- The Memoir
- By: Phil Collins
- Narrated by: Phil Collins
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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The long-awaited autobiography from Phil Collins, one of the best-selling music artists of all time. This is the roller-coaster journey from his beginnings as a child actor to his domination of the charts as both a solo artist and part of Genesis. His success is astounding, his music has global reach, and his story is legendary.
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Funny, moving and honest
- By Brian Haworth on 11-03-16
By: Phil Collins
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Long Train Runnin'
- Our Story of the Doobie Brothers
- By: Pat Simmons, Tom Johnston, Chris Epting - contributor
- Narrated by: Chris Henry Coffey, Graham Winton, T. Ryder Smith, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Only a very few rock bands that have had the longevity, success, and drama of The Doobie Brothers. Born out of late 1960s NoCal, they stood alongside their contemporaries The Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers, and many others as an iconic American rock band. The train was rolling along, hits were flowing like wine, and arenas were packed with fans who wanted to see them live...then Tom Johnston, the band’s front man and lead guitarist, almost died.
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Fans of the band will enjoy
- By JIM HOWELL on 01-24-23
By: Pat Simmons, and others
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Memoir of a Roadie
- Axl Said I Made a Great Cup of Tea... Scott Weiland Liked the Carpenters... & Ozzy Drinks Rosé.
- By: Joel Miller
- Narrated by: Joel Miller
- Length: 13 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Joel Miller is an ex-roadie for Guns N’ Roses, Poison, Stone Temple Pilots, and the Cranberries. The book is an often-hilarious personal account of a young man in his early 20s trying to be a “good” roadie while also trying to understand life’s big picture. Through the advice of rock stars and career roadies Joel tries to find the pathway to roadie righteousness.
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Meh
- By Jason on 08-20-24
By: Joel Miller
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Runaway Train
- Or, the Story of My Life So Far
- By: Eric Roberts, Sam Kashner - contributor
- Narrated by: Eric Roberts
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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In this brutally candid memoir, Academy Award and Golden Globe nominee Eric Roberts pulls no punches about the ups and downs of his career and his sometimes stormy relationship with his famous sister, Julia.
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This is a hard one to review.
- By Susan on 11-04-24
By: Eric Roberts, and others
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My Effin' Life
- By: Geddy Lee
- Narrated by: Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Cliff Burnstein
- Length: 16 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Geddy Lee is one of rock and roll's most respected bassists. For nearly five decades, his playing and work as co-writer, vocalist and keyboardist has been an essential part of the success story of Canadian progressive rock trio Rush. Here for the first time is his account of life inside and outside the band.
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Lee's Narration Will Captivate You.
- By Ms. R on 11-14-23
By: Geddy Lee
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Drums & Demons
- The Tragic Journey of Jim Gordon
- By: Joel Selvin
- Narrated by: David Bendena
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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With full cooperation from the late Gordon's family and based on his trademark extensive, detailed research, Joel Selvin’s account is at once an epic journey through an artist’s monumental musical contributions, a rollicking history of rock drumming, and a terrifying downward spiral into the unimaginable madness that Gordon fought a valiant but losing battle against. One of the great untold stories of rock is finally being told.
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Detailed look into the tortured soul of Jim Gordon
- By vintageone on 04-10-24
By: Joel Selvin
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Stories to Tell
- A Memoir
- By: Richard Marx
- Narrated by: Richard Marx
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Richard Marx is one of the most accomplished singer-songwriters in the history of popular music. His self-titled 1987 album went triple platinum and made him the first male solo artist (and second solo artist overall after Whitney Houston) to have four singles from their debut crack the top three on the Billboard Hot 100. His follow-up, 1989’s Repeat Offender, was an even bigger smash, going quadruple platinum and landing two singles at number one.
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Wow - Totally unexpected
- By Athena C. Galie on 07-07-21
By: Richard Marx
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Dancing with Myself
- By: Billy Idol
- Narrated by: Billy Idol
- Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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An early architect of punk rock's sound, style, and fury, whose lip-curling sneer and fist-pumping persona vaulted him into pop's mainstream as one of MTV's first megastars, Billy Idol remains, to this day, a true rock 'n' roll icon. Now, in his long-awaited autobiography, Dancing with Myself, Idol delivers an electric, searingly honest account of his journey to fame - from his early days as front man of the pioneering UK punk band Generation X to the decadent life atop the dance-rock kingdom he ruled.
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Brutally Honest
- By Katana Rogue on 01-25-16
By: Billy Idol
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Brothers
- By: Alex van Halen
- Narrated by: Alex van Halen
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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In this intimate and open account—nothing like any rock-and-roll memoir you’ve ever read—Alex Van Halen shares his personal story of family, friendship, music and brotherly love in a remarkable tribute to his beloved brother and band mate. In his rough yet sweet voice, Alex recounts the brothers’ childhood, first in the Netherlands and then in working class Pasadena, California, with an itinerant musician father and a very proper Indonesian-born mother.
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Great but incomplete.
- By Zac Stafford on 10-31-24
By: Alex van Halen
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Johnny Carson
- By: Henry Bushkin
- Narrated by: Josh Bloomberg
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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“Here’s Johnny!” Probably everyone in America knows the phrase, whether they watched every episode of The Tonight Show or none because they had to go to bed early on school nights. From 1962 to 1992, Johnny Carson and his Tonight Show dominated the American consciousness. Henry Bushkin was Carson’s best friend and lawyer during that period, and his book is a tautly rendered and remarkably nuanced portrait of Carson, revealing not only how he truly was, but why.
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The good, the bad and the ugly. A five star story of the king of late night
- By Richard A on 05-23-24
By: Henry Bushkin
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The Gospel According to Luke
- By: Steve Lukather
- Narrated by: Steve Lukather
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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In this incisive memoir, Steve Lukather tells the complete Toto story. He also lifts the lid on what went on behind the closed studio doors, shedding light on the unique creative processes of some of the most legendary names in music: from Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks, and Elton John to Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, and Aretha Franklin. Lukather’s extraordinary tale also encompasses the dark side of stardom and the American Dream. Frank, engaging, and often hilarious, The Gospel According to Luke is no ordinary rock memoir.
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Wow Best Rock Biography Ever
- By Hercules on 09-29-18
By: Steve Lukather
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Summer of '85
- By: Chris Morrow, Kevin Hart, Charlamagne Tha God, and others
- Narrated by: Kevin Hart
- Length: 4 hrs and 47 mins
- Original Recording
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Welcome to the summer of 1985 in Philadelphia, when the city was rocked—in almost every sense of the word—by two unprecedented events: Mayor W. Wilson Goode’s May 13 decision to bomb the headquarters of MOVE, a controversial Philadelphia-based radical communal organization, and the July 13 Live Aid concert, where international rock royalty convened in Philly to raise money for victims of the Ethiopian famine. Separated by just two months and eight miles, these events would showcase both the best and the worst of the so-called City of Brotherly Love.
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Misleading title and poor execution
- By Scott on 10-28-22
By: Chris Morrow, and others
What listeners say about What a Fool Believes
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- Nicole Davisson
- 06-09-24
The best audiobook I've had the joy of listening to, hands down.
The bonus at the end with both guys chatting, the musical ditties in between the chapters, make the audio version the one worth getting in my opinion.
Hearing Micheal's voice and personality come through is something I'll treasure forever. And Paul, it's good to hear from you, too. I've missed you.
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- martha b
- 06-05-24
Real Love
Listening to this book will make you even more of a fan of Michael McDonald than you were before--- if that's even possible.
Having Michael in the car with you, telling you his story is an absolute gift. His honesty and sense of humor shine through. The anecdotes, and behind-the-scenes look at his career and family is heartwarming and inspiring. Michael we love you.
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1 person found this helpful
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- MicheleC
- 05-27-24
wonderfully told autobiography
Like many, I thought I had an idea about his story. It turns out that I was too young to really know and understand. Such an amazing career
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- M.
- 06-22-24
Nice surprise!
Wow, so easy on the ears, good story teller, witty sense of humor. Loved it.
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- neal swensen
- 09-02-24
His honesty and clarity in so many aspects of his life.
I loved the book. I bought the hardback as well as listened to the audible. Michael is a very good story teller so the audible really made the stories come to life. The book I used as a reference to go back and find all the songs and bands he mentioned. I also loved the pictures in the book. In fact, there was a picture of my cousin, Jack Story, who was one of the winners in a band contest along with Mike. That was really special to our family, but I also loved his family and band pics through the years.
Congrats on a great job!
Sincerely,
Nancy Swensen
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- pbrophy
- 09-09-24
More than I ever needed to know, but terrific!
I am a lifelong fan of all the music he loved and got involved with, whether the stuff he listened to growing up or all the music he made with the Doobies, etc as well as what he did on his own. As others had commented, having him reading his book to me with his own voice made it all the richer. The story is not just a collection of interesting "inside baseball" stories of the music scene in 70's, 80's to the present, and the backstory on songs and bands, but it is also a touching and personal story of a life well lived. I enjoyed the bonus material discussion between him and Paul Riser, recounting how the book idea first presented, and how their collaboration made it so good. If you like his music, and you think you like him, you will enjoy this book on Audible...I don't think it would be as good in print. I will also seek out some of Paul Riser's other work, too.
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- Barb
- 10-16-24
Love this!!! Awesome book!
My husband and I play "Six Degrees of Michael McDonald" where we'll try to link him with other 70s/80s-era musicians. He seemed to have connections with anyone and everyone from that era but how he got started and wound up on so many albums in such a short period of time was never quite clear to us. This book explains it all and in great style! McDonald is a great storyteller and it's so much fun having him narrate so you get to hear his stories in his own voice. He also is very honest about how his ADD has played into his path and some of the choices he made along the way. As parent of an ADD son, I really enjoyed that aspect of his story. Terrific book from start to finish on many levels!
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- Homecgull
- 01-06-25
Mike's candor and humility
Who hasn't wondered what the man behind the ubiquitous and warm carmel voice of the 70's and 80's is like? In this autobiography we see a man who is constantly surprised by his successes and continually doubting his ability - just like all the rest of us! He is ever grateful for the opportunities he's been given and for all the people he's worked with so far. Thank you to Paul Reiser for helping this book happen. A great read.
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- M. Zubek
- 01-22-25
Very informative and entertaining
It was very well written and I enjoyed the Honesty
Thank you
I have always been a big fan.
And was honored to have a look into your life and career. Congrats on all you have achieved and will continue too.
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- Jorik71
- 10-24-24
Now I know
I learned so much listening to this audio. A huge fan of Michael McDonald and of course Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers, I was fascinated to learn how he became a part of each group and then how his solo career transpired. It felt so real and honest.
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