The Doobie Brothers’ “Listen To The Music” Performance Is A Guaranteed Good Time

The Midnight Special, 1973

The Doobie Brothers’ 1971 debut album was a commercial failure; their first single failed to chart as did the album itself, but it was their 1972 album Toulouse Street that would become a career defining album and with it came the band’s first big hit, ‘Listen To The Music’. Written by Doobie Brothers singer Tom Johnston, ‘Listen To The Music’ is an upbeat, happy tune that Johnston says was inspired by an inherent desire for and belief in the possibility of world peace and by the time The Doobie Brothers appeared on The Midnight Special in 1973, it was already a massive fan favorite.

This performance is definitely The Doobie Brothers at the height of their success; with a wildly successful second album that yielded some of the most important songs in their catalog, there was literally nothing left to do but enjoy it with the people who made it possible – their fans. I love this performance because like most groups of the 70s, The Doobie Brothers really knew how to play and sing!

Fun Fact: The chorus of this song has been used many times for radio jingles.

Tom Johnston’s voice is definitely one of the most iconic voices of the 70’s, and the band as a whole had massive crossover appeal. If you were into rock, ‘Listen To The Music’ satisfied that need; if you were more into the more soulful stuff, it satisfied that need, too. It’s no wonder that over 40 years after this performance, we’re still just as infatuated with The Doobie Brothers as we ever were, and why we still lose our minds a little the moment we hear that iconic guitar lick that indicates good times are just around the corner!

+ Listen To The Music lyrics +

Oh, listen to the music
Oh, listen to the music
Oh, listen to the music
All the time

Don’t you feel it growin, day by day
People gettin’ ready for the news
Some are happy, some are sad
gonna let the music play

What the people need is a way to make them smile
Ain’t so hard to do if you know how
Gotta get a message, get it on through
Oh now Mama gonna get that after a while

Oh, listen to the music
Oh, listen to the music
Oh, listen to the music
All the time
Yeah, ooh

Well I know you know better, everything I say
Meet me in the country for a day
We’ll be happy and Mama will dance
Well my Mama gonna dance our blues away

And if I’m feelin’ good to you baby and you’re feelin’ good to me
There ain’t nothin’ we can’t do or say
Feelin’ good, feeling fine
Well now Mama gonna let myself unwind

Oh, listen to the music
Oh, listen to the music
Oh, listen to the music
All the time

Like a lazy flowing river surrounding castles in the sky
And the crowd is growing bigger
And they’re listenin’ for the happy sounds
And I got to let them fly

Oh, listen to the music
Oh, listen to the music
Oh, listen to the music
All the time

Oh, listen to the music
Oh, listen to the music
Oh, listen to the music
All the time

Oh, listen to the music
Oh, listen to the music
Oh, listen to the music
All the time

Oh, listen to the music
Oh, listen to the music
Oh, listen to the music
All the time

Oh, listen to the music
Oh, listen to the music
Oh, listen to the music
All the time

Oh, listen to the music
Listen to the music, once just listen to the music
Oh, listen to the music
Once just listen to the music, once just listen to the music
Oh, listen to the music
Once just listen to the music, once just listen to the music
All the time