Listen to the Music

"Listen to the Music"
Single by The Doobie Brothers
from the album Toulouse Street
B-side "Toulouse Street"
Released September 2, 1972 (1972-09-02)
Format 7-inch single
Recorded 1972
Genre Rock
Length 3:26
Label Warner Bros.
Writer(s) Tom Johnston
Producer(s) Ted Templeman
The Doobie Brothers singles chronology
"Nobody"
(1971)		 "Listen to the Music"
(1972)		 "Jesus Is Just Alright"
(1972)

"Listen to the Music" is a song recorded by The Doobie Brothers on their second album Toulouse Street. This song was The Doobie Brothers' first big hit in 1972, it remains a concert staple and is one of The Doobie Brothers' biggest hits. This song is usually played as the last song at The Doobie Brothers' concerts. It was written by Tom Johnston.

Song

Writer Tom Johnston described the motivation for the song as a call for world peace:

"The chord structure of it made me think of something positive, so the lyrics that came out of that were based on this utopian idea that if the leaders of the world got together on some grassy hill somewhere and either smoked enough dope or just sat down and just listened to the music and forgot about all this other bullshit, the world would be a much better place. It was very utopian and very unrealistic (laughs). It seemed like a good idea at the time."[1]

The studio recording used both a banjo and a prominent flanging effect, audible from the bridge until the fadeout and when released as a single by Warner Bros. Records, the song peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1972.[2] It also spent two weeks at number nine on the Cash Box Top 100.[3]

The commercial success of "Listen to the Music" helped the album Toulouse Street skyrocket on the charts. The song remains a staple of adult contemporary and classic rock radio. The band also uses it as an encore song during live shows. It was written and sung by guitarist and vocalist Tom Johnston. Patrick Simmons, the second guitarist and vocalist in the group, sings the bridge of the song.

During the 1982 'Farewell Tour,' the song was the last one played on the setlist as the encore with drummer Keith Knudsen singing the lead vocal.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1972) Peak
position
Australia KMR 50
Canada RPM[4] 3
Netherlands 7
UK 29
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[5] 11
U.S. Cash Box Top 100[3] 9

Year-end charts

Chart (1972) Rank
Australia[6] 102
U.S. (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)[7] 102

Remix

The song received a remix by Steve Rodway a.k.a. Motiv8 in 1994, which eventually peaked at #37 UK.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Frank Mastropolo (November 29, 2012). "Doobie Brothers' Tom Johnston Reflects on 'Listen to the Music' at 40". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  2. ↑ "The Doobie Brothers - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  3. 1 2
  4. ↑ "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  5. ↑ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  6. ↑ "Australian Chart Book". Austchartbook.com.au. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  7. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
  8. ↑ Zywietz, Tobias (March 22, 2005). "Chart Log UK: Dio - Dyverse". Chart Log UK. The Official Zobbel Website.
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