"Real Love" is a hit song by
The Doobie Brothers
The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in 1970 in San Jose, California, known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies. Active for five decades, with their greatest success in the 1970s, ...
, the first of three singles from their 1980 LP, ''
One Step Closer''.
"Real Love" became the greatest hit from the album, reaching No. 5 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 during the fall of the year. It is the group's third highest-charting U.S. single after their two number-one hits, "
Black Water" and "
What a Fool Believes". The song reached No. 12 in Canada. It was also a Top 20 Adult Contemporary hit in both nations.
''Record World'' said that its "blue-eyed soul and melodic keyboard finesse translate into another multi-format charttopper."
The song became the second of nine songs entitled "Real Love" charting on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 between 1980 and 1996, with the final being
the Beatles hit. It is also the second biggest hit with this title, behind
Jody Watley's.
Personnel
*
Michael McDonald — keyboards, organ, synthesizers, vocals
*
Patrick Simmons
Patrick Simmons (born October 19, 1948) is an American musician best known as a founding member of the rock band The Doobie Brothers. Born in Aberdeen, Washington, he has been the only consistent member of the band throughout their tenure. Simm ...
— guitar,
background vocals
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...
*
John McFee
John McFee (born September 9, 1950, Santa Cruz, California) is an American singing, singer, songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist, and long-time member of The Doobie Brothers.
Biography
Some of McFee's early and no ...
— guitar, background vocals
*
Cornelius Bumpus
Cornelius Bumpus (May 7, 1945 – February 3, 2004) was an American woodwind, brass and keyboard player and vocalist from Santa Cruz, California.
Biography
Bumpus began his musical career playing alto saxophone at ten for his school band, and by ...
—
tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...
, background vocals
*
Tiran Porter
Tiran Calvin Porter (born September 26, 1948) is an American bass and guitar player, vocalist and composer, best known as a member of The Doobie Brothers from 1972 to 1980 and 1987 to 1992.
Biography
Porter graduated from Leuzinger High School in ...
— bass guitar, background vocals
*
Keith Knudsen
Keith A. Knudsen ( ; February 18, 1948 – February 8, 2005) was an American rock drummer, vocalist, and songwriter. Knudsen was best known as a drummer and vocalist for The Doobie Brothers. In addition, he founded the band Southern Pacific wit ...
— drums, background vocals
*
Chet McCracken – drums
Additional personnel
*
Bobby LaKind —
congas,
bongos
Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...
, background vocals
*
Nicolette Larson – background vocals
*
Patrick Henderson – keyboards
*
Jimmie Haskell
Jimmie Haskell (born Sheridan Pearlman, November 7, 1926 – February 4, 2016) was an American composer and arranger for motion pictures and a wide variety of popular artists, including Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Steely ...
–
string arrangements
Chart history
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
External links
*
1980 songs
1980 singles
The Doobie Brothers songs
Songs written by Michael McDonald (musician)
Warner Records singles
Song recordings produced by Ted Templeman
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