Minute by Minute (The Doobie Brothers song)

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"Minute by Minute"
Michael McDonald, Lester Abrams
Producer(s)Ted Templeman
The Doobie Brothers singles chronology
"What a Fool Believes"
(1979) 		"Minute by Minute"
(1979) 		"Dependin' on You"
(1979)
Music video
"Minute by Minute" on
YouTube

"Minute by Minute" is a song written by

Grammy Award for Song of the Year, but lost out to The Doobie Brothers' own "What a Fool Believes
". "Minute by Minute" did win a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group Or Chorus at the 22nd Annual Grammy Awards.[2]

Lyrics and music

AllMusic critic Matthew Greenwald describes "Minute by Minute" as one of the songs that reflects The Doobie Brothers' transformation to "a light, soul-oriented outfit."[3] Keyboards are more prominent in the song than in some of The Doobie Brothers' earlier hits.[4][5] Greenwald praises the "simple and literate" lyrics and notes possible influence from Booker T. & the M.G.'s in the music.[3] In their book Inside the Hits, authors Wayne Wadhams (The Fifth Estate), David Nathan, and Susan Lindsay describe the tempo as a "medium shuffle".[6] AXS contributor Bill Craig describes the song as a soulful, mid-tempo, piano-driven song that he compares to Motown songs.[7] Most of "Minute by Minute" is in the key of C major, but the bridge is in E minor and the last refrains are in G major.[6]

Reception

Cash Box said that it utilizes the band's "identifiable bass -conga rhythm sound" and has a "nice organ-guitar fade-in."[10] Record World called it a "solid group effort with strong blues flavor."[11] Spin's Rich Stim describes the sound of the song as "phlegmatic".[12] Ultimate Classic Rock critic Michael Gallucci rated "Minute by Minute" as the Doobie Brothers 7th greatest song, calling it "laid-back, blue-eyed soul at its best" and praising McDonald's vocal and organ performances.[13]

"Minute by Minute" was nominated for a

Michael McDonald was surprised by the song's success after a friend had told him that the song "just doesn't have it."[15] Craig rated it as the Doobie Brothers' 6th greatest song.[7]

Chart performance

In the US, "Minute by Minute" was the follow-up single to their number 1 hit "What a Fool Believes". "Minute by Minute" did not repeat its predecessor's success, but reached the Top 20, peaking at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[1] It also reached number 74 on Billboard's R&B singles chart[1] as well as number 13 on the Adult Contemporary chart.[16]

The song also had some chart success outside the US, reaching number 34 in New Zealand and 47 in the UK.[17][18]

Chart history

The Doobie Brothers
Chart (1979) Peak
position
Canada RPM Top Singles 17
New Zealand[19] 34
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[20] 47
US Billboard Hot 100[21] 14
US Billboard Adult Contemporary 13
US Billboard
R&B
 74
US Cash Box Top 100[22] 13
Peabo Bryson
Chart (1980) Peak
position
US Billboard
R&B
 12

Personnel

Additional Personnel

Production

Other appearances

"Minute by Minute" has appeared on a number of Doobie Brothers' compilation albums since its initial release. It was included on Best of the Doobies, Vol. 2 in 1981,

The Best of the Doobie Brothers Live in 1999 and Live at the Greek Theatre 1982 in 2011.[3] On July 30, 1979, The Doobie Brothers performed "Minute by Minute" on the Dinah! show.[24]

Cover versions

References

  1. ^ a b c "Minute by Minute singles: Charts and Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  2. ^ https://www.grammy.com/artists/doobie-brothers/16310
  3. ^ a b c d Greenwald, M. "Minute by Minute". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  4. ISBN 978-0-87930-952-7
    .
  5. ^ Grien, P. (July 14, 1979). "Talent in Action: Doobie Brothers, Roger Voudouris". p. 27. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-0-634-01430-7
    .
  7. ^ a b c Craig, Bill. "Top 10 best The Doobie Brothers songs". AXS. Retrieved 2017-05-14.
  8. ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8
    .
  9. ^ a b "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. May 12, 1979. p. 79. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  10. ^ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. May 12, 1979. p. 17. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
  11. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. May 12, 1979. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  12. ^ Stim, R. (September 1989). "The Doobie Brothers: Cycles". Spin. p. 90. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  13. ^ Gallucci, Michael (February 12, 2013). "Top 10 Doobie Brothers songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  14. ^ "Grammy Awards 1980". Awards and Shows. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  15. ISBN 978-0-312-18067-6
    .
  16. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 75.
  17. ^ "The Doobie Brothers – Minute by Minute". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  18. ^ "Doobie Brothers". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  19. ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 1979-05-15. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  20. ^ "Official Charts". Official Charts. 14 July 1979. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  21. ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  22. ^ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending June 23, 1979". Archived from the original on 2011-02-05. Retrieved 2018-04-03.Cash Box magazine.
  23. ^ a b c "Keith Knudsen of The Doobie Brothers: Prepared, Perfect". October 8, 2010.
  24. ISBN 978-0-8065-2642-3
    .
  25. ^ a b c "Helen Reddy–Reddy". Billboard. June 2, 1979. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  26. ^ Donovan, C. "Reddy". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  27. ^ Planer, L. "Anthology". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  28. ISBN 978-0-87930-799-8
    .
  29. ISBN 978-0-312-16854-4
    .
  30. Allmusic
    . Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  31. ^ a b "Minute by Minute covers". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  32. ^ "allmusic". AllMusic.
  33. ^ Grey, H. (October 1994). "Currents". JazzTimes. p. 50. Retrieved 2012-02-15.

External links

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