Minute by Minute

For other uses, see Minute by Minute (disambiguation).

Minute by Minute is the eighth studio album by American rock band the Doobie Brothers, released on December 1, 1978, by Warner Bros. Records. It was their last album to include members John Hartman (until Cycles) and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter.

Minute by Minute
Studio album by the Doobie Brothers
Released	December 1, 1978
Recorded	1978
Studio	Warner Bros. Recording Studios, North Hollywood, California and Sunset Sound, Los Angeles (mixing)
Genre	Pop rock
Length	36:16
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Ted Templeman
The Doobie Brothers chronology
Livin' on the Fault Line (1977) Minute by Minute (1978) One Step Closer (1980)
Singles from Minute by Minute
"What a Fool Believes" / "Don't Stop to Watch the Wheels" Released: January 1979 "Minute by Minute" / "Sweet Feelin'" Released: April 25, 1979 "Dependin' on You" / "How Do the Fools Survive?" Released: July 25, 1979

The album spent 87 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart. In the spring of 1979 Minute by Minute was the best-selling album in the U.S. for five non-consecutive weeks.^[1] It was certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA.^[2]

The song "What a Fool Believes" hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1979 and became the band's biggest hit. The title track and "Depending on You" were also released as singles and reached the top 30.

Minute by Minute made the Doobie Brothers one of the big winners at the 22nd Grammy Awards. The album got the trophy for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group and received a nomination for Album of the Year. The single "What a Fool Believes" earned them three Grammys, including Song and Record of the Year.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Christgau's Record Guide	B[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[5]
The Great Rock Discography	7/10[6]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide	[7]

Rolling Stone concluded that, "with all the firepower this band has—one of rock's strongest rhythm sections, several writers and vocalists, an excellent lead guitarist and a remarkable lead singer—the Doobie Brothers shouldn't be content merely to skirt greatness."^[8]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocals	Length
1.	"Here to Love You"	Michael McDonald	Michael McDonald	3:58
2.	"What a Fool Believes"	McDonald Kenny Loggins	McDonald	3:41
3.	"Minute by Minute"	McDonald Lester Abrams	McDonald	3:26
4.	"Dependin' on You"	McDonald Patrick Simmons	Patrick Simmons	3:44
5.	"Don't Stop to Watch the Wheels"	Simmons Jeff Baxter Michael Ebert	Simmons	3:26

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocals	Length
6.	"Open Your Eyes"	McDonald Abrams Patrick Henderson	McDonald	3:18
7.	"Sweet Feelin'"	Simmons Ted Templeman	Simmons, Nicolette Larson	2:41
8.	"Steamer Lane Breakdown"	Simmons	instrumental	3:24
9.	"You Never Change"	Simmons	McDonald, Simmons	3:26
10.	"How Do the Fools Survive?"	McDonald Carole Bayer Sager	McDonald	5:12

Personnel

The Doobie Brothers

• Patrick Simmons – lead and rhythm guitars, lead and backing vocals
• Michael McDonald – piano, electric piano, organ, synthesizers, lead and backing vocals
• Jeff "Skunk" Baxter – lead and rhythm guitars
• Tiran Porter – bass, backing vocals
• John Hartman – drums, percussion
• Keith Knudsen – drums, percussion, backing vocals

Additional musicians

• Ted Templeman – drums (with Keith Knudsen) on "What a Fool Believes",^[9] additional percussion
• Bobby LaKind – congas, backing vocals
• Tom Johnston – backing vocals on "Don't Stop to Watch the Wheels"
• Nicolette Larson – duet vocals on "Sweet Feelin'", backing vocals on "Dependin' on You"
• Rosemary Butler – backing vocals on "Here to Love You" and "Dependin' on You"
• Norton Buffalo – harmonica on "Don't Stop to Watch the Wheels" and "Steamer Lane Breakdown"
• Herb Pedersen – banjo on "Steamer Lane Breakdown"
• Byron Berline – fiddle on "Steamer Lane Breakdown"
• Lester Abrams – electric piano on "How Do the Fools Survive?"
• Bill Payne – synthesizer (with Michael McDonald) on "What a Fool Believes" and "Minute by Minute"
• Novi Novog – synthesizer solo on "Open Your Eyes"
• Sumner Mering – guitar on "Open Your Eyes"
• Andrew Love – saxophone on "Here to Love You", "Dependin' on You" and "How Do the Fools Survive?"
• Ben Cauley – trumpet on "Here to Love You", "Dependin' on You" and "How Do the Fools Survive?"

Production

• Producer – Ted Templeman
• Production Coordination – Beth Naranjo
• Engineer – Donn Landee
• Additional Engineer – Loyd Clifft
• Additional Engineer – Steve Malcolm
• Cover Design and Coordinator – Bruce Steinberg
• Photography – David Alexander

Recorded at Warner Bros. Recording Studios, North Hollywood; Mixed at Sunset Sound, Los Angeles

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1978–79)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[10]	6
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[11]	1
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[12]	72
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[13]	6
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[14]	46
US Billboard 200[15]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1979)	Position
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[16]	29

Certifications

Organization	Level	Date
RIAA – USA	3× Platinum	October 22, 1984

References

1. Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top Pop Albums 1955-1985, Record Research Inc., 1985, p. 106, 506.
2. "RIAA – Searchable Database: Doobie Brothers". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
3. Bruce Eder. "Minute by Minute - The Doobie Brothers". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-08-26.
4. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: D". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 24, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
5. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
6. Strong, Martin Charles (2002). "The Doobie Brothers". The Great Rock Discography. The National Academies. ISBN 1-84195-312-1.
7. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 253. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
8. Stephen Holden (1979-02-22). "The Doobie Brothers: Minute By Minute". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-10-01. Retrieved 2018-08-26.
9. Templeman, Ted; Renoff, Greg (2020). Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer's Life in Music. ECW Press. pp. 283–284. ISBN 978-1770414839.
10. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 92. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
11. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4751a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
12. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Doobie Brothers – Minute by Minute" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
13. "Charts.nz – The Doobie Brothers – Minute by Minute". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
14. "Swedishcharts.com – The Doobie Brothers – Minute by Minute". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
15. "The Doobie Brothers Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
16. "Top Selling Albums of 1979 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved January 28, 2022.