In May 1987, the Doobie Brothers reunited for a tour to benefit the Vietnam Veterans Aid Foundation. The tour included five stops beginning at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on May 23, followed by shows in Las Vegas, the Stanford Children’s Hospital, Mountain View, California, Denver, Colorado, and Portland, Oregon.
The reunion tour featured a 12-piece with founding members Tom Johnston, Michael McDonald, Patrick Simmons, and John McFee, longtime touring members Jeff Baxter, Tiran Porter, John Hartman, Michael Hossack, and Keith Knudsen, along with Chet McCracken, Cornelius Bumpus, and Bobby LaKind with a set featuring “Black Water,” which went to No. 1 in 1974, along with “Listen to the Music”, “Jesus Is Just Alright,” “Takin’ It to the Streets,” “What a Fool Believes,” and more.
“Some guys haven’t played live for a while,” said late drummer Knudson in 1987. “But once we got started, things went well. The only way we could have pulled this off is if people remembered their parts. It’s amazing that you can remember songs so well that you haven’t played for years.”…