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The accidental story behind yacht rock’s biggest triumph in 1980: “How did this happen?”
The Doobie Brothers' 1979 hit 'When A Fool Believes', a reworking of a Kenny Loggins song, became one of yacht rock's defining tracks despite a chaotic and fraught recording process. Producer Ted Templeman recalled endless takes and wasted tape during sessions, and even attempted to redo drummer Keith Knudsen's part himself, with the band left dissatisfied by their own work. The story matters as a reminder that some of music's smoothest-sounding classics were born from studio disarray rather than effortless craft.
Unable to salvage a single clean take, Templeman pieced the song together by splicing together fragments from various recordings, expecting the record label to reject the patchwork result. Instead, executives were enthusiastic, and the song went on to top the charts, achieve gold certification, and win the Grammy for Song of the Year in 1980, leaving Templeman still bewildered by its success when recalling the episode in 2022.
In short
- 'When A Fool Believes' was pieced together from chaotic, dissatisfying studio sessions
- Producer Ted Templeman spliced together scraps expecting the label to hate it
- The song went to number one, went gold, and won a 1980 Grammy
Explained simply
The Doobie Brothers were an American rock band whose sound blended rock with soul and polished pop. “Yacht rock” is a later label for smooth, carefully produced music associated with the late 1970s and early 1980s. The band’s “What a Fool Believes” began as a song by Kenny Loggins before the Doobie Brothers recorded their version.
Producer Ted Templeman oversaw the recording, which involved repeated takes and dissatisfaction with the performances. He assembled the final track from fragments of different recordings, creating a result that surprised him and the record label. Its success made the song one of the era’s best-known hits and earned it the 1980 Grammy for Song of the Year.