The groundbreaking 1970S ABC sitcom What’s Happening!! followed the adventures of three Black teenagers – Raj, Dwayne and Rerun – as they navigated school life, adolescence and romantic pursuits in Watts, Los Angeles.
One of the series’ more memorable storylines unfolded in a 1978 two-part episode, Doobie or Not Doobie, in which the Doobie Brothers returned to Jefferson High School (portrayed as Patrick Simmons’ alma mater) to perform a concert – only to discover that Rerun has been coerced into illegally taping the gig.
Simmons recalls being “all in” for doing the show. “I was a fan,” he says. “I watched the show and loved it, so I wanted to do it immediately.” Trouble was, nobody else in the band was interestred. “They weren’t familiar with the show, so they were nervous about doing it.”
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He remembers then-bassist Tiran Porter as being especially dubious (pun intended). “He thought the whole thing might be a little cliché,” the guitarist says. “For me, it wasn’t even a question that we should do it. I thought the writing and acting was great, and the show was hilarious.”
Beyond his affection for the series, Simmons saw the potential of the band’s appearance on the series as a great opportunity for them to spread their music to a wider audience.
“I was a devotee of R&B and soul, and by virtue of having Mike [McDonald] in the band at the time, we were leaning more in that direction, though we hadn’t yet crossed into a real appreciation from Black audiences,” he says.
“There were more people of color showing up to our gigs, but we were still seen as this white rock ’n’ roll band. Doing the show was positive on so many levels, certainly for ourselves, but also for the country in terms of bringing people together. Our fans could tune in and see us in this wonderful presentation with an acclaimed acting troupe.”
How did you eventually sell the band on doing it?
I sold Mike on it. He was like, “I don’t know. I’m not sure.” I told him I thought we could reach other audiences and what a great show it was. He hadn’t seen it yet. Finally, I told him to watch it – “It’ll tell you all you need to know.” I think that worked with him, and it worked with [drummer] Keith [Knudsen].
I sold Mike on it. He was like, “I don’t know. I’m not sure.” I told him I thought we could reach other audiences and what a great show it was
When the band was approached to do the show, was the bootlegging plot already written into the script?
The script was basically an outline at that point. They were still writing it as we stepped into the studio to work on it, which I think is kind of the way it is with television anyway. Within an hour of us being there, they said, “We think this is going to be so good that we’d like to make it a two-parter.” And we went, “Yeah, of course.”
It was a pretty big deal when Rerun’s tape recorder drops out of his raincoat and hits the floor, and everything stops.
Then it was like, “Tune in next week.”
At the time, was it a big concern among bands that fans were sneaking tape recorders into concerts?
People were always doing that. We didn’t really care. I mean, we’d rather they didn’t because the recordings sounded like shit. The Dead’s fans were doing it every night. We would hear this stuff, and it would bug us. It bugged us more if somebody recorded us and then tried to sell it.
Of course, there’s the famous line that has entered the lexicon – “Which Doobie you be?” Had you heard that before the show?
I think everybody felt good about it in the end. It was a good experience. The people on the show were so nice to us, and we became friends
No, that was one of the lines somebody wrote. There’s another one, where [Raj’s bratty sister, Dee] asks Tiran, “What are you, a half-brother?” [Laughs]
After the shows aired, did the rest of the band come around and feel good about doing it?
I think everybody felt good about it in the end. It was a good experience. The people on the show were so nice to us, and we became friends. We were always doing benefits in those days, and we got some of the people to come and do shows. They’d come and speak and help raise money for the United Way. There were so many rewards to doing the show.
It’s a shining moment in TV history.
It is. People will forget everything else about us except that we were on that show.
