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Doobie Brothers Singer Michael McDonald Reconnects with Long-Lost Son

8:02 PM ETConfirmed

Entertainment Desk

In Short: Michael McDonald, the Grammy-winning singer and Doobie Brothers member, has reconnected with his biological son, Michael Goessling, after 58 years. The discovery came after Goessling took a DNA test, which revealed he was related to McDonald's half-brother.

Michael McDonald, the Grammy-winning singer and Doobie Brothers member, has reconnected with his biological son, Michael Goessling, after 58 years. The discovery came after Goessling took a DNA test, which revealed he was related to McDonald's half-brother. This led to a series of events that culminated in a phone call where Goessling realized he was speaking with his biological father.

Goessling, now 59, first suspected the connection during a phone call with McDonald. 'It just sounded so familiar, but I couldn’t place it,' Goessling recalled. 'Finally, I just said: “Are you Michael McDonald?” And he chuckled and he said, “Yeah, I’m afraid so.”

The initial conversation was over the phone, and it was during this call that McDonald mentioned he was touring and would be stopping in St. Louis. This revelation confirmed Goessling's suspicions and led to a face-to-face meeting.

McDonald, who has two children with his wife Amy Holland, expressed his joy at meeting his long-lost son. 'It was a wonderful, wonderful experience to see Michael and to get to meet my son,' McDonald said.

Goessling's adoptive parents, Paul and Kay Goessling, raised him with love and security, providing him with a 'charmed' childhood. 'The real rock stars in this story for us are his adopted parents, who really gave Michael everything that a child needs in terms of love and security,' McDonald said.

The discovery of his biological father came as a surprise to Goessling, who had always known he was adopted but had wondered about his biological parents for years. 'I’m still trying to get my head around all of it,' Goessling said.

McDonald and Goessling's mother have remained friends throughout the years, and McDonald's first conversation with Goessling was over the phone, where he mentioned he was touring and would be stopping in St. Louis.

The extraordinary phone call came just days after a letter ended a mystery stretching back to Goessling's birth. Goessling, a married father of two, has now made McDonald a grandfather.

What this adds

Background

What's confirmed

• “It just sounded so familiar, but I couldn’t place it. Finally, I just said: ‘Are you Michael McDonald?’ And he chuckled and he said, ‘Yeah, I’m afraid so.’” Goessling also figured out the identity of his birth father after McDonald told him he was a musician with a gig that night at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheater.
• One of the Doobie Brothers has reconnected with a long-lost Doobie son.
• His first conversation with McDonald was over the phone.

What's still developing

• McDonald has five Grammys to his name and helped the Doobie Brothers score Billboard Hot 100 No.
• Michael Goessling tells Fox News Digital how a mysterious call with a musician named ‘Mike’ led to an unbelievable realization with a quick internet search.
• But what he did not know for nearly 58 years was that his biological father had one of the most recognizable and beloved voices in American music.
• Louis man learned recently that his father is five-time Grammy winner and Doobie Brothers singer Michael McDonald, a musician Goessling had admired since childhood and had unknowingly paid to see perform twice as a young man.
• But even after receiving the letter that began it all, meeting his biological mother and learning his biological father was a mysterious musician named "Mike," Goessling still had no idea who was waiting on the other end of the phone.
• ‘When he first saw me, he put his arms out, gave me a big old bear hug and told me he loved me, and I told him the same,’ Michael Goessling said of meeting his biological father ‘When he first saw me, he put his arms out, gave me a big old bear hug and told me he loved me, and I told him the same,’ Michael Goessling said of meeting his biological father Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later?
• A Missouri man who was adopted at birth has recently discovered that his biological father is a five-time Grammy Award winner.
• McDonald joined The Doobie Brothers in 1975 as a temporary replacement, but went on to become a lead vocalist and keyboardist.
• He then connected with his biological father, a musician, over the phone and was intriguied to learn he’d be touring through St.
• McDonald and Goessling — who share the same first name by pure coincidence — met in person for the first time shortly after connecting.
• He and the mother faced the painful reality of having to put the baby up for adoption at that time, a moment he's never forgotten across the many decades that have followed.

Sources

• Billboardlink
• Entertainment Weeklylink
• Fox Newslink
• Independentlink
• Ultimate Classic Rocklink
• aol.comlink
• Fox Newslink
• Deadlinelink
• Boxingscenelink
• Showbiz411link
• NBC Newslink
• Dreadcentrallink
• Pucklink
• Firstalert4link
• WarpBeat — background on Missouri Man Discovers Doobie Brothers' Michael McDonald Is His Father link
• CBS Detroit — video link