Patrick Simmons


Patrick Simmons is an American musician best known as a founding member of the rock band The Doobie Brothers, with whom he was inducted as into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020. He is the only member of the band to appear on every release.

Early life

Born in Aberdeen, Washington, Simmons was raised in San Jose, California, where his father was a high school educator. He attended Leigh High School in San Jose, California, followed by San José State University where he was a member of the Theta Xi fraternity and lived for many years in Santa Cruz County, California.

Career

The Doobie Brothers

In 1970, a California-based power trio consisting of Tom Johnston, Dave Shogren and John Hartman teamed up with Simmons to form a group together. They would call themselves "The Doobie Brothers", after their friend Keith "Dyno" Rosen, who either lived with or next to the band told them: "Why don't you call yourself the Doobie Brothers because you're always smoking pot?"Simmons wrote and sang many songs for the Doobie Brothers, including lead vocal on "South City Midnight Lady", as well as "Dependin' On You", "Echoes of Love", "Wheels of Fortune" and "Black Water", the group's first #1 record.
The group's 1978 studio album, Minute by Minute, reached number one for five weeks, and won the band a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, while the single "What A Fool Believes" from the album won three Grammys itself.
The Doobie Brothers disbanded in 1982, with Simmons' decision to leave the group, as the last original member at the time, after Dave Shogren left in 1971, Tom Johnston in 1977, and John Hartman in 1979. The Doobie Brothers reformed again in 1987, and the band are still touring, as of 2024, being led by Simmons and Johnston.The group has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. The Doobie Brothers were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on November 7, 2020. Upon hearing that the band were to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Simmons recalled:
In June 2025, Simmons, Johnston and Michael McDonald were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame as members of The Doobie Brothers, the ceremony was hosted by Garth Brooks.

Solo

In 1983, Simmons released his first solo album, Arcade, on Elektra Records. It yielded his only top 40 hit, "So Wrong", which peaked at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100. "So Wrong" was also a surprise hit on the US dance/disco chart, peaking at #8. The album was reissued on compact disc in Japan in the early 1990s and again in 2007, by the label Wounded Bird Records.
Simmons also formed the band Skin Suit during this period. In 1998, Simmons released a second solo album titled Take Me to the Highway.
With Tom Johnston, Simmons wrote Long Train Runnin': Our Story of The Doobie Brothers.

Personal life

He met his wife Cristine Sommer in 1989 in Sturgis, South Dakota at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. They moved to Mendocino County, California in 1990 after the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989 and now live in Maui, Hawaii. They have three children and three grandchildren. One of their children, Patrick Simmons Jr., is an Island musician who still lives in Hawaii and has survived cancer.
In 1981 he opened a vintage motorcycle shop with author William J. Craddock.
Simmons and his wife are both avid cyclists and members of Antique Motorcycle Club of America. They both enjoy riding antique motorcycles, participating in the 2014 Motorcycle Cannonball Endurance Ride. They participated in the 2016 Motorcycle Cannonball, riding from Atlantic City, New Jersey to San Diego, California.
Simmons is a Democrat and told Hot Press in 2025 that he feels "embarrased" for the United States under the rulership of Donald Trump.

Songs written by Simmons

Apart from "I Got You" and "So Wrong", these songs were all written for The Doobie Brothers.
  • "Evil Woman" – 1973
  • "South City Midnight Lady" – 1973
  • "Black Water" – 1974
  • "You Just Can't Stop It" – 1974
  • "I Cheat the Hangman" – 1975
  • "Sweet Maxine" – 1975
  • "Wheels of Fortune" – 1976
  • "Echoes of Love" – 1977
  • "Dependin' on You" – 1979
  • "So Wrong" – Patrick Simmons – 1983
  • "Dangerous" – 1991
  • "I Got You" – Train – 2009
  • "Far From Home" – 2011

    Discography

With [The Doobie Brothers]

  • The Doobie Brothers
  • Toulouse Street
  • The Captain and Me
  • What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits
  • Stampede
  • Takin' It to the Streets
  • Livin' on the Fault Line
  • Minute by Minute
  • One Step Closer
  • Cycles
  • Brotherhood
  • Sibling Rivalry
  • World Gone Crazy
  • Southbound
  • ''Liberté ''

    Solo

Albums

Solo singles

Other

  • Another Passenger – Carly Simon – Performer – 1976
  • Time Loves a Hero – Little Feat – Peformer – 1977
  • Energy – The Pointer Sisters – Composer – 1978
  • Nicolette – Nicolette Larson – Performer – 1978
  • Waiting for Columbus – Little Feat – Performer – 1978
  • Lauren Wood – Lauren Wood – Performer – 1979
  • Victim of Love –Elton John – Performer – 1979
  • Whistling in the Dark – Max Carl – Performer – 1979
  • In Harmony – Sesame Street – Performer – 1980
  • Radioland – Nicolette Larson – Performer – 1980
  • Steel Feels Good – Tom Johnston – Performer – 1981
  • Industry Standard – The Dregs – Performer – 1982
  • One More Mile – Jim Messina – Composer – 1983
  • The Jitters – The Jitters – Composer – 1987
  • Lambada: Erotic Dance Explosion – Concord – Composer – 1989
  • Live or Else – The Necros – Composer – 1989
  • Tres Palabras – Larry Vuckovich – Composer – 1989
  • Let's Swamp Awhile – Smokehouse – Composer – 1991
  • Rain Tree Crow – Rain Tree Crow – Composer – 1991
  • Peaceful Easy Feeling – Mark Burchfield – Composer – 1993
  • Bermuda Triangle – Al Yankee – Assistant engineer – 1995
  • Valley Style – Kaʻau Crater Boys – Composer – 1995
  • Piano Dreams – Robert LeClair – Composer – 1998
  • Live at the Britt Festival – Michael Nesmith – Composer – 1999
  • From Out of the Blue – The Sky Kings – Performer/Composer – 2000
  • Warsaw Jazz Jamboree – Stéphane Grappelli – Composer – 2000
  • Gioia2 – Lives of a Cell – Composer – 2002
  • Cant Stop Running – Todd Rundgren – Composer – 2002
  • Cooling the Mark – General Rudie – Composer – 2003
  • Live from New York to Tokyo – Ray Brown – Composer – 2003
  • Sacred – Los Lonely Boys – Composer – 2006
  • Baby Goes Southern Rock – Baby Goes – Composer – 2007
  • Dregs – Dixie Dregs – Guest artist – 2007
  • Pure Imagination – Cathy Kreger – Composer – 2007
  • Love Games – Dynamics – Composer – 2008
  • Save Me, San Francisco – Train – Composer – 2009
  • Simple Truth – Gail Swanson – Guest artist – 2009
  • Subways – The Avalanches – Composer – 2016
  • Wildflower – The Avalanches – Composer – 2016
  • Oh, Vita! – Jovanotti – Composer – 2017