‘Takin' It to the Streets’ is a song by the American rock band The Doobie Brothers from the album of the same name. It was their first single with Michael McDonald on vocals and was written by McDonald. The song peaked at number 13 in the US and number 7 in Canada.
This song was written by Doobie Brothers keyboard player and lead singer Michael McDonald, who joined the group when Doobie guitarist Tom Johnson fell ill in 1975. The words were partly inspired by a college essay McDonald's sister Maureen wrote, hence the line, "Take this message to my brother." The song is written from the perspective of someone growing up amid poverty and despair in the inner city, addressed to an audience that has no idea what it's like to live there ("you don't know my kind in your world"). McDonald fleshed out the lyric after a conversation with Maureen where they talked about how society was letting poor people fall through the cracks.
Michael McDonald got the idea for this song while driving to a Doobie Brothers concert in California, where he'd be playing with the band. The intro music came into his head, so when he got to the gig he quickly set up his piano and started working on the song. He chipped away at it until they had to start the concert, then kept working on it that night after the show. The lyrics he wrote later.
This song popularized the phrase "taking it to the streets," which means bringing a message directly to the people. It's often used in politics to describe grass-roots campaigning. Prior to this song, the phrase was rarely seen in print.
Cash Box stated that "both instrumentally and vocally this is the best thing the Doobie Brothers have done to date," adding that "the melody is based around a strong chordal structure" and that the repetition of the song title in the chorus has "maximum hook potential." Record World said that the song "has all the essential qualities that have contributed to making this group a dominating chart force" and that "all these ingredients are wrapped together in an appealing package." Ultimate Classic Rock critic Michael Gallucci rated ‘Takin' It to the Streets’ as the Doobie Brothers' 6th greatest song, praising McDonald's "soulful rasp" on the vocal. The staff of Billboard rated it as the Doobie Brothers' 3rd best song, saying that it "hits an elemental theme and drives it home with soulful urgency."
The Doobie Brothers closed out the 2014 CMA Awards with a performance of this song. They were joined by a collection of Nashville stars including Brad Paisley, Sugarland and Hunter Hayes. The band performed this and ‘What a Fool Believes’ on the January 27, 1979 episode of Saturday Night Live.
Label – Warner Bros.
Songwriter – Michael McDonald
Producer – Ted Templeman
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]You don't know me but I'm your brother
I was raised here in this living hell
You don't know my kind in your world
Fairly soon, the time will tell
[Bridge]
Oh, you, telling me the things
You're gonna do for me
I ain't blind and I don't like
What I think I see
[Chorus]
(Taking it to the streets)
Taking it to the streets
(Taking it to the streets)
No more need for running
(Taking it to the streets)
[Verse 2]
Take this message to my brother
You will find him everywhere
Wherever people live together
Tied in poverty's despair
[Bridge]
Oh, you, telling me the things
You're gonna do for me
I ain't blind and I don't like
What I think I see
[Chorus]
(Taking it to the streets)
Taking it to the streets
(Taking it to the streets)
No more need for running
(Taking it to the streets)
Taking it to the streets
(Taking it to the)
[Saxophone Solo]
[Bridge]
Oh, you, telling me the things
You're gonna do for me
I ain't blind and I don't like
What I think I see
[Chorus]
(Taking it to the streets)
Taking it to the streets
(Taking it to the streets)
No more need for running
(Taking it to the streets)
Yeah, yeah
(Taking it to the streets)
Taking it to the streets
(Taking it to the streets)
Before it steps farther
(Taking it to the streets)
Oh, lord
(Taking it to the streets)
Taking it, taking it
(Taking it to the streets)
Hey, yeah ha
(Taking it to the streets)
Taking it to the streets
(Taking it to the streets)
No more need for running
(Taking it to the streets)
No more need for hiding
(Taking it to the streets)
Yeah, yeah, yeah
(Taking it to the streets)
No more
(Taking it to the streets)
Yeah, yeah
(Taking it to the streets)
Taking it, taking it
(Taking it to the streets)