Keith A. Knudsen ( ; February 18, 1948 – February 8, 2005) was an American rock

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western bands that play rock, pop, jazz, or R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeeping and embellishing the musical timbre. The drummer' ...

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

, and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

. Knudsen was best known as a drummer and vocalist for The Doobie Brothers. In addition, he founded the band Southern Pacific with fellow Doobie Brother John McFee. He was posthoumusly inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music an ...

as a member of The Doobie Brothers in 2020.

Biography

Knudsen was born in Le Mars, Iowa. He began drumming while attending

Princeton High School Princeton High School may refer to: *Princeton High School (Illinois), Princeton, Illinois *Princeton Community High School, Princeton, Indiana *Princeton High School (Minnesota), Princeton, Minnesota *Princeton Junior-Senior High School, Princeton ...

in Princeton, Illinois, where he graduated in 1966. After short stints playing in a club band and the Blind Joe Mendlebaum Blues Band, he became the drummer for

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational ...

/vocalist

Lee Michaels Lee Eugene Michaels (born Michael Olsen, November 24, 1945) is an American rock musician who sings and accompanies himself on organ, piano, or guitar. He is best known for his powerful soulful voice and his energetic virtuosity on the Hammond ...

. He played in The Hoodoo Rhythm Devils from late 1972 through mid 1973. He never participated in any formal studio recording with them, but recorded a live Texas Special on KSAN-FM in San Francisco with the Hoodoos and Johnny Winter. His big break came in 1974 when he was invited to join The Doobie Brothers, replacing the departing Michael Hossack. Knudsen joined the band during the recording of the 1974 Top 10 platinum album, '' What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits''. He made his recording debut with the Doobies on that album in 1974, performing

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

over

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instr ...

tracks that included Hossack. Knudsen did not get behind the

drum kit A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

in the

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large en ...

until '' Stampede'' in 1975. Knudsen was co-drummer with John Hartman, (and later, Chet McCracken) until the Doobies disbanded in 1982. His contribution to the group's vocal

harmonies In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. Howeve ...

in the studio and in

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...

was as crucial as his drumming. After the Doobies disbanded in 1982, Knudsen and fellow Doobie John McFee formed the

country rock Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal ...

band Southern Pacific. The group was successful in the country charts but disbanded in the early 1990s. By then the two men had formed a writing partnership and despite not rejoining the group at that time, co-wrote the song ''Time Is Here And Gone'' with Doobies' percussionist

Bobby LaKind Robert Jay LaKind (November 3, 1945 – December 24, 1992) was an American conga player, vocalist, songwriter and occasional backup drummer with The Doobie Brothers. Originally a lighting roadie for the band, he was invited to join as a sideman f ...

, featured on the Doobies reunion album '' Cycles'' in 1989. Knudsen organized a one-off Doobies reunion in 1987 to raise funds for the National Veterans Foundation. After Southern Pacific folded, both he and McFee rejoined the Doobie Brothers on a full-time basis in 1993. Ironically, Knudsen found himself drumming alongside Michael Hossack, whom he had replaced all those years ago. Of the multiple pairings of Doobie Brothers drummers over the decades, Knudsen's time-keeping partnership with Hossack lasted the longest. He featured prominently as a songwriter on the album ''

Sibling Rivalry Sibling rivalry is a type of competition or animosity among siblings, whether blood-related or not. Siblings generally spend more time together during childhood than they do with parents. The sibling bond is often complicated and is influenced ...

'' (2000), which was, at the time, only the band's third studio album since reuniting. He also featured on the albums '' Rockin' Down the Highway: The Wildlife Concert'' (1996), and ''

Live at Wolf Trap ''Live at Wolf Trap'' is the third live album by US rock band The Doobie Brothers, released in 2004. Wolf Trap is a National Park in Virginia, where the band performed live on July 25. In addition to the CD, a DVD was released featuring, in ...

'' (2004). In 2005 he played drums on Emmylou Harris ''Shores Of White Sand'' off the ''All I Intend To Be'' record. Though Knudsen was a frequent backing vocalist for the Doobie Brothers, he did not sing lead on many released Doobies tracks. On "Double Dealin' Four Flusher" (from '' Stampede'') he is heard trading brief lead vocal lines with Pat Simmons and Tom Johnston. (The box set ''Long Train Runnin': 1970–2000'' has an early rehearsal version of this song, called "Shuffle," with vocals only by Simmons and Knudsen.) Knudsen can also be heard singing lead on songs from the 1982 Doobie Brothers Farewell Tour ("Don't Start Me To Talkin'" from '' Farewell Tour''; "Listen To The Music" from the Farewell Tour video and the album ''Live at the Greek Theater 1982''). ''

'' features two later, and very different sounding, Knudsen lead vocals. Knudsen died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

at a rehabilitation hospital in Kentfield, California, at the age of 56. He was living in Sonoma County with his wife, Kate, and his daughter Dayna at the time of his death.

Discography

With the Doobie Brothers (studio albums)

*'' What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits'' (1974) (US #4) *'' Stampede'' (1975) (US #4) *'' Takin' It to the Streets'' (1976) (US #8) *'' Livin' on the Fault Line'' (1977) (US #10) *'' Minute by Minute'' (1978) (US #1) *'' One Step Closer'' (1980) (US #3) *''

'' (2000)

With Southern Pacific

*''Southern Pacific'' (1985) *''Killbilly Hill'' (1986) *''Zuma'' (1988) *''County Line'' (1989)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Knudsen, Keith 1948 births 2005 deaths American rock drummers Songwriters from Iowa The Doobie Brothers members People from Le Mars, Iowa Southern Pacific (band) members American people of Norwegian descent Deaths from pneumonia in California 20th-century American singers 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Singers from Iowa 20th-century American male singers