[youtube id=”CnjEzx7Glr8″] Michael McDonald recorded “I Keep Forgettin’ (Everytime You’re Near) for his first solo album If That’s What It Takes in 1982.  McDonald had spent almost a decade with The Doobie Brothers and led them into stardom with “What A Fool Believes” that he co-wrote with Kenny Loggins. His sisters Maureen and Kathy sang backup on the song that Mcdonald wrote with Ed Sanford and credit was also given to Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller because it sounded so similar to their composition of the same name. “I Keep Forgettin’ (Everytime You’re Near)” opened-up McDonald’s popularity with R&B fans and subsequent duets with James Ingram, Patti Labelle, Aretha Franklin, The Winans and Chaka Khan. The song about a man going through a painful breakup would later become valuable to hip-hop as a sample for Warren G, Jadakiss, Young MC and Madlib. McDonald’s distinct baritone can be heard on Thundercat’s Drunk album with longtime collaborator Kenny Loggins on “Show You The Way.”
