The Ups and Downs of the Ever-Evolving Doobie Brothers

It Started in San Jose

The 1970s were a unique time for music and art. The Beatles were done, and the Vietnam War was coming to a close. To escape the draft, a young Patrick Simmons enrolled in San Jose State University, where he met Tom Johnston and his roommate, John Hartman.

A posed group portrait of the Doobie Brothers.

Photo by RB/Redferns/Getty Images

Johnston shared a house in San Jose with Hartman, who had moved from the East Coast. The two would jam out, and everyone remembered Johnston’s guitar playing because it was so loud. The cops were called a few times because of the noise, even though they tried to tone it down.