Latest news with #TomJohnston
CBS News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
The Doobie Brothers on songwriting
In a Nashville rehearsal studio, the Doobie Brothers are getting ready for another summer tour, playing "Long Train Runnin'." More than 50 years in, and 48 million albums sold, they still want to be sure they sound sharp, even on hits they've played thousands of times. It was 1973, when co-founder Tom Johnston wrote down words for a riff they'd been jamming to for years in bars and clubs. Down around the corner Half a mile from here See them long trains runnin' And you watch 'em disappear Without love Where would you be now? (Without lo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ve) How long did it take for him to come up with the words? "I would like to say it was a labor of love, but it wasn't; it was about 20 minutes in the bathroom using the tile to sing with," Johnston said. The Doobie Brothers in rehearsal for their latest tour, which was launched this week. CBS News Which tells us something when it comes to the Doobie Brothers' songwriting: As much as their hits are a triumph of technique and theory (as Michael McDonald shared with "Sunday Morning" a few years back, detailing the writing of "Takin' It to the Streets"), sometimes, says Patrick Simmons (who wrote the band's first #1 hit, "Black Water"), it's a lot less complicated. "Accidents happened," Simmons laughed. "A lot of things kind of fall out of the sky and hit you on the head, you know?" The Doobie Brothers sing "Long Train Runnin'": But you can't argue with their methods. This week, Johnston, McDonald and Simmons will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. John McFee has been a member of the Doobies for the last 38 years. Asked about Johnston, McDonald and Simmons' songwriting, McFee laughed, "There's a reason for the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction. I'm a writer, and I've had songs nominated for Grammys. I'm a member of the band. I'm not included in the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction. That's how good these guys are!" The Doobie Brothers: John McFee, Michael McDonald, Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons. CBS News The Doobie members are joining such legendary songwriting teams as Lennon and McCartney, John and Taupin, and Holland-Dozier-Holland. "I think we all feel honored by it," said Johnston. "When we started doing this many years ago, nobody was thinking about anything like that." Does recognition like this matter? "To be in the company of those people," said McDonald, "is what matters. To think that you would ever, you know, be counted among them in any category is just too much to wish for." The Songwriters Hall of Fame is a long way from the house on 12th Street in San Jose, California, where Simmons and Johnston started the band. "When we started out doing this, we were just trying to pay rent and put gas in your Volkswagen and get around, you know?" said Johnston. At biker bars like the Chateau Liberté, they honed their hard-driving Southern rock sound … a style that softened when Johnston left the band in the late '70s, and McDonald joined, bringing with him a more mellow feel that propelled the band to their multi-platinum selling album "Minute By Minute" in 1978. "What a Fool Believes," from the Doobie Brothers' album "Minute By Minute": If the changes in personnel, sound and style created strains and rifts among some of the Doobies as younger men, a historic 50th anniversary tour in 2021, when these four united to play together for the first time, seemed to melt them away. Simmons said, "Michael came to do a few shows with us, and stuck around!" I asked, "Somebody told me … 'They're getting along as well as ever. They're enjoying being together as much as they ever have.'" "I think they said they were getting along in age or something!" Simmons laughed. McFee said, "We all appreciate it more as time goes by, how lucky we are and all the good things that are a part of the band, you know?" "And you suddenly realize, 'I just gotta keep doing this as long as I can keep doing this,'" McDonald added. Because it's still the most joyful thing you can do? "Absolutely," Johnston said. "And it's that hour or two hours that we get on stage where we actually feel like we're in our 20s again," McDonald said. "The rest of the day, we pretty much feel 75!" That feeling sparked a new studio album, "Walk This Road," and another Doobies milestone: Simmons, Johnston and McDonald all recording together in the studio for the first time ever. McDonald said, "Originally it was kind of like, 'Hey, you guys are doing this first album together in a long time. You've been together over the years, 50 years. And you've walked this road together, you know? Let's write a song about that.'" 'We've all made mistakes," Simmons laughed. "We all have things that we wish we'd made some different choices at times. And the choices we made, and you look back on that, and you go, 'Oh gosh, hopefully I learned something!'" Redemption, unity, cohesion – not just good themes, but Hall-of-Fame-worthy ones, relevant for the Doobie Brothers, and for all of us. McDonald said, "We all live on this one tiny, little blue ball. We're all walking down the same road. Just by virtue of that, you know? And we're gonna have to learn to get along with each other and listen to each other, you know?" Simmons, 76 years young remarked, "This could be the start of something really great!" Worth a chuckle perhaps – as the Doobie Brothers ponder more than 50 years together. Asked how long this will go on, McDonald replied, "That's anybody's guess." "We're a Seventies band in a whole different sense now!" laughed McFee. To hear the title track "Walk This Road" by the Doobie Brothers (featuring Mavis Staples), click on the video player below: For more info: Story produced by Gabriel Falcon. Editor: Joseph Frandino. See also:
Times
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
We must embrace renewables despite the impact on the landscape
Whether the Highlands are to be the last unspoilt wilderness of Europe or its powerhouse is a debate that stretches back a century. Arguably the most effective Scottish secretary of modern times believed in the latter option. Winston Churchill called Tom Johnston, a Labour MP, 'the king of Scotland' and not without reason, because he pushed through a revolution in hydro energy, created a board to run it, won cross-party support and built or initiated more than 40 of the largest hydro-electric schemes in Britain, which by the late 1960s were producing an awful lot of power — and most of it came from the Highlands. Perhaps more important was the way Johnston overcame a massive wall of opposition, from outraged river owners, to local
Cision Canada
07-05-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
TD Asset Management Inc. and iCapital Network Canada Ltd. have collaborated to bring a Global Infrastructure strategy to eligible Canadian accredited investors Français
New iCapital fund provides access to a portfolio of direct private infrastructure assets TORONTO, May 7, 2025 /CNW/ - TD Asset Management Inc. ("TDAM") today announced a new way for investors to access private global infrastructure investments. Eligible Canadian accredited investors will now have access to TDAM's institutionally available infrastructure strategy, the TD Greystone Infrastructure Fund (Canada) L.P. (the "Institutional Fund"), through a collaboration with iCapital Network Canada Ltd. ("iCapital Canada"), a global financial technology platform driving access to alternative investments for the wealth and asset management industries. The TD Greystone Infrastructure iCapital Canada Access Fund (the "Access Fund"), managed by iCapital Canada, invests substantially all its assets in TDAM's Institutional Fund and is available to eligible Canadian accredited investors. Private Infrastructure is a growing part of institutional and high-net-worth portfolios that can provide diversification benefits, enhanced returns, lower volatility and inflation protection. TDAM's Institutional Fund has a 10+ year track record and a portfolio of private infrastructure assets with over 500 projects across 7 countries. The Institutional Fund invests in infrastructure that delivers essential services for an economy offering accredited investors potential stability and growth during times of uncertainty and over the long-term. "At a time of global uncertainty, we are excited to work with iCapital to provide access to our institutional portfolio of infrastructure assets to eligible Canadian accredited investors and advisor-led market. We have been managing the Institutional Fund for more than 10 years and have built a high-quality portfolio of private infrastructure that can provide inflation protection, long-term contracted revenues and diversification, benefiting client portfolios. We believe this structure allows retail investors to participate alongside institutions with the same underlying infrastructure portfolio and assets," said Jeffrey Mouland, Managing Director, Head of Global Infrastructure Investments, TDAM. "We're thrilled to collaborate with TDAM to provide eligible Canadian accredited investors with easy and transparent access to alternatives," said Tom Johnston, Managing Director, Head of Client Solutions Canada at iCapital. "This collaboration solidifies iCapital's position as a trusted technology partner to deliver a comprehensive digital investing experience for Canada's leading wealth advisors and asset managers." TDAM's infrastructure investment team takes a hands-on approach to provide a portfolio of operating infrastructure, with potential for long-term revenues and inflation protection. They have significant experience in private infrastructure and actively manage the portfolio through oversight of development, construction, and procurement activities, board representation, as well as financing. The Access Fund provides access to the Institutional Fund which provides diversification across each of these projects and creates what we believe is an attractive allocation to the infrastructure asset class for investment portfolios. The TD Greystone Infrastructure Fund is comprised of the TD Greystone Infrastructure Fund (Global Master) SCSp, the TD Greystone Infrastructure Fund (Canada) L.P., the TD Greystone Infrastructure Fund (Canada) L.P. II, the TD Greystone Infrastructure Fund (Cayman Feeder) L.P. and the TD Greystone Infrastructure Fund (Luxembourg Feeder) SCSp. Each of the Feeder Funds act as a feeder fund in a master-feeder structure and invests all or substantially all of its assets in the TD Greystone Infrastructure Fund (Global Master) SCSp. The Master Fund is priced monthly in USD and includes any working capital within the Master Fund, as well as the current USD value of the most recent valuation of the underlying investments. Valuations of the investments held in the Master Fund are done on a quarterly basis in the local currency of the investment. Interim valuations may be done as the result of specific situations. At each monthly pricing period, the investment valuations are converted to USD at the rate in effect of the pricing date. Effective February 1, 2024, the Master Fund redomiciled from the Cayman Islands to Luxembourg. Historical performance prior to that time reflects the performance of the TD Greystone Infrastructure Fund (Global Master) L.P. Thereafter, the performance reflects the TD Greystone Infrastructure Fund (Global Master) SCSp. The Feeder Funds are priced monthly in U.S. dollars and include working capital held within the Feeder Funds as well as the updated monthly value of the units held in the Master Fund. The value of the Feeder Funds investment in the Master Fund is determined based on the updated monthly price of the Master Fund. ®The TD logo and other TD trademarks are the property of The Toronto-Dominion Bank or its subsidiaries. About TD Asset Management Inc. TD Asset Management Inc. ("TDAM"), a member of TD Bank Group, is a North American investment management firm. TDAM offers investment solutions to corporations, pension funds, endowments, foundations and individual investors. Additionally, TDAM manages assets on behalf of almost 2 million retail investors and offers a broadly diversified suite of investment solutions including mutual funds, professionally managed portfolios and corporate class funds. Asset management businesses at TD manage $496 billion in assets. Aggregate statistics are as of March 31, 2025 for TDAM and Epoch Investment Partners, Inc. TDAM operates in Canada and Epoch Investment Partners, Inc. operates in the United States. Both entities are affiliates and are wholly-owned subsidiaries of The Toronto-Dominion Bank. About iCapital iCapital powers the world's alternative investment marketplace, offering a complete suite of tools, end-to-end enterprise solutions, data management and distribution capabilities, and an innovative operating system. iCapital is the trusted technology partner to financial advisors, wealth managers, asset managers, as well as other participants in this ecosystem, and offers unrivaled access, technology, and education to incorporate alternative assets into core portfolio strategies for their clients. As of February 28, 2025, iCapital had USD $880 billion of global volume activity on its platform. IMPORTANT INFORMATION This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which any offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification of such securities under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. "iCapital" and "iCapital Network" are registered trademarks of Institutional Capital Network, Inc. Additional information is available upon request. © 2025 Institutional Capital Network, Inc. All Rights Reserved. SOURCE TD Asset Management Inc.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Doobie Brothers and Jimmy Buffett's band line up outdoor gig in Minnesota
Mystic Lake is doing that thing where it transports visitors back in time. This go-round, it'll do with the help of The Doobie Brothers. The casino announced this week that it'll bring the classic rock act to Prior Lake with Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band for an outdoor show at the Mystic Amphitheater on Sept. 7. The Doobie Brothers, best known for songs like "Black Water" and "What a Fool Believes" from early in its more than half-century career, are still out there. More impressively, decades after the release of its self-titled 1971 debut, the group still features founding members Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons. (Though, Johnston left the group in 1977 before rejoining a decade later.) They're joined by The Coral Reefer Band, which served as a backhand for the late "Margaritaville" singer starting in the '70s. Tickets for the show start at $49 through the Mystic Lake box office or $58.10 through Ticketmaster. They'll go on sale on March 21 at 10 a.m.
