Michael McDonald

Real Name: Michael McDonald
Birthday: 12 February 1952 Hometown: St Louis, Missouri
Biggest Hit Single: On My Own, number two, 1986
Career Highlights: Three-time Grammy Award winner, star on St Louis Walk Of Fame

Swoonsome Michael, dubbed the Blue-Eyed Soul Singer, was discovered while playing in a Missouri band called Blue in 1970 and soon moved to Los Angeles where he starting playing with rock-pop group Steely Dan.

He was recruited by the Doobie Brothers in 1975, lending his husky baritone voice to a string of singles, including Taking It To The Streets, Little Darling and Minute By Minute.

It was also around that time they recorded It Keeps You Runnin’, a huge chart smash, which was used in 1994’s sentimental flick Forrest Gump, starring Tom Hanks.

Michael split from the band and put out his own record, If That’s What It Takes, in 1982. The album climbed to number six on the US charts but was largely ignored in the UK. It wasn’t until he duetted with R&B legend Patti LaBelle on hit single On My Own in 1986 that Michael began to attract British fans.

After that, Michael had a second hit with Sweet Freedom, his theme for the Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines comedy Running Scared.

After a quiet spell, he has recorded some tribute albums to the Motown sound. He has also sung on Eyes Of A Child, the end credits for the 1999 film South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut, in a move that takes the mickey out of his career!

No stranger to being publicly teased, a videotaped concert of Michael was used as a running joke in the 2005 film The 40-Year-Old Virgin too!