Talk about good fortune: an adopted Missouri man learned the identity of his biological father, who turned out to be none other than Michael McDonald, of the Doobie Brothers.
Michael Goessling knew he was adopted, and he credits his adopted parents with giving him a happy childhood.
“I had a wonderful childhood. I could not have handpicked two finer folks to raise me,” Goessling said.
Michael Goessling always knew he was adopted, but imagine his surprise when he learned the identity of his father.
Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers.
“When he first saw me, he put his arms out, gave me a big old bear hug and told me he loved me, and I told him the same.”… pic.twitter.com/9OFDc0JutL
— Live Action (@LiveAction) October 1, 2026
The mystery of who his father was began to unravel nearly six decades after he was born, when a half-brother he didn’t know existed took a 23andMe DNA test, according to People Magazine.
“Within 36 hours, he got an email notifying him: Michael Goessling, half-brother, St. Louis,” Goessling said. “And that’s how this all began.”
He met his birth mother in person on his 58th birthday, and would later speak to his biological father over the phone. When Goessling asked his father what he did for a living, the answer was that he was a musician. A five-time Grammy winning musician.
“And then I finally said, ‘Are you Michael McDonald?’” Goessling said. “And he said, ‘Yeah, I’m afraid so.’”
The fact that they share the same first name was purely coincidental.
McDonald and Goessling’s biological mother were both 14 years old at the time — they have remained close friends over the years, according to People.
“I always carried that guilt with me,” the award-winning singer said. “But just to know that he was okay and that he had a good life, and a life certainly that I wouldn’t have been able to afford him at that time in my life, was a great reward. The real rock stars in this story for us are his adoptive parents, who really gave Michael everything a child needs in terms of love and security.”
“He just put his arms out, just gave me a big old bear hug and told me he loved me, and I told him the same,” Goessling said, about first meeting his father.
“It was a wonderful, wonderful experience to see Michael and get to meet my son after all these years thinking about him,” McDonald said.
And the story gets even better, as McDonald learned that he is a grandfather.
“Yeah, that’s still sinking in for me. What a gift,” McDonald said. “My daughter-in-law is just the daughter-in-law you’d hope for as a parent. And the kids are two of the greatest kids you’d ever meet. I’m just so proud of them.”
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Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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