Big fan of Michael McDonald gets an even bigger surprise: he’s his son

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

(CNN) — Michael Goessling remembers being eight years old and grooving to The Doobie Brothers.

“I was a crazy Doobie Brothers fan and people remember me singing along to ‘China Grove’ and listening to their music like ‘Black Water’ back in the day,” the now 59-year-old said in an interview. “I was always a bit of a music nut and it’s starting to make sense nowadays.”

That’s because Goessling now knows that the group’s legendary lead singer, Michael McDonald, is his biological father.

Goessling has had to pinch himself since learning a year ago that he is the product of a teen relationship between McDonald and a woman Goessling identified only as “Diane” — who were both 14 when they discovered they were expecting a baby.

“Initially they thought that maybe they would just go ahead and get married and figure it out and count on and rely on their family to support them,” Goessling said. “But ultimately the parents had other ideas and it was determined collectively that I would be placed for adoption through Catholic Charities.”

He was adopted by Paul and Kay Goessling and had an idyllic childhood in Missouri, well loved and raised with siblings.

Fast forward to about 15 years ago when Goessling, as an adopted child, registered with the genetic testing company 23andMe to try and determine if there were any medical issues he might have inherited from his biological parents as he was about to become a father himself.

All the tests came back normal and Goessling considered closing out his file with the company but said he had a “gut feeling” that he should leave it active.

Good thing too given that a year ago Michael McDonald’s son Dylan, with his wife Amy Holland, used the site to track Goessling down, Goessling said.

Goessling said he learned that the younger McDonald and his sister Scarlett were aware that they had a half sibling somewhere and also knew that their father had never given up wanting to meet the son that had been given up for adoption.

“He found me instantly and got an email saying ‘Michael Goessling, St. Louis, Missouri, half brother.’”

Goessling first connected with his birth mother, and then with McDonald, a five-time Grammy winner who, with The Doobie Brothers, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020.

Goessling has been a huge fan of McDonald as both a member of The Doobie Brothers and a solo artist and had even attended a few of his concerts over the years.

“I’m still trying to get my head around this whole thing,” Goessling said. “I still wake up a year later and my first thought is I’m waking up from the craziest dream still, still to this day.”

McDonald told CNN affiliate WSMV Channel 4 in Nashville, Tennessee, that he had carried guilt about the adoption for years, before finally connecting with Goessling in 2025.

“But just to know that he was ok and that he had a good life and I life certainly that I probably wouldn’t have been able to afford him at that time in my life was…a great reward,” McDonald told the station.

A request for additional comment has been sent to McDonald’s representatives.

Now the pair are tickled that they share the same name despite the fact that Goessling was unnamed at the time of his closed adoption and his adopted parents had no idea the names of his biological parents.

They also share similar facial hair which heightens their resemblance. Goessling credits his wife Nicole for that as she encouraged him to grow his beard during the pandemic.

Goessling is glorying in now having a relationship with his birth parents whom he cannot praise enough for being wonderful people and wishes his dad, Paul, had lived long enough to see the big, beautiful blended family they have all become.

In addition to being talented, Goessling said he found McDonald funny, smart, kind and said he shares his passion for advocating for adoption which is part of the reason why they are happy to speak about it publicly now as they hope the spotlight on their story will shine a light on the issue.

The pair also share a love for music as Goessling plays a bit of guitar and also sings. As for how well he sings, he chuckled when he shared that in no way does he sound like McDonald.

“I did not inherit the voice,” Goessling laughed. “God only made one of those.”

The-CNN-Wire
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