Black Water (1975) 7/19/20

The FOURTH time was the charm for today's “Great Song of the '70s!

When Patrrick Simmons of The Doobie Brothers first visited New Orleans in 1971, it was love at first sight. He loved the cultural mix of musical styles—from Dixieland to Delta Blues...as well as the vibrant nightlife, the overall atmosphere of the city itself and, of course, the people.

One day, while Simmons was working on some guitar riffs in the studio, producer Ted Templeman heard something he liked and suggested that Patrick build a song around it.

Challenge accepted, and after melding the riffs with lyrics about The Big Easy, “Black Water,” was born.Templeman liked the tune but suggested that an a cappella section would make the song even better. And it did.

The song was added to the 1974 album “What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits” but it took a while before anyone realized just how good the song really was.

First, it was released as the B-side to the album's first single: “Another Park, Another Sunday,” which was a mid-chart hit for the Doobies (#32). After that, the Brothers had 2 consecutive non-charters (“Eyes of Silver” and “Nobody”) before they decided on giving “Black Water” an “A-Side” try.

A few weeks later, (in 1975) the song was #1 on Billboard's Hot 100, and #11 on Canada's Top 40!

It had been a “Great Song of the '70s” all along. It just took a while for The Doobie Brothers and Ted Templeman to figure it out!