Michael Goessling, a St. Louis man who was adopted, was reunited with his birth parents, and one of them happens to be Michael McDonald.
Goessling shared his amazing discovery with KCTV 5. He was adopted as a baby by Paul and Kay Goessling. “I always knew I was adopted,” Goessling said. “I had a wonderful childhood. I couldn’t have chosen two more talented people to raise me.”
Yet he still wondered about his biological parents, who were both 14 when Goessling was put up for adoption. But then he was contacted by a half-brother he didn’t know existed who had taken 23andMe’s DNA test. “Within 36 hours, he received an email saying: Michael Goessling, half-brother, St. Louis,” Goessling recalled. “And that’s how it all started.”
On his 58th birthday, Goessling met his biological mother in person and later spoke on the phone with his biological father. Goessling asked him what he did for a career, and his father replied that he was a musician who would soon be passing through St. Louis on a tour that summer.
“And I said, ‘Are you Michael McDonald?'” Goessling said. “And he said, ‘Yeah, I’m afraid so.'” Turns out it was THE Michael McDonald — from Doobie Brothers and “What a Fool Believes” and “This Is It” and “I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near)”, and many other famous hits. And although they share the same first name, it was not an intentional choice on the part of his adoptive parents.
Goessling’s biological mother and father remained close and discussed their son over the years. “We always talked about him. And our biggest fear was always how was life treating him?” McDonald told the St. Louis outlet. “I always carried that guilt with me. But knowing that he was okay and that he had a good life, and a life that I certainly couldn’t have given him at that time, was a great reward. The real rock stars in this story are his adoptive parents.”
McDonald and Goessling then met in person. “When he first saw me, he put his arms out and gave me a big hug and told me he loved me, and I told him the same thing,” Goessling said.
McDonald also discovered when they met that he was a grandfather. “Yeah, I’m still thinking about that,” McDonald told the station. He added: “My daughter-in-law is exactly the daughter-in-law you hope for. And the kids are two of the greatest kids you’ll ever meet. I’m so proud of them.”
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