Michael Goessling remembers being eight years old and grooving with the Doobie Brothers.
“I was a crazy Doobie Brothers fan and people remember me singing ‘China Grove’ and listening to their music like ‘Black Water’ back in the day,” the now 59-year-old said in an interview. “I’ve always been a bit crazy about music and it’s starting to make sense today.”
Indeed, Goessling now knows that the group’s legendary singer, Michael McDonald, is his biological father.
Goessling has had to pinch himself since learning a year ago that he was the product of a teenage relationship between McDonald and a woman Goessling identified only as “Diane” — both of whom were 14 when they discovered they were expecting a baby.
“Initially, they thought maybe they would just get married and figure it out and rely on their family to support them,” Goessling said. “But ultimately the parents had other ideas and it was decided 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, signed up with the genetic testing company 23andMe to try to 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 tests came back normal, and Goessling considered closing his case with the company, but said he had a “gut feeling” that he should leave it active.
It’s also a good thing considering that a year ago, Michael McDonald’s son Dylan and his wife Amy Holland used the site to find Goessling, Goessling said.
Goessling said he learned that younger McDonald and his sister Scarlett knew they had a half-brother somewhere and also knew their father never gave up wanting to meet the son who was given up for adoption.
“He found me instantly and got an email saying ‘Michael Goessling, St. Louis, Missouri, half brother.'”
Goessling connected first with his biological mother and then with McDonald, a five-time Grammy winner who, along with the Doobie Brothers, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020.
Goessling is a big fan of McDonald’s as a member of the Doobie Brothers and a solo artist and has even attended a few of his concerts over the years.
“I’m still trying to figure this all out,” Goessling said. “I wake up again a year later and my first thought is that I wake up from the wildest dream yet.”
McDonald told CNN affiliate WSMV Channel 4 in Nashville, Tennessee, that he felt guilty about adoption for years, before finally connecting with Goessling in 2025.
“But knowing that he was OK and had a great life and I probably couldn’t have afforded him at that point in my life was… a great reward,” McDonald told the station.
A request for additional comment was sent to McDonald’s representatives.
Now the two are thrilled to share the same name, even though Goessling didn’t have a name at the time of his closed adoption and his adoptive parents had no idea what his biological parents’ names were.
They also share similar facial hair, furthering their resemblance. Goessling thanks his wife Nicole, who encouraged him to grow a beard during the pandemic.
Goessling boasts that he now has a relationship with his biological parents whom he cannot praise enough for being wonderful people and wishes that his father, Paul, had lived long enough to see the big, beautiful blended family they have all become.
Besides being talented, Goessling said he finds McDonald funny, smart, kind and said he shares his passion for adoption advocacy, which is part of why they’re happy to speak publicly about it now, as they hope the spotlight on their story will shine a light on the issue.
The couple also share a love of music as Goessling plays some guitar and also sings. As for the way he sings, he laughed when he shared that he doesn’t sound like McDonald in any way.
“I didn’t inherit the voice,” Goessling laughed. “God only created one.”
Gn entert
