• Writer: Patrick Simmons
• Producer: Ted Templeman
• Recorded: 1974 at Warner Bros. Studios, North Hollywood, California
• Released: 1974
• Players:
  Patrick Simmons — vocals, guitar
  Tom Johnston — vocals, guitar
  Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, guitar
  Tiran Porter — vocals, bass
  Keith Knudsen — drums
  John Hartman — drums
• Album: What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits (Warner Bros., 1974)
• Also On:
  The Best Of The Doobies, Vol. 1 (Warner Bros., 1976)
  Rockin’ Down The Highway: The Wildlife Concert (Legacy, 1996)
  Live At Wolf Trap (Sanctuary, 2004)
  and other compilations
• “Black Water” was the Doobie Brothers‘ first Number One hit.
• The song was originally intended to be the B-side of a single, but it was more popular with DJs and the public than its flip side, “Another Park, Another Sunday,” which peaked at Number 32 in 1974.
• It was the group’s first major hit to be written by singer-guitarist Pat Simmons. Most of the other early hits were penned by singer-guitarist Tom Johnston.
• Drummer Keith Knudsen told us that the song “is inspired by New Orleans and that area of the country and the beauty and the mystery and all that stuff in that area.”
• Knudsen said the band was thrilled when the song hit Number One: “We celebrated, of course. That was great, just like we did when ‘What A Fool Believes’ reached Number One, and the album Minute By Minute got to Number One, and later that year, we won four Grammys for that album. That was exciting. Those were real high points in our career.”
• Guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter made his Doobies debut on What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits, though as a studio gun-for-hire. The former member of Steely Dan joined the Doobies full-time when the Dan became a studio-bound duo that same year.
• “Black Water” is one of the Doobies’ most popular concert favorites, and seldom fails to earn a huge sing-along during the a cappella section.
• What Were Once Vices… peaked at Number Four on the Billboard 200.

FAST FORWARD:

• Johnston stopped touring with the band in 1975 and was replaced by Steely Dan alum Michael McDonald. Johnston rejoined the band in 1976, but only for a short time.
• Baxter and drummer John Hartman left the band in 1979, and were replaced by guitarist John McFee, drummer Chet McCracken, and keyboardist-saxophonist Cornelius Bumpus.
• The McDonald-led Doobies were massively popular, despite the fact that the group’s sound went through an almost complete transformation, from blues- and country-flavored boogie to smooth and jazzy R&B. The group had seven Top 40 hits between 1976 and 1983, when they disbanded.
• Much of the group’s early lineup, including Johnston, Simmons, Hartman, bassist Tiran Porter, and drummer Michael Hossack, reunited in 1988. They released the album Cycles in 1989, which featured the Top 10 hit “The Doctor.”
• Longtime percussionist Bobby LaKind died of cancer in December 1992.
• Hossack was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in June 2001. After a long and difficult rehabilitation, he’s returned to the group.
• Baxter has a career in Washington, D.C., as a defense and missile expert.
• McDonald has seen success in recent years with the release of two Motown covers albums.
• Bumpus died after suffering a heart attack in February 2004 at age 58.
• Knudsen died in February 2005 at age 56 from complications related to pneumonia.