"What a Fool Believes"
Single by Matt Bianco
from the album Samba in Your Casa
B-side	"Samba in Your Casa" (Cashassa Mix) "Say It's Not Too Late"
Released	1991
Format	12"
Genre	Latin jazz
Length	4:23
Label	EastWest Records
Writer(s)	Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins

"What a Fool Believes" is a song written by Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins. The best-known version was recorded by The Doobie Brothers (with McDonald singing lead vocals) for their 1978 album Minute by Minute. Debuting at number 73 on January 20, 1979, the single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on 14 April 1979 for one week. The song received Grammy Awards in 1980 for both Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

"What a Fool Believes" was one of the few non-disco No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 during the first eight months of 1979. The song lyrics tell a story of a man who is reunited with an old love interest and attempts to rekindle a romantic relationship with her before discovering that one never really existed.

Michael Jackson once claimed he contributed at least one backing track to the original Doobie Brothers recording, but was not credited for having done so. This was later denied by the band.

Additional Players:

Kenny Loggins released a version of the song (five months prior to The Doobie Brothers) on his 1978 album Nightwatch, and a live version on his 1980 album Kenny Loggins Alive. Loggins' original version switches several of the gender pronouns, so that it is sung largely from the perspective of the woman in the encounter.

There is a Loggins/McDonald live duet on Loggins' 1993 album Outside: From the Redwoods.

Warner Brothers also released a 12" single disco version by The Doobie Brothers (backed with "Don't Stop to Watch the Wheels"). Mixed by disco producer Jim Burgess, at 5:31 the song is considerably longer than the 3:41 versions on the 7" single and the Minute by Minute LP. The 12" version also has a more pronounced bass-driven drumbeat.

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Wikipedia