Clarence McDonald - the man behind the hits

Note from John Rabe: Writer, publisher, blogger, and friend Michael Sigman asked me to name my two favorite Off-Ramp pieces for his Huffpost series, "Reasons to be Cheerful." First I named "The Ashes of Oakridge," the wonderful and touching documentary of the fire that destroyed the Oakridge Mobile home park, produced by Queena Kim and Frank Stoltze, with help from Jackson Musker. Second, the interview I did a couple years ago with keyboardist/arranger/producer Clarence McDonald. Clarence was involved in some of the hugest hits of the 70s and 80s, including James Taylor's "How Sweet it Is," Bill Withers' "Lovely Day," and The Emotions' "Best of My Love." Just for fun, here's that second interview.

Note from John Rabe: Writer, publisher, blogger, and friend Michael Sigman asked me to name my two favorite Off-Ramp pieces for his Huffpost series, "Reasons to be Cheerful."

First I named "The Ashes of Oakridge," the wonderful and touching documentary of the fire that destroyed the Oakridge Mobile home park, produced by Queena Kim and Frank Stoltze, with help from Jackson Musker.

Second, the interview I did a couple years ago with keyboardist/arranger/producer Clarence McDonald. Clarence was involved in some of the hugest hits of the 70s and 80s, including James Taylor's "How Sweet it Is," Bill Withers' "Lovely Day," and The Emotions' "Best of My Love."

Just for fun, here's that second interview.