Michael McDonald’s Secret Son Found Him 58 Years Later

Erin MaxwellThu, October 1, 2026 at 6:31 PM UTC

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1998: American pianist and singer Michael McDonald (Photo by BSR Agency/Gentle Look via Getty Images) - BSR Agency/Gentle Look via Getty Images

Imagine spending decades wondering about your biological parents, only to discover that your dad is an icon of the ’70s rock era.

That’s what happened to Michael Goessling, a St. Louis man who was adopted as an infant and recently learned that his biological father is a five-time Grammy winner and Doobie Brothers crooner, Michael McDonald.

Goessling had always known he was adopted and says he had a wonderful childhood with his parents, Paul and Kay. But questions about his biological family remained until a half-brother he never knew existed took a 23andMe DNA test and received a match identifying Goessling as his half-brother.

Goessling eventually met his birth mother on his 58th birthday and later spoke with his biological father by phone. When his father mentioned that he was a musician preparing for a tour stop in St. Louis, Goessling put the pieces together and asked, “Are you Michael McDonald?” McDonald’s response: “Yeah, I’m afraid so.”

After finding out, father and son met in person, with Goessling recalling that McDonald immediately greeted him with a hug. The reunion came with another surprise for McDonald: He also learned he was a grandfather.

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“Yeah, I’m still wrapping my head around that,” the “What a Fool Believes” singer told KCTV5. “My daughter-in-law is just the daughter-in-law you’d hope for. And the kids are two of the greatest kids you’d ever meet. I’m just so proud of them.”

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McDonald and Goessling’s birth mother were both just 14 when they conceived him and placed him for adoption. They remained friends over the years. McDonald said they often wondered what had happened to their son and that learning he had grown up happy and loved brought an enormous sense of relief.

“We always talked about him. And it always came down to our greatest fear was, how did life treat him?” McDonald told reporter Steve Harris. “I always carried that guilt with me. But just to know that he was OK and that he had a good life, and a life certainly that I wouldn’t have been able to afford him at that time, was a great reward. The real rock stars in this story are his adoptive parents.”

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”