Keith Knudson; Doobie Brothers, Southern Pacific
Keith Knudson, drummer for the Doobie Brothers since 1974, passed away from pneumonia yesterday. He was 56. He had reportedly been battling cancer since 1995.

Knudson also played with fellow Doobie guitarist John McFee in the country rock group Southern Pacific, which released four albums and had a string of top-20 hits on the country charts during the 1980's.
The Doobie Brothers were best known for album-rock hits like "China Grove", "Black Water", "Listen to the Music", "Taking It To The Streets" and "Long Train Running". They disbanded in 1982, but reunited in 1993, and have released several albums since then, but had no more hits. Their sound was conventional middle-of-the-road rock, which took on a slightly funkified texture towards the end of their initial run.
Greatest Hits Vol. 1 is proably the best introduction to their early years. The box is for fans only, but it is nicely comprehensive.
Knudson is the 3rd classic rock drummer to go in a month, following Jefferson Airplane's
Spencer Dryden, and Traffic's
Jim Capaldi.