Adopted St. Louis man discovers his biological father is a Grammy-winning artist

Published: Sep. 30, 2026 at 6:50 PM CDTUpdated: 7 hours ago

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - A St. Louis man who spent decades wondering about his biological roots was recently reunited with his birth parents—and discovered his father is a five-time Grammy Award winner.

Michael Goessling was placed for adoption as an infant after his biological parents conceived him when they were both 14 years old. Paul and Kay Goessling adopted him and raised him in St. Louis.

“Always knew I was adopted,” Goessling said. “Had a wonderful childhood. I could not pick two finer folks to raise me.”

Still, Goessling always wondered about his biological origins. The mystery began unraveling when a half-brother he did not know existed took a 23andMe DNA test.

“Within 36 hours, he got an email notifying him: Michael Goessling, half-brother, St. Louis,” Goessling recalled. “And that’s how this all began.”

On his 58th birthday, Goessling met his birth mother in person and later connected with his biological father over the phone. When Goessling asked what he did for a living, his father mentioned he was a musician preparing to tour through St. Louis that summer.

“And I said, ‘Are you Michael McDonald?’” Goessling said. “And he said, ‘Yeah, I’m afraid so.’”

His biological father was indeed Michael McDonald, the singer-songwriter and Doobie Brothers member known for hits such as “What a Fool Believes” and “I Keep Forgettin’.” The fact that father and son shared the same first name was purely coincidental.

McDonald and Goessling’s biological mother has remained a close friend over the years. Over a FaceTime call, McDonald described the emotional weight of not knowing what happened to his son.

“We always talked about him. And it always came down to our greatest fear was, how did life treat him?” McDonald said. “I always carried that guilt with me. But just to know that he was okay 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.”

The two later met in person, embracing warmly.

“When he first saw me, he put his arms out, gave me a big old bear hug and told me he loved me, and I told him the same,” Goessling said.

The reunion also made McDonald a grandfather.

“Yeah, I’m still wrapping my head around that,” McDonald said with a laugh, later calling back to add: “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.”

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5908489&forum_id=2#50165134)