Jesus Is Just Alright with Me - 2007 Remaster

This song has a long history with many incarnations. It was first recorded by the gospel group The Art Reynolds Singers on their 1966 album Tellin' It Like It Is. The Byrds covered it in 1969 and released as a single on their album Ballad of Easy Rider, where it charted at #97. They turned the song into a rocker, with a faster tempo and prominent electric guitar (the original version was piano-based and acoustic). The Underground Sunshine - a psychedelic band - released their version one year later, but this one didn't reach the charts. In 1972 The Doobie Brothers recorded it for their album Toulouse Street; the single was released in February 1973 and reached #35, becoming the most popular version of the song. Their arrangement was based on The Byrds recording.

Arthur Reid Reynolds, who also wrote The Byrds 1971 song "Glory, Glory," wrote "Jesus Is Just Alright." It's one of the few Doobie Brothers songs the band didn't write.

The Doobie Brothers version of this song distinguished itself with a breakdown in the middle where guitarist Pat Simmons, who sang lead on their hit "Black Water," preaches the vocals ("Jesus, he's my friend..."). Tom Johnston, the group's lead singer, credits keyboard player Bill Payne for helping come up with the breakdown. Payne was Little Feat's pianist, but also recorded with the Doobies and many other bands. In a Songfacts interview Johnston, he said: "I think Bill Payne was involved, because it involved a B3 Hammond, and the 'da da la da, da da la da.' We had a song that we did by Randy Newman on the very first album called 'Beehive State,' it had a similar lick, and possibly it came out of that."