The Lovin' Spoonful
The Lovin' Spoonful | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | Greenwich Village, New York City, U.S. |
Genres | |
Years active |
|
Labels | |
Spinoff of | The Mugwumps |
Members |
|
Past members |
|
The Lovin' Spoonful is an American
Led by their primary songwriter John Sebastian, the Lovin' Spoonful took their earliest influences from jug band and blues music, reworking them into a popular music format. In 1965, the Lovin' Spoonful helped pioneer the development of the musical genre of folk rock. By 1966, the group was "one of the most highly regarded American bands",[1] and they were the year's third-best-selling singles act in the U.S., after the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. As psychedelia expanded in popularity in 1967, the Lovin' Spoonful struggled to transition their approach and saw diminished sales before disbanding in 1968.
Before they founded the Lovin' Spoonful, Sebastian (guitar, harmonica, autoharp, vocals) and Zal Yanovsky (guitar, vocals) were active in Greenwich Village's folk-music scene. The two recruited Steve Boone (bass) and Joe Butler (drums, vocals), both of whom were former members of one of the Village's first rock groups, the Sellouts. The Lovin' Spoonful's four-piece lineup honed their sound at local nightclubs before they began recording for Kama Sutra Records with the producer Erik Jacobsen. At the height of the band's success, Yanovsky and Boone were arrested for marijuana possession in San Francisco in May 1966. The pair revealed their drug source to authorities to avoid Yanovsky being deported to his native Canada, an action which soured the band's reputation within the West Coast's burgeoning counterculture and which generated tensions within the group. Due to disagreements over their artistic direction, the band fired Yanovsky in May 1967, replacing him with Jerry Yester, and Yanovsky commenced a brief and commercially unsuccessful solo career. The original iteration of the Lovin' Spoonful last publicly performed in June 1968, after which time Sebastian departed the group and pursued a briefly successful solo career. The band dissolved later that year.
In 2000, the Lovin' Spoonful was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an occasion that saw Sebastian, Yanovsky, Boone and Butler perform together for the last time. Yanovsky died of a heart attack two years later. Sebastian has remained active as a solo act, and Boone, Butler and Yester began touring under the name the Lovin' Spoonful in 1991.
History
1964–1965: Formation
Antecedents and earliest lineup
The first time I heard Zal [Yanovsky] was at Cass Elliot's house. Cass was forever the Jewish matchmaker, she was matching up boys to play in bands like a house afire. And she had us nailed as, "Oh, these guys have to work together."[2]
John Sebastian and Zal Yanovsky met on February 9, 1964, at the apartment of Cass Elliot, a mutual friend and fellow musician.[3] That night, Elliot held a party to watch the English rock band the Beatles make their American television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show.[4] The three musicians were all active in the folk-music scene in Greenwich Village, a neighborhood in New York City, and Elliot encouraged Sebastian and Yanovsky to play with one another.[5] Like many folk musicians, the group were influenced by the Beatles' performance; Sebastian later reflected, "It affected us heavily ... us [meaning] my specific generation".[6]
Sebastian, the son of the classical
In 1964, Sebastian lived in an apartment on Prince Street in
From 1962 to 1964, Steve Boone played bass guitar in several Long Island rock bands with the drummer Joe Butler,[22] including the Kingsmen, led by Boone's brother, Skip.[23] Boone quit the band in mid-1964 to spend time visiting Europe, while Skip and Butler changed the band's name to the Sellouts and moved to Greenwich Village, holding a residency at Trude Heller's club as one of the neighborhood's earliest rock groups.[24] In December 1964,[22] at the insistence of Butler, Boone went to the Village Music Hall, a small music club on West Third Street in Greenwich Village.[25] There, Boone met Sebastian and Yanovsky,[26] and though he had no background in folk music,[27] he soon bonded with the two over their shared musical influences of Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Motown, the Beatles and other British Invasion acts.[26] Sebastian played him his composition "Good Time Music" – the lyrics of which derided early 1960s rock and roll while extolling the Beatles and other new music – and the three musicians jammed different Chuck Berry and R&B numbers.[28] Sebastian invited Boone to Jacobsen's apartment afterwards, where Boone met Jacobsen as well as Jerry Yester of the Modern Folk Quartet, a local folk music group.[29] That week, Boone attended Sebastian's performance at a Greenwich Village club.[30] Sebastian's show, made up of a quickly assembled group of Fred Neil, Tim Hardin, Buzzy Linhart and Felix Pappalardi, greatly impressed Boone,[30][31] who later remembered it as "one of the most significant nights in my musical life."[31] He also recalled: "I was stunned. I had never heard such power in a folk group before."[31] The performance motivated Boone to enter the Greenwich Village folk scene and join Sebastian and Yanovsky's group.[31]
The band was still in need of a drummer, and Boone suggested Jan Buchner, a part-timer with the Kingsmen who came at the recommendation of both Skip and Butler.[32] Buchner, who went by the stagename Jan Carl, was the manager of the Bull's Head Inn, a small inn located in Bridgehampton on Long Island, and which he offered as a rehearsal space during the inn's winter closure. The band rehearsed at the Bull's Head for several weeks in December 1964 and January 1965, and they also played at local bars in Bridgehampton at night.[33]
In late 1964 and early 1965, to keep earning money before his new band had earned a contract, Sebastian continued performing as a studio musician on other artists' recordings.[34] In this period, he played harmonica on progressive folk records for several acts, including Fred Neil, Jesse Colin Young and Judy Collins.[10][nb 3] In January 1965,[35] the musician Bob Dylan asked Sebastian to play bass guitar on his newest album, Bringing It All Back Home.[36] The album's first day of sessions, January 13, featured only Dylan on an acoustic guitar and, for a few tracks, Sebastian playing bass guitar, but none of the recordings were used on the final album.[37] Dylan returned the next day to re-record much of the material, rearranging the songs attempted the day before so they instead featured an electric backing.[38] Dylan invited Sebastian to return for a separate session held that evening,[38] and Boone – one of the few people Sebastian knew with a car and driver's license – offered to drive him there.[39][40] Sebastian was not a trained bass player and, after struggling to play the part, he suggested that Boone play instead.[41][42] Neither Boone nor Sebastian's contributions ended up on the final album.[43][nb 4]
Earliest live dates
We were still trying to come up with a name when I ran into Fritz Richmond, a friend and musician. I asked him for suggestions. Fritz asked what we sounded like. I said a cross between Chuck Berry and Mississippi John Hurt. Fritz suggested the Lovin' Spoonful, a line from Hurt's 1963 song, "Coffee Blues." The name was perfect.[45]
In early 1965, in preparation for their first public performances, Sebastian, Yanovsky, Boone and Carl continued rehearsing at the Bull's Head, while Sebastian and Yanovsky searched for a group name.
Joe Marra, the owner of Greenwich Village's Night Owl Cafe, knew Sebastian from his time backing other artists at the club, and Marra offered to book the Lovin' Spoonful at the venue.
Having fired Carl, the Lovin' Spoonful could no longer play at the Bull's Head and were in need of a new rehearsal space.
While waiting to be signed to a record label, the Lovin' Spoonful played at night clubs on MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village, including Cafe Wha? and Café Bizarre.[61] The band held a brief residency at Café Bizarre,[62] playing several sets a night for six days a week,[53] leading Sebastian to later reflect, "We learned more at that crappy little club than almost any other gig."[63] Marra had been especially critical of the band's earlier performances at the Night Owl, but he was impressed by the band's newly professional approach,[62] and in May of 1965, he offered for the band to return to performing at the Night Owl.[63] The Lovin' Spoonful shared their bill at the club with two other electric groups whom Marra booked, Danny Kalb's band the Blues Project and the Modern Folk Quartet,[63][64] the latter of which Sebastian sometimes filled in for on drums.[65] The Night Owl's triple-bill was immediately successful,[63] and other established acts sometimes came to watch, including members of the American band the Byrds and Mary Travers of the folk-trio Peter, Paul and Mary.[66] Around the time he began booking electric acts, Marra moved the venue's stage towards the front street-facing window to draw in passers-by,[63] and he printed a large color photo of the Lovin' Spoonful and placed it in the club's window, which helped elevate the band's local popularity.[62]
Folk rock
On June 7 and 8, 1965,
The Lovin' Spoonful performed two sets at Club 47 and initially received a mixed reception; many folk fans walked out of the first set due to the band's loud sound.[75] Sebastian recalled a moment from the first set:
[A woman] carefully [got my] and Zally's attention, points out toward the amplifier, and puts her fingers in her ears. And Zally gave her his broadest and most affectionate smile, and turned his amplifier up as loud as he could. That was a real transition.[76]
During the second set, the band received a warm response from the remaining crowd.[75] In retrospect, the author Richie Unterberger describes the Lovin' Spoonful's appearance as a "watershed" moment in the history of folk rock.[76] The rock journalist Paul Williams attended the shows, and his review of the performances for the magazine Folkin' Around marked his earliest work as a music writer.[77] Williams later reflected, "For a band like that to come to Club 47 was revolutionary, in terms of Cambridge['s] holier-than-thou purist attitude about folk music."[76]
"Do You Believe in Magic", Kama Sutra
Early in the Lovin' Spoonful's May residency at the Night Owl,[63] Sebastian wrote a new song, "Do You Believe in Magic", which explored the transformative power of music.[81] His initial inspiration came during one of the band's performances, in which he and Yanovsky noticed a sixteen-year-old girl dancing among the audience.[82][78] The girl stood in contrast to the older beatnik crowd who typically attended folk performances,[78] and Sebastian recalled that "[she was] dancing like we danced – and not like the last generation danced".[63] He also remembered: "Zal and I just elbowed each other the entire night, because to us, that young girl symbolized the fact that our audience was changing, that maybe they had finally found us."[78] Sebastian composed the song the following night,[82][78] and the band worked together at the Albert to finish its arrangement.[83]
The Lovin' Spoonful was enthusiastic about "Do You Believe in Magic" and hoped to record a demo of the song to flog to record companies.[83] In June,[84] Jacobsen fronted a session with his own money at Bell Sound Studios in New York, where the band recorded "Do You Believe in Magic" and several other songs.[83][84][nb 6] Jacobsen invited Yester to participate in the session, adding both piano and backing vocals,[85] and the session musician Gary Chester played tambourine.[86] Jacobsen and Cavallo brought an acetate disc of the demo to numerous record labels, all of which turned down an opportunity to sign the band.[85][80] After attending one of the Lovin' Spoonful's performances at the Night Owl,[87] the well-known producer Phil Spector listened to an acetate of "Do You Believe in Magic" and considered signing the band to his label, Philles Records.[88] Recollections differ as to who turned whom down,[nb 7] but subsequent authors suggest that in writing their own music and possessing a defined sound, the Lovin' Spoonful differed greatly from the acts with which Spector normally worked.[89][91]
The Lovin' Spoonful signed with Koppelman-Rubin, an entertainment company,[96] who signed the band to Kama Sutra Records in June 1965.[97] As part of the deal, MGM Records distributed the records, which Kama Sutra released for Koppelman-Rubin.[96] The arrangement's format of multiple middlemen left little in profits for the band.[93][96] Sebastian later said that not signing with Elektra was "the worst decision I ever made in my life".[98]
Kama Sutra saw no need to re-record Jacobsen's original demo of the Lovin' Spoonful performing "Do You Believe in Magic", and the label pressed copies to be the band's debut single.[96] The label issued it in the U.S. on July 20, 1965,[99][79] and it debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 a month later,[84] remaining on the chart for thirteen weeks and peaking in October at number nine.[100]
1965–1966: American popularity
Touring, debut album
The release of "Do You Believe in Magic" in July 1965 propelled the Lovin' Spoonful to nationwide fame in the U.S. within weeks.
Amid their touring schedule, the Lovin' Spoonful recorded tracks for their debut album, Do You Believe in Magic.[110] The band recorded thirteen songs across several sessions between June and September 1965, mostly at Bell Sound in New York, and they also recorded at RCA Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles. They also performed as uncredited studio musicians on Sonny & Cher's single "But You're Mine".[84] The band's focus was on recording as quickly as possible, and a majority of the songs were jug band and blues covers taken from their typical live set list.[111] The album's five original compositions were all credited to Sebastian, including "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?",[84] which he based on a experience as a child at summer camp when he fell in love with twin sisters.[112] Pointing to the success of the Beatles and the Byrds, the Lovin' Spoonful's label encouraged the band to trade lead vocal responsibilities.[75] On Do You Believe in Magic, Sebastian sang most songs, but Butler also sings twice ("You Baby" and "The Other Side of This Life") as does Yanovsky ("Blues in the Bottle", "On the Road Again" and the unreleased "Alley Oop").[84] Kama Sutra issued the album in November 1965.[84] It debuted on the Billboard Top LPs chart on December 4,[84] and it initially ran on the chart for 19 weeks, peaking in February 1966 at number 71.[113]
By late 1965, the Lovin' Spoonful had made appearances on the most popular American television variety shows, including Where the Action Is, Shindig! and Hullabaloo.[114] Executives from NBC approached Cavallo to offer the band the opportunity to star in their own television series, The Monkees.[114][115] The group met with the executives Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider in Manhattan, where they explained their idea for a comedy sitcom about a band seeking to make it big, styled similarly to the Beatles' 1964 film, A Hard Day's Night. Though excited at the prospect of being propelled quickly to a national audience, the band were unenthusiastic at the idea of having to change their name to The Monkees and were worried that their ability to create and play their own music would be limited by the venture. They declined the offer.[116] Rafelson later said that the Lovin' Spoonful was the only existing group considered for the show before they began auditioning individual actors and musicians in September 1965.[117]
Daydream
In November 1965, the Lovin' Spoonful embarked on a 19-day package-tour with the American girl group the Supremes.[118][119] The acts performed at colleges across the southern U.S.,[119] beginning in Lafayette, Louisiana, on November 10.[120][121] Both acts traveled by bus and partied together, along with members of the Supremes' backing band,[122] the Funk Brothers, billed as the Earl Van Dyke Orchestra.[123] The Lovin' Spoonful generally enjoyed the tour but found it physically exhausting. Sebastian additionally missed his girlfriend, Loretta "Lorey" Kaye.[124] Near the tour's end, in an effort to raise his own spirits, he composed "Daydream" while riding on the bus through North Carolina,[124] drawing inspiration from the Supremes' 1964 singles "Baby Love" and "Where Did Our Love Go".[122] A stop in Savannah, Georgia inspired the beginnings of "Jug Band Music",[124] which Boone later said "recalled pleasant visions of the tour" for him and his bandmates.[122]
At the conclusion of their tour with the Supremes, the Lovin' Spoonful departed directly for Los Angeles, having been invited by Phil Spector to appear in the concert film The Big T.N.T. Show.[125] After filming on 29–30 November,[126] the band remained in Los Angeles to do several weeks of a residency at the Trip, a short-lived nightclub on Sunset Boulevard.[125] During their stay, the band befriended a local fashion designer, Jeannie Franklyn, who subsequently designed custom-clothing for Yanovsky.[127] They also struck up a friendship with David Crosby, the rhythm guitarist of the Byrds.[128] Crosby had spoken favorably of the Lovin' Spoonful in interviews as early as August, often promising reporters that they would be the next big group.[129][130] Both he and his bandmate Jim McGuinn had been familiar with Sebastian and Yanovsky since their earlier years playing folk with Cass Elliot, and the Lovin' Spoonful, the Byrds and the Mamas & the Papas remained on close terms in the mid-1960s.[130][nb 8]
Amid their busy TV and live-date schedule, the Lovin' Spoonful recorded most of their second album
Of the songs recorded for Daydream, Sebastian and Yanovsky hoped that their joint composition "It's Not Time Now" would be issued as a single, but Kama Sutra denied the request out of fear that it was a protest song.[137] The label instead issued "Daydream" in February 1966.[138] The song's release fueled speculation from the press and public about a link between the band and drug use,[139][140] as the press had often incorrectly speculated that the Lovin' Spoonful alluded to the spoon used in injecting heroin.[141] The increased speculation was partly driven by the lyrics' use of the term "dream", which by 1966 was sometimes used to connote the experience of taking psychedelic drugs.[142] Additionally, a trade ad in Billboard accompanying the single's release made several drug allusions, drawing the ire of the band, who had regularly sought to distance themselves from drug associations.[139]
"Daydream" remained on the Hot 100 for twelve weeks, peaking at number two for two weeks in mid-April.[100] The single was kept from the top spot on Billboard's chart by the Righteous Brothers' song "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration",[143] but it reached number one on Cash Box magazine's chart and also reached the top spot in Canada.[144][145] The song's success expanded the Lovin' Spoonful's popularity such that they were often able to headline their concerts rather than perform as a support act.[146] When the band toured the American South with the Beach Boys from April 1 to 9, 1966,[147] the two groups alternated top billing.[148][nb 9]
1966: International popularity
What's Up, Tiger Lily? soundtrack; European tour
Though the Lovin' Spoonful had achieved quick success in North America, they remained generally unknown in the U.K.[153][154] None of their singles had charted in the country.[155][nb 10] To expand the band's popularity to an international audience, their management organized several live- and TV-dates in England and Sweden for April 1966.[153] Only days before the Lovin' Spoonful was set to depart to Europe, they were approached to provide a soundtrack for What's Up, Tiger Lily?, the directorial debut of the comedian Woody Allen,[161] who knew the band from his work at clubs in Greenwich Village.[162] The band recorded the soundtrack in two days, April 11 and 12, at National Recording Studios in New York City,[163][164] and they made a brief appearance in the film.[165] The film was a commercial disappointment and received mixed reviews.[166] Issued in August 1966,[167] the soundtrack album reached number 126 on the Billboard LPs chart.[100] Jacobsen later criticized the project as a "goofball album" which distracted the band and stalled their progress.[166]
On April 12,[168] the Lovin' Spoonful arrived at Heathrow Airport to begin their ten-day tour of England and Sweden.[164][154] Problems which arose during negotiations with the British Musicians' Union forced the band to limit the number of appearances they made in Britain.[169] In the tour's first week, the band played concerts in Birmingham and Manchester, appeared on the television programs Top of the Pops, Ready Steady Go! and Thank Your Lucky Stars, played on BBC Radio and attended a party at the London home of the Irish socialite Tara Browne.[170] The band's time in England allowed them to interact with many of Britain's top musicians.[171] On April 18, they performed an invite-only show at the Marquee Club on Wardour Street, Soho, central London.[172][173] Several of Britain's top performers were in attendance,[172] including John Lennon, George Harrison,[174] Ray Davies,[175] Brian Jones, Steve Winwood, Spencer Davis and Eric Clapton.[172] The band were warmly received,[176][177] and Lennon and Harrison joined them afterwards into the morning at The May Fair Hotel in Piccadilly.[176] The next night, following their performance at the Blaises Club in Kensington, the band befriended Jones as well.[176]
After flying to
The Lovin' Spoonful returned to the U.S. in the last of week of April. The band's morale was high following the tour, particularly after they had been treated as equals by contemporary performers whom they held in high regard.
Marijuana bust
On May 20, 1966, Boone and Yanovsky were arrested in San Francisco for possessing marijuana, then an illegal drug. Police discovered the marijuana after pulling the pair over and searching their vehicle.[190] Boone and Yanovsky spent the night in jail before being bailed out the following morning by the Lovin' Spoonful's road manager, Rich Chiaro.[191] Cavallo and Charley Koppelman flew out to meet the band to begin managing the situation, and they hired Melvin Belli to be their attorney. Sebastian and Butler were not immediately informed of the nature of the bust, and the band's May 21 performance at the University of California, Berkeley's Greek Theatre went forward as normal.[192]
We were the first big rock band to get busted for weed. There was no playbook in effect. The record company, the management company – they didn't have an operating procedure for what you do, especially if one of your members has an immigration issue. If it had happened a year later [in 1967], it would have been a different thing. But it didn't. It happened then.[52]
At a meeting with San Francisco police and the District Attorney, Yanovsky was threatened with deportation back to his native Canada.[193] Belli expressed that Yanovsky and Boone were unlikely to win on the merits of their case and that their only way to avoid charges was to cooperate with authorities.[194] The two initially balked at the idea, but they relented to avoid Yanovsky being deported, something they expected would lead to a breakup of the band.[195] Yanovsky and Boone cooperated with authorities to name their drug source,[196] directing an undercover operative to their source at local party.[197] In exchange, all charges were dropped, their arrest records were expunged, the two did not need to appear in court and there was no publicity related to their arrest.[198] Their drug source was in turn arrested and served a brief jail sentence.[196]
After the drug case went to court in December 1966, knowledge of Yanovsky and Boone's bust became more widespread.[199] The underground press was especially critical of the band.[196] By early 1967, the Lovin' Spoonful's shows on the West Coast were sometimes picketed by members of the '60s counterculture. Protesters carried signs which accused the band of being "finks" and traitors to the movement, and they encouraged fans to boycott the band and burn their records.[200] The public revelations of the drug bust added to tensions between Sebastian and Butler on the one hand, and Yanovsky and Boone on the other.[201] Boone later suggested that the boycott hurt the band's commercial performance,[202] but the author Richie Unterberger suggests that the effects have likely been overestimated by other authors, since "most of the people who bought Spoonful records were average teenage Americans, not hippies".[203] In an article recounting the June 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival, the author Michael Lydon suggested that the Lovin' Spoonful was unable to appear at the festival due to complications related to the drug bust.[204]
"Summer in the City", Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful
After having recorded two albums in the second-half of 1965, the Lovin' Spoonful was stretched for new material in March 1966 when they began sessions for a new single.[206] While searching for inspiration, Sebastian recalled a song composed and informally recorded by his fourteen-year-old brother, Mark.[206][207] Sebastian reworked the lyrics and melody of his younger brother's composition into "Summer in the City", and he also incorporated contributions from Boone and the session musician Artie Schroeck.[208] Kama Sutra did not issue "Summer in the City" immediately but instead repurposed "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" for release as a single.[209][nb 11] Issued in April,[214] "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in June,[100] making it the band's fourth top ten single in America and their second top two record in a row.[215][nb 12] That same month, Do You Believe in Magic re-entered the Top LPs chart,[219] peaking in August at number 32 after spending 16 more weeks on the chart.[100]
"Summer in the City" was released as a single on July 4, 1966.
In July 1966,[235] the Lovin' Spoonful played to a crowd of 65,000 at that year's Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island.[236] Bob Dylan had generated controversy at the previous year's festival when he performed a set of electric rock,[236][237] but at the 1966 festival, the Lovin' Spoonful and several other electric bands appeared, including Howlin' Wolf, Chuck Berry and the Blues Project.[238] The Lovin' Spoonful was well received and received no pushback over their appearance.[236][237] In an article recounting the festival for The New York Times, the critic Robert Shelton suggested that the band's warm reception "reflected the growing acceptance of folk-rock and other amalgamations of contemporary folk songs with electric instruments".[237]
Sessions for the Lovin' Spoonful's third studio album, later released as Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful,[222] were originally booked for Columbia Records' 7th Avenue studio in New York from August 16 to September 23, 1966.[228] Recording was delayed after Columbia booked its own artists at the studio.[228] When time allowed them a break from touring, the Lovin' Spoonful recorded the album across several sessions in New York City at Bell Sound and the 7th Avenue studio, with work also done in Los Angeles.[239] For the first time on one of the band's albums, it consisted of only original material.[240] Henry Diltz, a member of the Modern Folk Quartet, contributed clarinet to "Bes' Friends" and took the pictures which adorned the LP's sleeve.[239] The album was released in November 1966,[241] and it reached number 14 on the Billboard LPs chart.[100] Preorders for the album were diminished after a disappointing reaction accompanied the August release of the What's Up, Tiger Lily? soundtrack album.[242]
In addition to the already released "Summer in the City", the sessions for Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful produced the song "Rain on the Roof".[243] The possibility of releasing the song as a single generated disagreement among the members of the Lovin' Spoonful.[239][244] "Summer in the City" featured a harder sound than their previous output,[245][205] and it had attracted new fans to the group after it reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in August.[246][100] Both Boone and Butler worried that returning to a softer sound with "Rain on the Roof" would potentially alienate the band's new fans,[246][206] but Sebastian countered that the band ought to avoid releasing consecutive singles which sounded too similar, also contending that "Rain on the Roof" would add another dimension to their sound.[246] Issued as a single in October,[247][248] "Rain on the Roof" remained on the Hot 100 for ten weeks and peaked at number ten, making it the Lovin' Spoonful's sixth consecutive single to reach the top ten.[100] The song also continued the band's success in Europe, charting in several European countries.[239]
Another song from Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful, the country-tinged "
In 1966, the Lovin' Spoonful had five Top Ten singles,[250] making it the band's most successful year to date.[251] The end-of-year issue for Billboard magazine ranked the Lovin' Spoonful as the third best performing singles artist of the year, after the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.[252][253] In the magazine's list of the top records of the year, it placed "Summer in the City", "Daydream" and "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind" at numbers 35, 38 and 48, respectively.[254][nb 14]
1967–1968: Diminished success
You're a Big Boy Now soundtrack; Yanovsky and Jacobsen fired
In mid-October 1966, the Lovin' Spoonful recorded
During the editing of You're a Big Boy Now, Coppola used the Mamas & the Papas' 1966 single "
The lack of collaboration on You're a Big Boy Now led to consternation from Sebastian's bandmates, especially Yanovsky, whose playing style often relied on improvisation.
I wanted us to go back [to the clubs] and try to recapture that sort of energy ... I had told John [Sebastian] that I thought his songwriting [had] really gone down the toilet and I thought that ... it was time for him to get back into the "risk element".[262]
From late 1966 into early 1967, Sebastian's bandmates felt he was exerting excessive control over the band's direction.[196][263] Boone recalled that the relationship between Sebastian and Yanovsky became especially stilted, since Yanovsky often rebelled rather than articulate his concerns directly.[264] Further agitating the situation, when Koppelman and Rubin renegotiated the band's distribution deal between Kama Sutra and MGM in late 1966, though the band received an increase in pay, the label added a "key-man clause" which specified that the band would only exist if Sebastian was a member.[265]
In May 1967, Sebastian convened a meeting with Butler and Boone to discuss the band's future. Sebastian expressed frustration with Yanovsky's increasingly erratic public behavior and his derogatory treatment of his bandmates. Sebastian concluded that either Yanovsky should be fired, or else he was prepared to leave the band.
Yester hired, Everything Playing
The Lovin' Spoonful hired Jerry Yester to replace Yanovsky on lead guitar duties. Following the May 1967 meeting in which Yanovsky was fired, Sebastian suggested hiring Yester, and no other replacement was considered. Yester had been close to the band and Jacobsen for years, having contributed to the recording of "Do You Believe in Magic".[273] Since mid-1966, when Yester's band the Modern Folk Quartet disbanded,[274] he had been working as a session musician and producer in Los Angeles.[275][nb 15] In early June 1967, he rehearsed with the Lovin' Spoonful at Sebastian's home in East Quogue, New York, and he debuted with the band on June 30 at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon.[275]
The Lovin' Spoonful reconvened in August 1967 to begin sessions for their next album, Everything Playing. In need of a producer after Jacobsen's firing, the band initially hoped to work with Roy Halee, who had worked as engineer on the band's earlier recordings, but his continued employment with Columbia Records prevented the collaboration. Koppelman-Rubin instead suggested Joe Wissert, a Philadelphia-based producer who had recently worked with the Turtles on their 1967 singles, "Happy Together" and "She'd Rather Be with Me". On Wissert's recommendation, the band moved from Columbia's recording studios to Mira Sound Studios, a new facility in New York City which made use of an AMPEX MM-1000, the industry's first 16-track recorder.[276] The band struggled to manage the more complicated recording equipment, a situation worsened when Wissert stopped attending sessions, forcing Yester to produce in his place.[277]
Like other folk-rock acts, the Lovin' Spoonful struggled to modify their musical approach as the new genre of psychedelia expanded in popularity in 1967.[196] The sessions for Everything Today yielded three singles, all three of which continued the band's downward commercial performance when they failed to place in the Top Ten.[278] "Six O'Clock", which had been recorded at Columbia before Jacobsen and Yanovsky were fired, was released in April 1967 and peaked at number 18.[279] On the album's next single, "She Is Still a Mystery", Yester arranged an orchestral accompaniment, which included strings and woodwinds played by members of the New York Philharmonic and horns from Ray Charles' touring band.[279] Following the single's release in October,[167] it reached number 27.[100][279] Everything Playing was issued in December 1967,[167] but received negative reviews from critics and peaked at number 118 in the U.S. after spending seven weeks on the album chart.[280] The album track "Younger Generation" was originally intended for release as a single – a trade ad in Billboard promised it would be "the most talked-about track of 1968" – but its release never followed.[281] Instead, "Money" was issued as a single in January 1968,[282] and it peaked at number 48.[283]
Sebastian departs, Revelation: Revolution '69
After the major commercial disappointments of Everything Playing and "Money" in early 1968, Sebastian announced to his bandmates that following the Lovin' Spoonful's next three months of scheduled tour dates, he planned to leave the group.[284] He last publicly performed with the band on June 20, 1968, in Richmond, Virginia,[285] and his departure was made public in September.[286][287] By December, the British music magazine Disc and Music Echo reported that the Lovin' Spoonful had split up.[288] Sebastian later summed up the band's career as "two glorious years and a tedious one".[289]
Following Sebastian's departure, the remaining members of the band had little contact with one another. Butler received permission from the label to record and produce an album under the Lovin' Spoonful's name. Released in late 1968, Revelation: Revolution '69 featured neither Boone nor Yester, but is credited to "The Lovin' Spoonful featuring Joe Butler".[290] The album did not chart,[100] and it is generally omitted from lists of the Lovin' Spoonful's discography.[291] The album's first single, the John Stewart-penned "Never Going Back", was recorded in Los Angeles at Sunset Sound Recorders before Sebastian departed the group, but he did not play on the recording. It was issued in July 1968 and reached number 73.[292]
1968–present: After the breakup, reunions
Following the dissolution of the Lovin' Spoonful, Sebastian was the only former member whose music career initially appeared promising.
After leaving the Lovin' Spoonful, Yanovsky signed as a solo act with
In 1969, Boone attempted to record a solo album, but the project dissolved. That same year, he produced an album for the Virginia-based folk group the Oxpetals, after which he left the music business.[312] Butler pivoted to Broadway acting,[313] and he performed in the rock musical Hair.[311] He also worked as a sound editor in Hollywood,[313] but by later in the 1970s he was no longer active in music and instead drove a taxi cab.[314]
Sebastian resisted subsequent efforts to reform the Lovin' Spoonful,[289] and the original members of the band only reunited twice.[315] In late 1979, at the invitation of the musician Paul Simon, the band appeared in his 1980 film One-Trick Pony in a concert sequence which featured several 1960s acts.[316] The band did not see each other again until March 2000, when the four original members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.[317] Yanovsky died of a heart attack two years later.[318] Butler, Boone and Yester began touring under the name the Lovin' Spoonful in 1991,[97] a venture opposed by both Sebastian and Yanovsky.[319] Augmented by a group of touring musicians,[320] the group released a live album, Live at the Hotel Seville, in 1999.[203] Sebastian has since reunited with Boone and Butler once, joining them onstage in 2020 during a benefit concert.[321]
Musical style and development
Led by their primary songwriter John Sebastian, the Lovin' Spoonful took their earliest influences from blues and jug band music.[322][323] The band's music blended influences from folk, blues, country and rock music,[324][325] updating traditional American music into a modern popular music format.[326] Sebastian later said that the music of Jim Kweskin and the Jug Band was particularly influential on the band, and that the Lovin' Spoonful "redid several of their tunes with only a minimal electric difference".[327][nb 17] Sebastian's songwriting drew from American pop, rock and folk,[329] and he named Motown music and the Holland–Dozier–Holland songwriting team as among his biggest influences.[330][nb 18] He also named his friend and fellow folk musician Fred Neil as influential on him, particularly Neil's "effortless" style, in which a lyric "sound[s] like it just fell out of your mouth, like you hadn't really labored over it".[327] The Lovin' Spoonful's debut album featured covers of Jim Kweskin and the Jug Band, Fred Neil, the folk group the Holy Modal Rounders, the 1920s blues musician Henry Thomas and the girl group the Ronettes.[331]
The Lovin' Spoonful's sound was influential on contemporary musical acts,[142] including bands like the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Kinks, Buffalo Springfield and the Grateful Dead.[332][nb 19] The band was among the first acts to be described as folk rock, a term coined in June 1965[72] to describe music which joined elements of rock-and-roll and folk-music.[337][nb 20] They were among the main instigators of the folk-rock movement in New York City and became the most successful folk-rock band from the U.S. East Coast.[338] In contrast to the protest songs for which folk had been known, the Lovin' Spoonful focused on optimistic, feel-good music.[339] The band often termed their sound "good-time music",[324] a phrase which originally described jug band music.[330] Sebastian hoped it could serve as an alternative to "folk rock" – a term he thought "just didn't say it all"[330] – and he used it in his early composition "Good Time Music", which the author Richie Unterberger writes served as "a sort of manifesto of the group's optimism in its jaunty rhythm and celebration of the return of good time music to the radio".[340]
Despite their origins in folk music, Sebastian and Yanovsky were early fans of rock and roll, such as the guitarists Duane Eddy and Link Wray, and they each played electric before acoustic guitars.[341] Sebastian recalled that when the two first met, he was shocked by Yanovsky's "all over the place" guitar playing, which he thought drew from the pianist Floyd Cramer and the blues guitarist Elmore James simultaneously.[2][nb 21] He recalled that Yanovsky, by contrast, later admitted to being intimidated by Sebastian's clean playing, but that this became a guide to the pair's work together, where he provided a foundation onto which Yanovsky could "come in and throw flowers".[2] Yanovsky's playing relied heavily on improvisation,[255] and he often drew from country music, leading the commentator Peter Doggett to describe him as "the missing link between fifties rockabilly and sixties folk-rock".[342]
In the studio
The Lovin' Spoonful played on their own recordings and were against the use of studio musicians.
Sebastian played a 1957 sunburst Gibson Les Paul electric guitar in live performances and on the band's recordings,[348][349] and he used a Heritage Gibson as his main acoustic guitar.[125][nb 22] Yanovsky's main guitar was a Guild Thunderbird,[351][352] which he bought from Manny's Music in Midtown Manhattan around 1964.[351] Soon after recording "Do You Believe in Magic" in June 1965, he replaced the guitar's original Guild pickups with humbuckers, which he thought "weren't quite as warm the originals, but they aged nicely".[353] He also sometimes played a Fender Esquire.[352] He favored a Fender Super Reverb as his standard amplifier, which he later said managed to add extra bottom end while also being loud.[351]
Image
The Lovin' Spoonful's image was influential on their contemporaries.
The group wore clothes with stripes and spots,
Members
Current members[nb 23]
- Steve Boone – bass guitar, keyboards (1964–1968, 1991–present)
- Joe Butler – drums, vocals (1965–1968, 1991–Present)
Past members
- John Sebastian – guitar, harmonica, autoharp, keyboards, vocals (1964–1968)
- Zal Yanovsky – guitar, vocals (1964–1967; died 2002)
- Jan Carl – drums (1964–1965)
- Jerry Yester – guitar (1967–1968, 1991–2017)
Membership timeline
Discography
Studio albums
- Do You Believe in Magic (1965)
- Daydream (1966)
- Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful (1966)
- Everything Playing (1967)
- Revelation: Revolution '69 (1968)
Soundtrack albums
- What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966)
- You're a Big Boy Now (1967)
Notes
- ^ Two of the other Mugwumps – Elliott and Denny Doherty – went on to form the Mamas & the Papas.[5]
- ^ Both of Sebastian's demos featured experimentation and exotic instruments, including African drums, bongo drums and a sitar. Yester later recalled playing on "Warm Baby" with other local folk musicians, including Jesse Colin Young and Sticks Evans.[20] Both demos went unissued, but the Lovin' Spoonful later rerecorded "Warm Baby" for their 1966 album Daydream and Sebastian included "Rooty-Toot" on his 1971 live album Cheapo-Cheapo Productions Presents Real Live.[20][21]
- ^ Sebastian played harmonica on Vince Martin and Neil's 1964 album Tear Down the Walls and on several 1965 albums, including Neil's Bleecker & MacDougal, Young's Young Blood and Collins's Fifth Album.[13]
- ^ Later authors have sometimes doubted that there was an evening session on the 14th,[35][39] but AFM records indicate Sebastian and Boone were present for a three-hour session.[35] The pair are in photographs of the session taken by the photographer Daniel Kramer.[35] The liner notes to the 2015 album The Cutting Edge 1965–1966 lists both musicians on early takes of "Love Minus Zero/No Limit", "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and "Outlaw Blues".[44]
- ^ Decades later, the recording was considered for release on CD as Live at the Night Owl, but Sebastian rejected the idea. The recording has since circulated as a bootleg.[52]
- ^ Which other songs were on the demo is disputed.[83][84] Boone and the journalist Ben Edmonds each write it was "Wild About My Lovin'" and an electric arrangement "Younger Girl",[83][84] but Jacobsen suggested it only included "On the Road Again".[83]
- ^ Henry Diltz of the Modern Folk Quartet later said, "The word was that [Spector] really wanted the Lovin' Spoonful, but he couldn't get them",[89] and Sebastian said in a 1966 interview that the band turned Spector down "because we didn't want to be swallowed up under his name".[31] In his autobiography, Boone instead said "I don't think we turned [Spector] down flat ... but we decided to play hard-to-get for a little while longer".[90] The producer Vini Poncia recalled that Spector "was considering them but passed on it".[88]
- ^ The Mamas & the Papas later chronicled the origins of the three groups in their single "Creeque Alley",[131] which reached number five in the U.S. in June 1967.[132]
- ^ Brian Wilson stopped regularly touring with the Beach Boys in December 1964,[149] but he saw the Lovin' Spoonful perform at The Trip.[150] Wilson later said that "a John Sebastian song I had been listening to" inspired his song "God Only Knows",[151] which the biographer Mark Dillon connects to "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice".[152]
- ^ "Do You Believe in Magic" was issued in the U.K. on October 1, 1965,[156] but its performance was hindered by the release of a similar-sounding cover by an English band, the Pack.[157][158][159] Another English band, the Boston Crabs, covered "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice" around the time the original was issued in the U.K. in January 1966.[160]
- ^ Quality Records released "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" as a single in December 1965 in select Canadian cities to test its potential performance in the American market.[210][211] It initially reached number ten in Canada in February 1966,[212] reaching number six that July after it was issued across the country.[213]
- ^ Quality Records issued "Jug Band Music" as a single exclusively in Canada,[216] where it reached number two in June 1966.[217] "Bald Headed Lena" reached number one on Sweden's Tio i Topp chart that July.[218]
- ^ Paul Williams wrote that the Lovin' Spoonful opted to delay their appearance after "Summer in the City" failed to enter the top five in the U.K.[228] Asked for comment by Disc and Music Echo magazine, the talent manager Tito Burns said that negotiations for the Spoonful's appearance broke down over "a terrible misunderstanding".[234]
- ^ The only other groups to have at least three singles on the list were the Beach Boys (three), Paul Revere & the Raiders (three) and the Beatles (four).[254]
- ^ Yester contributed to the Monkees' 1967 album Headquarters, and he produced the Association's 1966 album Renaissance and Tim Buckley's 1967 album Goodbye and Hello.[275]
- ^ MGM claimed that they owned the rights to the album due to their contract with the Lovin' Spoonful,[297] and the label hoped to issue it under the band's name.[298] The ensuing contract dispute delayed the album's release by over a year, until January 1970.[297][296] Both labels issued copies of the LP with unique artwork.[297]
- ^ Songs like "Daydream" and "Younger Girl" were heavily indebted to the jug band style,[328] the latter of which featured a reworking of the melody of the 1930 song "Prison Wall Blues" by Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers.[78]
- ^ Sebastian wrote "Do You Believe in Magic" by speeding up the chords of the 1963 pop song "Heat Wave" by Martha and the Vandellas, and he wrote "Daydream" by rearranging the Supremes' 1964 singles "Baby Love" and "Where Did Our Love Go".[330]
- ^ In 1966, "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice" inspired in part the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows",[152] and "Daydream" inspired "Good Day Sunshine" by the Beatles and "Sunny Afternoon" by the Kinks.[333][334] The author Domenic Priore writes that Buffalo Springfield drew from the Lovin' Spoonful's sound, "particularly in terms of their guitar tone".[335] A live performance by the Lovin' Spoonful in October 1965[336] inspired the Grateful Dead to transition from folk music to an electric style.[109]
- ^ The earliest known use of folk-rock was in an article by the journalist Eliot Tiegel, which appeared as a cover story in the June 12, 1965, issue of Billboard magazine. Tiegel principally used the term to describe the music of the Byrds, but also the Lovin' Spoonful, Sonny & Cher, Rising Sons, Jackie DeShannon and Billy J. Kramer.[72]
- ^ Sebastian considered Yanovsky's use of inversions as coming from Cramer more than any particular guitarist. He also counted the pianist Huey "Piano" Smith as another of Yanovsky's major influences.[330]
- Dan Armstrong Guitars in Greenwich Village. Eric Clapton bought the guitar and, in August 1968, gifted it to George Harrison, who later named it "Lucy".[350]
- ^ The touring iteration of the Lovin' Spoonful, first assembled by Butler, Boone and Yester in 1991,[97] has been augmented by various touring musicians.[320] Among those who have played with the band are Mike Arturi, Phil Smith, Randy Chance, David Jayco, John Marrella, Jim Yester, Lena Yester,[359] Jeff Alan Ross, Bill Cinque and Rob Bonfiglio.[360]
References
- S2CID 192057162.
- ^ a b c d e Shiner, Lewis. "John Sebastian Interview". Fiction Liberation Front. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
- ^ Unterberger 2002, p. 75 and Courrier 2008, p. 75: (met the night the Beatles debuted on Ed Sullivan); Miles 2001, pp. 131–132: (February 9, 1964).
- ^ Unterberger 2003, p. 63; Mersereau 2015.
- ^ a b Bronson 2003, p. 205.
- ^ Barone 2022, p. 168.
- ^ a b Fletcher 2009, p. 157.
- ^ a b Petrus 2015, p. 294.
- ^ Unterberger 2002, p. 28.
- ^ a b Unterberger 2002, p. 75.
- ^ Rees & Crampton 1991, p. 316.
- ^ Unterberger 2002, pp. 72–73.
- ^ a b c Unterberger 2002, pp. 75, 123.
- ^ a b c d e Fletcher 2009, p. 214.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 45.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 45–48.
- ^ a b c Fletcher 2009, p. 212.
- ^ Unterberger 2002, pp. 69–70.
- ^ Fletcher 2009, p. 213.
- ^ a b c Unterberger 2002, p. 70.
- ^ Unterberger 2006b.
- ^ a b Unterberger 2002, p. 123.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 11–15.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 23–24, 32.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 34–35.
- ^ a b Boone & Moss 2014, p. 36.
- ^ Unterberger 2003, p. 123.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 35–38.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 39.
- ^ a b Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 39–41.
- ^ a b c d e f g Unterberger 2002, p. 124.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 48.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 48–51.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 47.
- ^ a b c d Heylin 2021, p. 297.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 53.
- ^ Heylin 1996, p. 65.
- ^ a b Heylin 1996, p. 66.
- ^ a b Unterberger 2002, p. 110.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 51.
- ^ Unterberger 2002, pp. 109–110.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 51–54.
- ^ Heylin 1996, pp. 65–66.
- ^ Flanagan & Wilentz 2015.
- Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 54–55.
- ^ a b c Myers 2017, p. 74.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 55.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 54.
- ^ Fletcher 2009, pp. 215–216.
- ^ a b c Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 57–59.
- ^ a b Unterberger, Richie (May 3, 2018). "The Lovin' Spoonful's Steve Boone Opens Up About the Infamous Pot Bust that Broke Up the Band". PleaseKillMe. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ a b Fletcher 2009, p. 215.
- ^ Jackson 2015, p. 135.
- ^ Roxon, Lillian (May 1968). "The Lovin' Spoonful: Do You Believe in Magic". Eye. pp. 32–33.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 60, 62.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 46–47.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 47, 60, 62.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 62, 151.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 60–61.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 65–66 (waiting, Café Bizarre); Fletcher 2009, p. 215: (MacDougal); Einarson 2005, p. 63: (Cafe Wha?).
- ^ a b c Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 65–66.
- ^ a b c d e f g Fletcher 2009, p. 216.
- ^ Unterberger 2005.
- ^ Colby & Fitzpatrick 2002, p. 90.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 73.
- UMass Amherst.
- ^ a b c d e Boone & Moss 2014, p. 77.
- ^ Unterberger 2002, p. 126.
- ^ Unterberger 2002, pp. 135–136.
- ^ Einarson 2005, pp. 61, 65.
- ^ a b c d Jackson 2015, p. 129.
- ^ Tiegel, Elliot (June 12, 1965). "Folkswinging Wave On – Courtesy of Rock Groups". Billboard. pp. 1, 10 – via Google Books.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 73–74.
- ^ a b c Boone & Moss 2014, p. 78.
- ^ a b c Unterberger 2002, p. 164.
- ^ Williams 2002, p. 120.
- ^ a b c d e f Jackson 2015, p. 136.
- ^ a b Barone 2022, p. 200.
- ^ a b c d e Unterberger 2002, p. 173.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 62–63.
- ^ a b Fletcher 2009, pp. 216–217.
- ^ a b c d e f g Boone & Moss 2014, p. 63.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Edmonds 2002.
- ^ a b Boone & Moss 2014, p. 64.
- ^ Bosso, Joe (June 7, 2021). "John Sebastian: My Career in Five Songs". Guitar Player. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023.
The recording came together quickly. It didn't hurt that [session drummer] Gary Chester, who happened to be in the building, played tambourine on the track. He kept us from speeding up.
- ^ a b Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 66–67.
- ^ a b Ribowsky 1989, p. 194.
- ^ a b Hoskyns 1996, p. 99.
- ^ a b c Boone & Moss 2014, p. 67.
- ^ Ribowsky 1989, p. 195.
- ^ a b c d e Unterberger 2002, p. 125.
- ^ a b c Holzman & Daws 2000, p. 124.
- ^ a b 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 70.
- ^ a b c d e Boone & Moss 2014, p. 71.
- ^ a b c d Helander 1999, p. 237.
- ^ Houghton 2010, p. 173.
- ^ Jackson 2015, p. xvii.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "The Lovin' Spoonful Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 21, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ a b c Eskow, Gary (August 1, 2008). "Classic Tracks: The Lovin' Spoonful's "Do You Believe in Magic"". Mix. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 80–84.
- ^ Hoskyns 1996, p. 90.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 81–84.
- ^ Sternfield, Aaron (August 14, 1965). "People and Places". Billboard. p. 12 – via Google Books.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 84.
- ^ Jackson 2015, pp. 240–243.
- ^ Jackson 2015, pp. 244–245.
- ^ a b Miles 2009, p. 232.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 87.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 87–89.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 88.
- ^
- ^ a b Boone & Moss 2014, p. 91.
- ^ Hartman 2012, p. 158.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 91–93.
- ^ Sandoval 2005, pp. 23, 26.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 96.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 98.
- ^ a b c d e f Diken 2002.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 96, 98.
- ^ a b c Boone & Moss 2014, p. 101.
- ^ a b c Boone & Moss 2014, p. 102.
- ^ Hjort 2008, p. 73.
- ^ a b Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 103–104.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 103.
- ^ Hjort 2008, p. 52.
- ^ a b Rogan 1997, pp. 175–176.
- ^ Leonard 2014, p. 136.
- ^ "The Mamas & the Papas Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 7, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 104.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 89–90.
- ^ Jackson 2015, p. xx.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 104–105.
- New Musical Express. p. 3.
- ^ Savage 2015, p. 555.
- ^ a b Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 111–112.
- ^ Unterberger 2002, p. 263.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 111.
- ^ a b c d e Savage 2015, p. 143.
- ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. April 9, 1966. p. 24 – via Google Books.
- ^ "100 Top Pops (Week of April 9)". Cash Box. April 9, 1966. p. 4.
- ^ "RPM 100 (April 18, 1966)". Library and Archives Canada. July 17, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 110.
- ^ Badman 2004, pp. 124–126.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 110–111.
- ^ Badman 2004, p. 75.
- ^ Priore 2007, pp. 45, 49.
- ^ Wilson & Gold 1991, p. 138.
- ^ a b Dillon 2012, p. 112.
- ^ a b Boone & Moss 2014, p. 112.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d "Lovin' Spoonful". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on August 16, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ Valentine, Penny (October 2, 1965). "Penny Picks Your Pops: Searchers' sound gets tiresome". Disc and Music Echo. p. 11.
Do You Believe in Magic (Pye Int.) ... Out tomorrow [Friday, October 1, 1965].
- Newspapers.com.
Sales [of 'Do You Believe in Magic'] are being affected by a near-copy turned out by another group ...
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 113.
- ^ Colby & Fitzpatrick 2002, p. 80.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 113; Moriarty 1966.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ Lee 2015, pp. 18–19.
- ^ a b Barone 2022, p. 251.
- ^ a b c d Anon. 1990.
- ^ Anon. (April 16, 1966). "Spoonful here". Melody Maker. p. 4.
The Lovin' Spoonful arrived in Britain on Tuesday – one day earlier than expected ...
- ^ Anon. (May 14, 1966). "'Daydream' boys back in August". Disc and Music Echo. p. 5.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 116–117.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 116–118.
- ^ a b c Boone & Moss 2014, p. 117.
- ^ Hinman 2004, p. 82.
- ^ Miles 2001, p. 229.
- ^ Welch, Chris (April 30, 1966). "Knocking Down a Myth". Melody Maker. p. 9 – via Rock's Backpages.
I saw the Lovin' Spoonful and they were nice and easy.
- ^ a b c Boone & Moss 2014, p. 118.
- ^ Turner 2016, p. 204.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 116, 118–119.
- ^ a b c Tinniswood 2021, chap. 14.
- ^ Howard 2017, pp. 248–249.
- ^ Shea & Rodriguez 2007, p. 446.
- ^ a b Savage 2015, p. 135.
- ^ a b c Howard 2017, p. 249.
- ^ Savage 2015, pp. 135–136.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 119.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 119–120.
- ^ Rogan 2015, p. 274.
- Disc and Music Echo. May 14, 1966. p. 3.
After breaking the Lovin' Spoonful's 'Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind' in Canada prior to its release in the U.S. ... Quality Records has another Canadian exclusive from Kama Sutra with the Lovin' Spoonful's 'Jug Band Music,' ...
Dusty Springfield and the Lovin' Spoonful are to tour Britain for two weeks at the end of September [1966]. ... The tour will probably open at the Finsbury Park Empire on September 27 and will play major concert dates.
[The] Spanish group Los Bravos [are] replacing the Lovin' Spoonful on Dusty Springfield's autumn British tour ...
The New Vaudeville Band have replaced Los Bravos on the Dusty Springfield–Alan Price Set tour. ... Before the tour began, the Lovin' Spoonful said they would not appear and Los Bravos were signed to take their place.
[I]n the pop world recently ... [s]everal groups have been affected by break-ups ... among these ... [are] the MFQ – who are now completely defunct as a group ...
Sources
Books
- ISBN 0-87930-731-5.
- Badman, Keith (2004). The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band, on Stage and in the Studio. San Francisco, California: ISBN 978-0-87930-818-6 – via the Internet Archive.
- ISBN 978-1-4930-6302-4 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 978-1-77041-193-7 – via the Internet Archive.
- Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. New York City: Billboard Books. ISBN 978-0-8230-7677-2 – via Google Books.
- Childs, Marti Smiley; March, Jeff (1999). Echoes of the Sixties. New York City: Billboard Books. p. 222. ISBN 978-0-8230-8316-9 – via Google Books.
- Colby, Paul; Fitzpatrick, Martin (2002). The Bitter End: Hanging Out at America's Nightclub. New York City: ISBN 978-0-8154-1206-9 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 978-0-313-34587-6 – via Google Books.
- Dillon, Mark (2012). Fifty Sides of the Beach Boys: The Songs That Tell Their Story. Toronto: ISBN 978-1-77090-198-8 – via the Internet Archive.
- ISBN 0-14-200016-7.
- ISBN 978-0-8154-1281-6.
- Einarson, John (2005). Mr. Tambourine Man: The Life and Legacy of the Byrds' Gene Clark. San Francisco, California: ISBN 0-87930-793-5.
- ISBN 978-0-19-531024-5 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 978-0-393-33483-8 – via the Internet Archive.
- Hallberg, Eric (1993). Eric Hallberg presenterar Kvällstoppen i P3: Sveriges Radios topplista över veckans 20 mest sålda skivor. Drift Musik. ISBN 9163021404.
- Hallberg, Eric; Henningsson, Ulf (2012). Tio i Topp – med de utslagna "på försök" 1961–74 (in Swedish). Premium. ISBN 978-91-89136-89-2.
- ISBN 978-0-312-61974-9 – via the Internet Archive.
- Helander, Brock (1999). The Rockin' 60s: The People Who Made the Music. New York City: ISBN 978-0-02-864873-6 – via the Internet Archive.
- ISBN 978-0-02-864676-3 – via the Internet Archive.
- Heylin, Clinton (2021). The Double Life of Bob Dylan: A Restless, Hungry Feeling (1941–1966). New York City: ISBN 978-0-316-53521-2.
- Hill, Daniel Delis (2018). Peacock Revolution: American Masculine Identity and Dress in the Sixties and Seventies. London: ISBN 978-1-350-05645-9 – via Google Books.
- Hinman, Doug (2004). The Kinks: All Day and All of the Night: Day by Day Concerts, Recordings, and Broadcasts, 1961–1996. San Francisco, California: Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-765-3.
- ISBN 978-1-906002-15-2.
- Hoffmann, Frank (2016). Chronology of American Popular Music, 1900–2000. Abingdon: ISBN 978-1-135-86885-7 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 978-0-9661221-1-4 – via the Internet Archive.
- ISBN 978-0-312-14444-9 – via the Internet Archive.
- Howard, Paul (2017). I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: The Short and Gilded Life of Tara Browne, the Man Who Inspired the Beatles' Greatest Song. London: ISBN 978-1-5098-0004-9.
- Houghton, Mick (2010). Becoming Elektra: The True Story of Jac Holzman's Visionary Record Label. London: Jawbone Press. ISBN 978-1-906002-29-9.
- Jackson, Andrew Grant (2015). 1965: The Most Revolutionary Year in Music. New York City: ISBN 978-1-4668-6497-9.
- ISBN 978-1-61713-573-6 – via Google Books.
- Lawrence, Robb (2008). The Early Years of the Les Paul Legacy: 1915–1963. New York City: ISBN 978-0-634-04861-6 – via the Internet Archive.
- Lee, Sander H. (2015). Woody Allen's Angst: Philosophical Commentaries on His Serious Films. Jefferson, North Carolina: ISBN 978-1-4766-0596-8 – via Google Books.
- Lenhoff, Alan S.; Robertson, David E. (2019). Classic Keys: Keyboard Sounds That Launched Rock Music. Denton, Texas: ISBN 978-1-57441-786-9 – via Google Books.
- Leonard, Candy (2014). Beatleness: How the Beatles and Their Fans Remade the World. New York City: ISBN 978-1-62872-417-2 – via the Internet Archive.
- ISBN 978-1-55652-733-3 – via the Internet Archive.
- Mersereau, Bob (2015). The History of Canadian Rock 'n' Roll. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: ISBN 978-1-4950-2891-5 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 0-8050-5249-6 – via the Internet Archive.
- Miles, Barry (2001). The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years. London: ISBN 978-0-7119-8308-3.
- Miles, Barry (2009). The British Invasion. New York City: ISBN 978-1-4027-6976-4 – via Google Books.
- Milward, John (2021). Americanaland: Where Country & Western Met Rock 'n' Roll. Champaign, Illinois: ISBN 978-0-252-05281-1 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 978-1-61185-959-1 – via the Internet Archive.
- Nixon, Neil (2003). "The Lovin' Spoonful". In Buckley, Peter (ed.). The Rough Guide to Rock (3rd ed.). London: ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0.
- Petrus, Stephen (2015). Folk City: New York and the American Folk Music Revival. New York City: ISBN 978-0-19-023102-6 – via the Internet Archive.
- Pollock, Bruce (2009). By the Time We Got to Woodstock: The Great Rock 'n' Roll Revolution of 1969. New York City: Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-979-4 – via the Internet Archive.
- ISBN 978-0-8256-7350-4.
- Priore, Domenic (2015). Riot on Sunset Strip: Rock'n'Roll's Last Stand in Hollywood (Revised ed.). London: Jawbone Press. ISBN 978-1-908279-90-3.
- Rees, Dafydd; Crampton, Luke (1991). Rock Movers & Shakers. New York City: ISBN 978-0-8230-7609-3 – via the Internet Archive.
- Ribowsky, Mark (1989). He's a Rebel: The Truth About Phil Spector – Rock and Roll's Legendary Madman. New York City: ISBN 978-0-525-24727-2 – via the Internet Archive.
- Rodriguez, Robert (2012). Revolver: How the Beatles Re-Imagined Rock 'n' Roll. Montclair, New Jersey: Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-1-61713-009-0 – via the Internet Archive.
- ISBN 0-95295-401-X.
- Rogan, Johnny (2015). Ray Davies: A Complicated Life. London: ISBN 978-1-84792-317-2 – via the Internet Archive.
- ISBN 978-1-59223-372-4 – via the Internet Archive.
- ISBN 978-0-571-27762-9.
- Shea, Scott G. (2023). All the Leaves Are Brown: How the Mamas & the Papas Came Together and Broke Apart. Lanham, Maryland: ISBN 978-1-4930-7212-5 – via Google Books.
- Shea, Stuart; Rodriguez, Robert (2007). Fab Four FAQ: Everything Left to Know About the Beatles ... and More!. New York City: ISBN 978-1-4234-2138-2 – via the Internet Archive.
- Simons, David (2004). Studio Stories: How the Great New York Records Were Made: From Miles to Madonna, Sinatra to The Ramones. San Francisco, California: Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-817-9 – via the Internet Archive.
- ISBN 978-0-393-35168-2.
- Tinniswood, Adrian (2021). Noble Ambitions: The Fall and Rise of the English Country House After World War II. New York City: ISBN 978-1-5416-1799-5 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 978-0-06-247558-9.
- ISBN 0-87930-703-X.
- Unterberger, Richie (2003). Eight Miles High: Folk-Rock's Flight from Haight-Ashbury to Woodstock. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. ISBN 0-87930-743-9.
- Wallenfeldt, Jeff, ed. (2012). Sounds of Rebellion: Music in the 1960s. New York City: ISBN 978-1-61530-913-9 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 978-0-06-236670-2 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 0-634-02958-4 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 978-0-06018-313-4.
- Zimmerman, Keith; Zimmerman, Kent (2004). Sing My Way Home: Voices of the New American Roots Rock. San Francisco, California: Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-790-5 – via the Internet Archive.
Liner notes
- Anon. (1990). Rhino. R2 70944.
- Diken, Dennis (2002). Buddha, BMG Heritage. 74465 99731 2.
- Diken, Dennis (2003). Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful (Liner notes). The Lovin' Spoonful. Kama Sutra. 74465 99732 2.
- Edmonds, Ben (2002). Buddha, Kama Sutra. 74465 99730 2.
- Flanagan, Bill; Wilentz, Sean (2015). Legacy. 88875124422.
- Hill, Michael (2003). Buddha, RCA Kama Sutra. 74465 99733 2.
- Moriarty, Daniel J. (1966). What's Up, Tiger Lily? (Liner notes). The Lovin' Spoonful. Kama Sutra. KLP 8053.
- Unterberger, Richie (2005). Changes (Liner notes). The Modern Folk Quartet. Collectors' Choice Music. CCM-524.
- Unterberger, Richie (2006a). John B. Sebastian (Liner notes). John Sebastian. Collectors' Choice Music. CCM-720.
- Unterberger, Richie (2006b). Cheapo-Cheapo Productions Presents Real Live (Liner notes). John Sebastian. Collectors' Choice Music. CCM-724.
- Unterberger, Richie (2006c). Tarzana Kid (Liner notes). John Sebastian. Collectors' Choice Music. CCM-722.
External links
- The Lovin' Spoonful at AllMusic
- The Lovin' Spoonful discography at Discogs
- The Lovin' Spoonful on the Internet Archive