The Lovin' Spoonful is an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band popular during the mid- to late-1960s. Founded in New York City in 1965 by lead singer/songwriter

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonicist who founded the rock band The Lovin' Spoonful. He made an impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969Zal Yanovsky Zalman Yanovsky (December 19, 1944 – December 13, 2002) was a Canadian folk-rock musician. Born in Toronto, he was the son of political cartoonist Avrom Yanovsky and teacher Nechama Yanovsky (née Gemeril), who died in 1958. He played lead gui ...

, the band is widely known for a number of hits, including " Summer in the City", " Do You Believe In Magic", " Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?", and "

Daydream Daydreaming is the stream of consciousness that detaches from current, external tasks when attention drifts to a more personal and internal direction. This phenomenon is common in people's daily life shown by a large-scale study in which partici ...

". The Lovin' Spoonful was inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

in 2000, and in 2006 the group was inducted into the

Vocal Group Hall of Fame The Vocal Group Hall of Fame (VGHF) is an American-based hall of fame that honors vocal groups throughout the world in every genre of music. Headquartered in the Columbia Theatre in Sharon, Pennsylvania, it includes a theater and a museum. It was ...

Career

Formation and early years (1964–1965)

The band had its roots in the folk music scene based in the

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

section of lower Manhattan during the early 1960s. John B. Sebastian, the son of classical harmonicist

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonicist who founded the rock band The Lovin' Spoonful. He made an impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969American folk music revival The American folk music revival began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Its roots went earlier, and performers like Josh White, Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy, Billie Holiday, Richard Dyer-Benn ...

of the 1950s through the early 1960s. Sebastian formed the Spoonful with guitarist

Zal Yanovsky Zalman Yanovsky (December 19, 1944 – December 13, 2002) was a Canadian folk-rock musician. Born in Toronto, he was the son of political cartoonist Avrom Yanovsky and teacher Nechama Yanovsky (née Gemeril), who died in 1958. He played lead gui ...

from a

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

group playing local coffee houses and small clubs called The Mugwumps, two other members of which,

Cass Elliot Ellen Naomi Cohen (September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974), known professionally as Mama Cass and later on as Cass Elliot, was an American singer and voice actress. She was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the Papas. After the group brok ...

and

Denny Doherty Dennis Gerrard Stephen Doherty (November 29, 1940 – January 19, 2007) was a Canadian singer. He was a founding member of the 1960s musical group the Mamas and the Papas for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. ...

, later formed half of

the Mamas & the Papas The Mamas & the Papas were a folk rock vocal group formed in Los Angeles, California, which recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. The group consisted of Am ...

. The formation of the Lovin' Spoonful during this period was later described in the lyrics of the Mamas & the Papas'

name drop Name-dropping (or name-checking or a shout-out) is the practice of naming or alluding to important people and institutions within a conversation,. story, song, online identity, or other communication. The term often connotes an attempt to impress ...

ping 1967 top ten hit, "

Creeque Alley “Creeque Alley” is an autobiographical hit single written by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips of The Mamas and the Papas in late 1966, narrating the story of how the group was formed, and its early years. The third song on the album '' Del ...

". Drummer Jan Carl and bassist Steve Boone rounded out the group, but Carl was replaced by drummer-vocalist

Joe Butler Joseph Campbell Butler (born September 16, 1941) is an American drummer and stage actor. He was a founding member of The Lovin' Spoonful, who had seven top 10 hits between 1965 and 1966. Early life Joe Butler was born on September 16, 1941, ...

after the group's first gig at The Night Owl in Greenwich Village. Butler had previously played with Boone in a group called The Kingsmen (not the hit group of "Louie Louie" fame). The group's first Night Owl performances were reportedly so bad that the club owner told them to go away and practice, so they practiced in the basement of the nearby Hotel Albert until they had improved enough to draw audience attention. The group made its first recordings for

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

in early 1965 and agreed in principle to sign a long-term deal with Elektra in exchange for a $10,000 advance. However,

Kama Sutra Records Kama Sutra Records was started in 1964 by Arthur "Artie" Ripp, Hy Mizrahi and Phil Steinberg as Kama Sutra Productions, a production house. The "Kama Sutra" is an ancient Sanskrit text.Alan Betrock ''Girl groups: the story of a sound'' 1982 p.1 ...

had an option to sign the Lovin' Spoonful as recording artists as part of a previously signed production deal, and Kama Sutra exercised the option upon learning of Elektra's intent to sign the band. The four tracks recorded for Elektra were released on the 1966 various artists' compilation LP ''

What's Shakin' ''What's Shakin' '' is a compilation album released by Elektra Records in May1966. It features the earliest studio recordings by the Lovin' Spoonful and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, as well as the only released recordings by the ''ad hoc'' ...

'' after the band's success on Kama Sutra.

Pop success (1965–1966)

The band worked with producer

Erik Jacobsen Erik Jacobsen (born May 19, 1940) is an American record producer, song publisher and artist manager. He is best known for his work in the 1960s with Tim Hardin, the Lovin' Spoonful, the Charlatans, and Sopwith Camel, and later with Norman Greenbau ...

to release their first single on July 20, 1965, " Do You Believe in Magic", written by Sebastian. Additionally, they wrote their own material (aside from a few covers, mostly on their first album),Evans, Paul (2004)
"The Lovin' Spoonful"
''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

''. Retrieved January 5, 2009. including "

Younger Girl "Younger Girl" is a song written by John Sebastian and originally recorded by his band, the Lovin' Spoonful, for their 1965 debut album '' Do You Believe in Magic''. The tune and lyric are based upon "Prison Wall Blues" (1930) by Cannon's Jug Stom ...

" (which missed the Hot 100), which was a hit for

The Critters The Critters were an American pop group with several hits in the 1960s, most notably "Mr. Dieingly Sad", a U.S. and Canadian Top 20 hit in 1966. Career The group formed in Plainfield, New Jersey, United States, in 1964 when singer-guitarist Do ...

in mid-1966. "Do You Believe in Magic" reached #9 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

, and the band followed it up with a series of hit singles and albums throughout 1965 and 1966, all produced by Jacobsen. The Lovin' Spoonful became known for such folk-flavored pop hits as "

You Didn't Have to Be So Nice "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice" is a song by American rock band the Lovin' Spoonful. It was issued on a non-album single in November 1965 and reached number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in January 1966. The song was later included the band's M ...

", which reached #10, and "

", which went to #2. Other hits included " Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" (another #2 hit) and " Summer in the City", their only song to reach #1 on the Hot 100 (August 13–27, 1966). Later that year, the #10 hit "Rain on the Roof" and the #8 hit "Nashville Cats" (which went on to become a staple in the concerts of bluegrass legend Del McCoury) completed the group's first seven consecutive Hot 100 hits to reach that chart's top 10. The only other 1960s act to achieve that feat is Gary Lewis & the Playboys. The Lovin' Spoonful was one of the most successful pop/rock groups to have

jug band A jug band is a band employing a jug player and a mix of conventional and homemade instruments. These homemade instruments are ordinary objects adapted to or modified for making sound, like the washtub bass, washboard, spoons, bones, stovepi ...

and folk roots, and nearly half the songs on their first album were modernized versions of blues standards. Their popularity revived interest in the form, and many subsequent jug bands cite them as an inspiration. The rest of their albums featured mostly original songs, but their jug band roots showed up again and again, particularly in "Daydream" and the lesser-known "Money" (which reached only #48, in 1968), featuring a typewriter as percussion. Lovin' Spoonful members termed their approach "good-time music". In the liner notes of "Do You Believe in Magic," Zal Yanovsky said that he "became a convert to

Reddy Kilowatt Reddy Kilowatt is a cartoon character that served as a corporate spokesman for electricity generation in the United States and other countries for over seven decades. Currently, the Reddy Kilowatt trademark is owned by Xcel Energy. Description ...

because it's loud, and people dance to it, and it's loud." Soon-to-be members of the psychedelic rock band the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

were part of the West Coast acoustic folk music scene when the Lovin' Spoonful came to town on tour. They credited the Lovin' Spoonful concert as a fateful experience, after which they decided to leave the folk scene and "go electric". At the peak of the band's success, the producers of the television series that later became ''

The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...

'' initially planned to build their series around the Lovin' Spoonful but dropped the band from the project due to conflicts over song publishing rights. The band also gained an added bit of publicity when Butler replaced Jim Rado in the role of Claude for a sold-out four-month run with the Broadway production of the rock musical ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

''. The Lovin' Spoonful's song "Pow!" was used as the opening theme of

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

's first feature film, ''

What's Up, Tiger Lily ''What's Up, Tiger Lily?'' is a 1966 American comedy film directed by Woody Allen in his feature-length directorial debut. Allen took a Japanese spy film, '' International Secret Police: Key of Keys'' (1965), and overdubbed it with completely or ...

''; the band also composed and played instrumental music for the film and appeared in some live performance sequences in the film (reportedly added during post-production without Allen's knowledge or consent). Shortly thereafter, John Sebastian composed the music for

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five A ...

's second film, ''

You're a Big Boy Now ''You're a Big Boy Now'' is a 1966 American comedy film written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Based on David Benedictus' 1963 novel of the same name, it stars Elizabeth Hartman, Peter Kastner, Geraldine Page, Rip Torn, Karen Black, ...

'', and the Lovin' Spoonful played the music for the soundtrack, which included yet another hit, "Darling Be Home Soon". Both films were released in 1966.Monush, Barry
''Everybody's Talkin': The Top Films of 1965–1969''
Applause Theater & Cinema Books, 2009, p. 135. . In addition, the

Michelangelo Antonioni Michelangelo Antonioni (, ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian filmmaker. He is best known for directing his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents"—''L'Avventura'' (1960), ''La Notte'' (1961), and ''L'Eclisse'' (1962 ...

film ''

Blow-up ''Blowup'' (sometimes styled as ''Blow-up'' or ''Blow Up'') is a 1966 mystery drama thriller film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and produced by Carlo Ponti. It was Antonioni's first entirely English-language film, and stars David Hemmings ...

'', also released that year, contained an instrumental version of the Spoonful song, "Butchie's Tune", performed by jazz musician

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

Personnel changes (1967)

In early 1967, the band broke with their producer, Erik Jacobsen, turning to Joe Wissert to produce the single "Six O'Clock", which reached #18 in the U.S. Yanovsky left the band after the soundtrack album ''You're a Big Boy Now'' was released in May 1967, primarily due to a drug bust in San Francisco, in which he was arrested for possession of marijuana and pressured by police to name his supplier. He was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

citizen and feared that he would be barred from re-entering the U.S., so he complied.Sony Legacy Recordings biography entry for the Lovin' Spoonful. From Allmusic biography by Richie Unterberger.
. Retrieved January 5, 2009.''"Perspectives: Like Zally, We're All Victims"'' by Ralph J. Gleason Rolling Stone Vol. 1 No. 2, November 23, 1967. The incident resulted in a public backlash from the counterculture against the band, with a full-page ad in the ''

Los Angeles Free Press The ''Los Angeles Free Press'', also called the "''Freep''", is often cited as the first, and certainly was the largest, of the underground newspapers of the 1960s. The ''Freep'' was founded in 1964 by Art Kunkin, who served as its publisher unti ...

'' (according to music critic Ralph Gleason) "urging people not to buy Spoonful records and not to attend their concerts and, to the girls, not to ball them." Although Yanovsky went on to release a solo single and album, his musical career was severely harmed. He later left the music business and opened a restaurant, Chez Piggy, in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The restaurant is now owned and run by his daughter."Zal Yanovsky Obituary"
''The Independent''. London. December 18, 2002. Retrieved January 5, 2009. Yanovsky, Sebastian and Boone all independently concurred in interviews that Yanovsky's sacking was due to Yanovsky's open disenchantment with the band's direction and Sebastian's songwriting. Sebastian's music was becoming "more personal" while Yanovsky desired a (probably unachievable) return to their early years club scene. Yanovsky's replacement was

Jerry Yester Jerome Alan Yester (born January 9, 1943) is an American folk rock musician, record producer, and arranger. Biography Yester was born in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, and grew up in Burbank, California. He formed a duo with brother ...

, formerly of the

Modern Folk Quartet The Modern Folk Quartet (or "MFQ") was an American folk music revival group that formed in the early 1960s. Originally emphasizing acoustic instruments and group harmonies, they performed extensively and recorded two albums. In 1965, as the Mode ...

. Around this time, perhaps coincidentally, the band's sound became more pop-oriented. The new line-up of the Lovin' Spoonful recorded two moderately successful Wissert-produced singles ("She Is Still a Mystery" and "Money"), as well as the 11-cut ''Everything Playing'', issued in December 1967. Sebastian, whose final show may have been May 10, 1968, at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, left the group by the end of the month to go solo.

Final years (1968–1969)

The group was now officially a trio, and drummer Butler (who had previously sung lead on a few album tracks) became the group's new lead vocalist. Up to this point Sebastian had written (or co-written) and sung every one of the Lovin' Spoonful's hits; the band now turned to outside writers for their singles, and used a variety of outside producers. The band's last two Hot 100 entries, "Never Goin' Back (to Nashville)" written by John Stewart and "Me About You", were sung by Butler. In addition, "Never Goin' Back" only featured Yester and Butler's playing—the other musical parts were played by session musicians, which had not occurred since drummer

Gary Chester Gary Chester (born Cesario Gurciullo; October 27, 1924 – August 17, 1987) was an American studio drummer, author, and teacher. Beginning in the 1960s, he played on hundreds of records for bands such as The Coasters, The Monkees, and The Lovin ...

played on ''Do You Believe In Magic.'' "Never Goin' Back" was the highest-charting single of the group's post-Sebastian career, topping out at #73. With commercial success waning, the Lovin' Spoonful lasted only until early 1969. They split up following the release of their album ''Revelation: Revolution '69''. In 1969 Boone produced an album for Mercury Records by a group known as The Oxpetals, a cosmic rock band inspired by The Moody Blues' "

In Search of the Lost Chord ''In Search of the Lost Chord'' is the third album by The Moody Blues, released in July 1968 on the Deram label. Content ''In Search of the Lost Chord'' is a concept album around a broad theme of quest and discovery, including world explorati ...

". When the album failed to chart Boone bought a sailboat and lived aboard for the next 4 years in the Caribbean. In 1973 he moved back to Baltimore, Maryland, took over a recording studio built by engineer George Massenburg, and renamed it Blue Seas after a ship that was salvaged in the Caribbean. Blue Seas went on to record many well known artists, among them Lowell George and Little Feat, who recorded "Feats Don't Fail Me Now" there, Robert Palmer and The Seldom Scene. In 1970, following John Sebastian's 1969 solo performance at

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

, Kama Sutra issued the song "Younger Generation" as a single. Sebastian had closed his Woodstock set with the song. The single version was taken from the two-year-old ''Everything Playing'' album and credited to "The Lovin' Spoonful featuring John Sebastian"; it failed to chart. In 1976, however, a solo Sebastian scored another No. 1 Hot 100 hit with " Welcome Back", the theme song to the ABC sitcom, ''

Welcome Back, Kotter ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' is an American sitcom starring Gabe Kaplan as a high-school teacher in charge of a racially and ethnically diverse remedial education class called the "Sweathogs." Recorded in front of a live studio audience, the series ...

''. On this recording, Murray Weinstock (a current member of the Lovin' Spoonful) is playing piano.

Reunions, revivals, and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction (1979–present)

The original group (Sebastian, Yanovsky, Butler and Boone) reunited briefly in the fall of 1979 for a show at the Concord Hotel in the

Catskills The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas cl ...

for an appearance in the

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

film '' One Trick Pony'', which was released in October 1980. In 1991, after a long-awaited settlement with their record company, Butler and Boone decided to start up the Lovin' Spoonful again with

. They were joined by Jerry's brother, Jim Yester (vocals and guitar), formerly of

The Association The Association is an American sunshine pop band from California. During the late 1960s, the band had numerous hits at or near the top of the ''Billboard'' charts (including " Windy", " Cherish", " Never My Love" and "Along Comes Mary") and ...

. Sebastian and Yanovsky declined to participate. In March 1992 drummer John Marrella was added to the band to allow Joe Butler to concentrate on vocals. After a two-month rehearsal in the

Berkshire Mountains The Berkshires () are a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut. The term "Berkshires" is normally used by locals in reference to the portion of the Vermont-based Green Mountains that ex ...

, the group started touring, with Joe Butler now the most common lead singer. Keyboardist David Jayco was added in June 1992. Jim Yester left this new grouping in March 1993 and was replaced by guitarist Randy Chance. Jerry's daughter, Lena Yester (vocals and keyboards), replaced David Jayco at the same time. Randy Chance was sacked in June 1993 and was not replaced. Mike Arturi replaced John Marrella on drums in March 1997 and Phil Smith joined on guitar in 2000 replacing Lena Yester. The original four members of the Lovin' Spoonful were inducted into the

on March 6, 2000."Lovin' Spoonful"
''Rock and Roll Hall of Fame''. Retrieved January 5, 2009. All four original members appeared at the ceremony and performed " Do You Believe in Magic" and " Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?". Yanovsky died in 2002. Sebastian has stated that he no longer wishes to perform with the remaining members of the group because he wanted to move on when he left the group. In 2006, the group was inducted into the

. Jerry Yester was fired from the group in 2017 after being arrested on 30 counts of child pornography. The current group, still led by Butler and Boone, continues to perform with Phil Smith (guitar & vocals), Mike Arturi (drums) and Murray Weinstock (piano & vocals). In February 2020, the three surviving original members (Sebastian, Boone and Butler) performed together as The Lovin’ Spoonful for the first time in 20 years as part of the Wild Honey Orchestra’s all-star tribute to the band. The concert benefited the Autism Think Tank.

Legacy

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

's personal jukebox was found to contain the Lovin' Spoonful record "Daydream." Interviewed about the find,

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonicist who founded the rock band The Lovin' Spoonful. He made an impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

has stated that "

Good Day Sunshine "Good Day Sunshine" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1966 album ''Revolver''. It was written mainly by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. McCartney intended it as a song in the style of th ...

" was "really very much a nod to The Lovin’ Spoonful's ‘Daydream,’ the same traditional, almost trad-jazz feel. That was our favourite record of theirs. ‘Good Day Sunshine’ was me trying to write something similar to ‘Daydream.’"

Dave Davies David Russell Gordon Davies (born 3 February 1947) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the English rock band the Kinks, which also featured his elder brother Ray Davies. He was ind ...

the Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

has stated he and brother

Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main songwriter for the rock band the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother Dave on lead guitar and backing voca ...

listened to the Lovin' Spoonful "above and beyond

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

". He cited the band "integrating lots of different elements – blues, country and folk music and a bit of rock."

Members

;Current members *

(1965–1969, 1979, 1991–present) * Steve Boone (1965–1969, 1979, 1991–present) * Mike Arturi (1996–present) * Phil Smith (2000–present) * Murray Weinstock (2019–present) ;Past members *

(1965–1967, 1979, 2000; died 2002) * John Marrella (1993–1997) * Jim Yester (1991–1994) * Lena Yester (1993–2000) * David Jayko (1992–1993) * Randy Chance (1994) *

(1967–1969, 1991–2017) * Jan Carl (1965)

Membership timeline

Name

The band's name was inspired by some lines in a song of

Mississippi John Hurt John Smith Hurt (March 8, 1893 – November 2, 1966), better known as Mississippi John Hurt, was an American country blues singer and guitarist. Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself to play the guitar around the age of nine. He wo ...

called the "Coffee Blues".

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonicist who founded the rock band The Lovin' Spoonful. He made an impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969Geoff Muldaur Geoff Muldaur (born August 12, 1943) is an American active singer, guitarist and composer, who was a founding member of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band and a member of Paul Butterfield's Better Days. Career Having established a reputation with the Kwe ...

credit

Fritz Richmond John B. "Fritz" Richmond (July 10, 1939 – November 20, 2005) was an American musician and recording engineer. Richmond was a washtub bassist and was also a professional jug player. Richmond, born in Newton, Massachusetts on July 10, 1939, was ...

for suggesting the name. The song "Coffee Blues" is a tribute to

Maxwell House Maxwell House is an American brand of coffee manufactured by a like-named division of Kraft Heinz in North America and JDE Peet's in the rest of the world. Introduced in 1892 by wholesale grocer Joel Owsley Cheek, it was named in honor of the Ma ...

Coffee, which Hurt describes, "rapping" in the beginning of the song, as being two or three times any other brand, ergo, he only needs one spoonful to make him feel all right, what he describes as "my lovin' spoonful" in the song. The song is part of a group of songs with a long history in recorded blues that generally use the term "a spoonful" to suggest sex, and in some cases use of a drug such as cocaine. The term "lovin' spoonful" has been conjectured as referring to the amount of

ejaculate Ejaculation is the discharge of semen (the ''ejaculate''; normally containing sperm) from the male reproductory tract as a result of an orgasm. It is the final stage and natural objective of male sexual stimulation, and an essential component ...

released by a human male during a typical

orgasm Orgasm (from Greek , ; "excitement, swelling") or sexual climax is the sudden discharge of accumulated sexual excitement during the sexual response cycle, resulting in rhythmic, involuntary muscular contractions in the pelvic region charac ...

Discography

*'' Do You Believe in Magic'' (1965) *''

'' (1966) *'' Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful'' (1966) *''

Everything Playing ''Everything Playing'' is the fourth studio album and sixth overall by the Lovin' Spoonful (including two soundtrack albums), released in 1967. History ''Everything Playing'' was the first album featuring guitarist Jerry Yester (replacing Zal Ya ...

'' (1967) *'' Revelation: Revolution '69'' (1969)

In popular culture

In the

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

television series ''

Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its fict ...

'', which is set in the 1960s, the characters Sally Draper and Glen Bishop are fans of the band. The band's song "Butchie's Tune" is featured in the penultimate episode of the series' fifth season. Jazz saxophonist

Bud Shank Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and thro ...

released an album of jazz covers of Lovin' Spoonful songs, '' A Spoonful of Jazz'', in 1967. In 2016, rock artist

Richard Barone Richard Barone is an American rock musician who first gained attention as frontman for the Bongos. He works as a songwriter, arranger, author, director, and record producer, releases albums as a solo artist, tours, and has created concert events ...

recorded a version of the Spoonful's "Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind?" featuring John Sebastian on harmonica and autoharp, and making a vocal cameo appearance. Bobby Weinstein and The Lovin' Cohens turned "Nashville Cats" into "Noshville Katz", a frequent

Dr. Demento Barret Eugene Hansen (born April 2, 1941), known professionally as Dr. Demento, is an American radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograp ...

staple. "Nashville Cats" was played in the

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary film, documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle United States, American History of the United States, history and Culture of the ...

docuseries ''

Country Music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

'' episode "The Sons and Daughters of America (1964–1968)" on September 22, 2019 in referring to

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music s ...

and the stock of talented guitar pickers who created the "Nashville Sound".

Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer. His novels, essays, and short stories have been bestsellers in Japan and internationally, with his work translated into 50 languages and having sold millions of copies outside Japan. He has received numerous awards for his ...

mentions them in '' What I Talk About When I Talk About Running'' as an "old favorite", stating: "Today I ran for an hour and ten minutes, listening on my Walkman to two albums by the Lovin’ Spoonful -- 'Daydream' and 'Hums of the Lovin’ Spoonful'...I love listening to the Lovin’ Spoonful. Their music is sort of laid-back and never pretentious."Murakami, H. (2009). What I talk about when I talk about running. Vintage Books. In 2012, "Do You Believe In Magic?" appeared in the

Team Fortress 2 ''Team Fortress 2'' is a 2007 multiplayer first-person shooter, first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It is the sequel to the 1996 ''Team Fortress'' Mod (video gaming), mod for ''Quake (video game), Quake'' and ...

video "Meet The Pyro" when the camera shows what is actually happening in Pyro's brain as he decimates and terrorizes the BLU team.

References

* ''The Fingerpicking Blues of Mississippi John Hurt: A Spoonful of Classic Songs taught by John Sebastian and Happy Traum'' DVD. Homespun Videos. July 2004. ASIN B0002KWSJ4

External links

The Lovin' Spoonful official siteThe Lovin' Spoonful at Legacy Recordings
*

Accessed January 13, 2009.
The Magic's In The Music: A Lovin' Spoonful Fansite
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lovin Spoonful American folk rock groups American pop rock music groups Kama Sutra Records artists Musical groups from New York City Musical quartets Musical groups established in 1965 Musical groups disestablished in 1969 Musical groups reestablished in 1979 Musical groups disestablished in 1980 Musical groups reestablished in 1991 Psychedelic pop music groups Psychedelic rock music groups from New York (state)