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 Avrom Yanovsky (April 3, 1911 – May 22, 1979) was a Canadian graphic artist and editorial cartoonist, whose work appeared in a variety of leftist publications. He was known professionally as Avrom, though some of his work was also signed Armand, ...

and teacher Nechama Yanovsky (née Gemeril), who died in 1958. He played lead guitar and sang for the Lovin' Spoonful, a rock band which he founded with John Sebastian in 1964. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1996. He was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 as a member of the Lovin’ Spoonful. He was married to actress Jackie Burroughs, with whom he had one daughter, Zoe.

Musical career

One of the early rock and roll performers to wear a cowboy hat, and fringed "

Davy Crockett David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician. He is often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Re ...

" style clothing, Zal helped set the trend followed by such 1960s performers as Sonny Bono, Johnny Rivers, and David Crosby. Mostly self-taught, he began his musical career playing folk music coffee houses in Toronto. He lived on a

kibbutz A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...

in Israel for a short time before returning to Canada. He teamed with fellow Canadian Denny Doherty in the

Halifax Three The Halifax Three (or The Halifax III), originally The Colonials, was a folk music band in Canada in the 1960s. The band performed in Toronto and Montreal before becoming part of the New York folk scene and recording an album. History Denny Dohe ...

. The two joined

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 ...

in the Mugwumps, a group mentioned by Doherty's and Cass's later group the Mamas & the Papas in the song "

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 ...

". It was at this time that he met John Sebastian, and they formed the Lovin' Spoonful with Steve Boone and Joe Butler. According to Sebastian: "He could play like Elmore James, he could play like Floyd Cramer, he could play like Chuck Berry. He could play like all these people, yet he still had his own overpowering personality. Out of this we could, I thought, craft something with real flexibility." In 1966, he was arrested in the United States on a marijuana-related charge. Returning to his native Canada, he recorded the solo album ''Alive and Well in Argentina (and Loving Every Minute of It)''. Buddah Records released the album in the U.S. in 1968, along with "As Long as You're Here", a single that did not appear on the album. The single (on which the B-side was the same track without vocals and recorded backwards) just missed the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, but fared a little better in '' Cashbox'', peaking at No. 73, and reaching No. 57 in the Canadian

RPM Magazine ''RPM'' ( and later ) was a Canadian music-industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. ''R ...

charts.

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 ...

reissued the album in 1971 with a completely different cover, and the inclusion of "As Long as You're Here". While a member of Kris Kristofferson's backing band at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970, he had a brief reunion with John Sebastian; Sebastian had been (apparently) unaware of Yanovsky's presence, and was made aware by a message passed through the crowd, written on a toilet roll. He also appeared in the Off-Broadway show ''

National Lampoon's Lemmings ''National Lampoon: Lemmings'', a spinoff of the humor magazine '' National Lampoon,'' was a 1973 stage show that helped launch the performing careers of John Belushi, Christopher Guest, and Chevy Chase. The show was co-written and co-directed by ...

'' at New York's Village Gate. Although not an original cast member, he contributed a musical number "Nirvana Banana", a Donovan parody.

Restaurateur

After retiring from the music business, Yanovsky became a chef and restaurateur, establishing, alongside his second wife Rose Richardson,

Chez Piggy Chez Piggy is a restaurant in downtown Kingston, Ontario. History Chez Piggy was opened in 1979 by Zal Yanovsky of the 1960s pop group The Lovin' Spoonful and his partner Rose Richardson, who were both avid travellers who enjoyed good food and wan ...

restaurant in 1979 and Pan Chancho Bakery in 1994, both in Kingston, Ontario. He had worked as a chef at The Golden Apple (in Gananoque, Ontario) and, in the mid-1970s, at Dr. Bull's (in Kingston). The success of Chez Piggy prompted the publication of a companion cookbook (''The Chez Piggy Cookbook'', Firefly Books, 1998) that was collected by fans. After Yanovsky's death of an apparent heart attack in December 2002, and Richardson's death in 2005, his daughter Zoe Yanovsky (with actress Jackie Burroughs) took over the ownership of both eateries. Zoe also completed and launched another cookbook that Zal was working on, titled ''The Pan Chancho Cookbook'' (Bookmakers Press, 2006).

Personal life

Yanovsky met Canadian actress Jackie Burroughs in a laundromat in Toronto, where he was sleeping in a dryer while homeless. They were married in 1961 and had one daughter, Zoe, before separating in 1968. He subsequently married Rose Richardson, who died in 2005. His step-mother was Anna Yanovsky (née Atanas), who died in 2022.

Death

Yanovsky died on December 13, 2002, in Kingston, Ontario, from a heart attack, six days before his 58th birthday. A funeral service was held in Kingston, Ontario on December 16, 2002.

Discography

Singles

*"As Long as You're Here" (Billboard No. 101, Cashbox No. 73, RPM No. 57) — 1968

Albums

*''Alive and Well in Argentina'' – Buddah BDS-5019 – 1968 ::Raven in a Cage / You Talk Too Much / Last Date / Little Bitty Pretty One / Alive and Well in Argentina / Brown to Blue / Priscilla Millionaira / I Almost Lost My Mind / Hip Toad / Lt. Schtinckhausen *''Alive and Well in Argentina'' – Kama Sutra KSBS-2030 – 1971 ::Same tracks as above, but also includes "As Long as You're Here" (side 1, track 6). Completely different album cover and liner notes than the original release

References

External links

* Yanovsky's entry in Allmusic* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yanovsky, Zal 1944 births 2002 deaths 20th-century Canadian male singers 20th-century Canadian guitarists Buddah Records artists Businesspeople from Toronto Canadian company founders Canadian expatriates in the United States Canadian folk guitarists Canadian male guitarists Canadian folk rock musicians Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees Canadian people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Canadian record producers Canadian restaurateurs Canadian rock guitarists Canadian songwriters Food and drink company founders Jewish Canadian musicians Jewish singers Lead guitarists Musicians from Toronto The Lovin' Spoonful members