On this day in 1944, Zalman, or Zal, Yanovsky was born in Toronto. Singer/guitarist
Yanovsky began playing folk-rock in 1964 in the Canadian group the Halifax Three with
Denny Doherty, a future member of the Mamas and the Papas.
After
adding Cass Elliot, another future member of the Mamas and the Papas, and her
husband, Jim Hendricks, the Halifax Three became Cass Elliot and the Big Three and
later the Mugwumps, who played electric folk. John Sebastian played harmonica in the
Mugwumps, and he and Yanovsky soon left to form the jug-band influenced Lovin'
Spoonful. The Mamas and the Papas later sang about the Mugwumps in their hit
"Creeque Alley."
Sebastian, who was the band's main songwriter, had played in the New York City folk
scene before joining Yanovsky in the Mugwumps. He also had played harmonica on
albums by folk singers Tom Rush and Fred Neil. After adding Steve Boone on bass and
Jon Butler on drums, Yanovsky and Sebastian signed with Kama Sutra Records as the
Lovin' Spoonful.
Along with the Byrds and the Beau Brummels, the Lovin' Spoonful were one of the first
U.S. bands to have success amid the madness of Beatlemania and the British Invasion.
The Lovin' Spoonful's first hit was "Do You Believe In
Magic" (RealAudio excerpt), which made the U.S. top 10 in 1965. Other hits
featuring the band's laid-back, folk-pop sound were "You Didn't Have To Be So Nice"
(#10, '66); and "Daydream" and "Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind?" (both #2,
'66).
But the Spoonful had their biggest hit and most enduring song with the harder-edged
classic "Summer In The City," which shot to #1 in 1966. That year was the most
commercially successful for the band as "Rain On The Roof" brought its top 10 total for
1966 to five singles.
But the next year brought trouble for the group. Yanovsky and Boone were arrested in
Berkeley, Calif., for marijuana possession. Making matters worse, they turned in their
drug source in exchange for their release. The move was extremely unpopular during
the height of hippiedom and the counterculture boycotted Lovin' Spoonful's records.
Yanovsky departed the Spoonful later in 1967 and was replaced by Jerry Yester, the
former producer of the Association. The band had a few more hits, including "Darling Be
Home Soon," but suffered greatly when Sebastian quit in 1968. Butler then led a new
lineup under the name Lovin' Spoonful for a few more years with little success.
Though Sebastian had later success as a solo singer/songwriter, including his
performance at Woodstock and his #1 "Welcome Back," from the John Travolta TV show,
"Welcome Back Kotter," Yanovsky faded from view.
When asked last year about a Lovin' Spoonful reunion, Sebastian said, "[Probably not] ...
simply [because of] the different paths everybody has taken. There is a semi-Spoonful
that travels around [without me or Yanovsky]; I have never really been interested in
participating in that kind of a thing. When I left the band, I said, 'Look, I'm ready to move
on.' I was interested in playing with some of the other people that I had been a studio
musician with."
In 1990, Rhino Records issued Anthology, which contains all the Lovin'
Spoonful's hits.
That the band's singles were of better quality than the full albums has meant that the
Spoonful haven't been as revered over the years as other contemporary groups, such as
the Byrds. But for two years, the Lovin' Spoonful were masters at producing feel-good,
catchy hit singles.
Other birthdays: Maurice White (Earth, Wind and Fire), 57; Alvin Lee (Ten Years After),
54; John McEuen (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), 53; and Limahl (Kajagoogoo), 40.
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