John Sebastian was one of the great songwriters of the 60's . The Lovin Spoonful was led by John Sebastian . He played an Autoharp, guitar, harmonica,and a fantastic whistler. The lead guitarist was Zal Yanovsky, who was from Canada. The band was formed in NYC. John, Zal, Mama Cass, And Denny Doherty of the Mamas and Papas were in a group called the Mugwumps , they played in the Greenwich Village area of New York City. The Mugwumps were a folk/rock group. Mostly folk . The Spoonful had 7 top ten songs with one #1, Summer in the City, John had a solo #1, Welcome Back. Nashville Cats got up to #8 in the Billboard Top 100. It was #2 in Canada. They were one of the great bands in the 60's. Sadly, Zal passed away. They are in the Rock and Roll hall of fame. Nashville Cats was covered by several Country Bands. It is well known in Nashville. Unfortunately poor John has had throat problems for years and his great singing voice has waned. He still performs but his voice is only a shell of it's former self. So sad. Joe Boone and Steve Butler, both of whom are great musicians and singers, both put on a great show, are still touring as Lovin' Spoonful. A great band from the past. 😭🔥🙃👍
For two years (1965-66), Lovin' Spoonful were almost the Beatles American rival with about 10 top-10 hits over those two years. Then they gradually broke up by 1968. They hailed from New York City. Their biggest hits were "Summer in the City," "Daydream" and "Do You Believe In Magic." The main songwriter-leader John Sebastian had a brief solo career as one of the first singer-songwriters, and is notable for his appearance at Woodstock. But it was later revealed that he got a lot of his inspiration from his fellow band members and was never quite able to duplicate his hit formula. His theme song for the TV show Welcome Back Kotter came close though and reached number one! Thanks for reaching into this band's catalog! Reggae? Interesting. But it's at a quicker pace.
@@debjorgo Could be. I hear Lennon was a fan of the Spoonful. Even though he had very bad eyesight, Lennon avoided wearing specs until he got the round ones that Sebastian already made popular. He does look like Sebastian in that video lol
Harri, Broad Street in Nashville, heck the whole SCENE, the history, etc is a Bucket List destination. The TALENT, it's EVERYWHERE 24 hour of the day. THE MUSIC NEVER STOPS!!! I truly, truly hope you're blessed to come someday. Love your reaction videos!!!!
The Lovin Spoonful was a 60s band out of NY. This was very different from their usual style and a kind of homage to Nashville musicians. John Sebastian sang lead and wrote most of the group's songs.
This band is so versatile, spanning from country, to blues, to rock, to ballads and to folk. They could play any genre they wanted too. My favorite is Six O'clock. If you could add it to your long list it would mean the world. And Darling Be Home Soon is one of all time favorites not just from The Lovin' Spoonful it's a tear jerker. This also my all time favorite band.
This was from a time when Nashville started to embrace rock and black so-called "soul" music. The song sort shows appreciation of that.... as if to say you like rock, we like Nashville county. Of course it did not last too long and Nashville eventually went tall back to their so-called county roots.
Kay, with all your singin' talent, back in Houston Nashville's all you talked about, I sold everything I owned to bring you here now you'll be famous there's no doubt, Last week you knocked 'em out in New York, tonight Chicago's going wild, Kay, your new record on the juke box don't sound bad. Kay, I'm livin', yet I'm dyin', starin' out at Music City from my cab. This is the first verse of the song "Kay" which was released by John Wesley Ryles in 1968. He was 17 at the time! I believe this is my all-time favorite song that has anything to do with "the music, and the mothers, from Nashville" though of course I love Nashville Cats by the Lovin' Spoonful as well. PLEASE try to react to "Kay".
John Sébastien had a lot of influences, and in return influenced a lot of other artists. John started in Folk music, as many in the 60's did, and progressed to his own style with the Lovin Spoonful. Later John Sébastien had a hit song that was the theme song for a 70's t.v. show where John Travolta got his start. The name of the show, and song was "Welcome Back Cotter".
You mistakenly called the band Nashville Cats but that is the name of the song. The band is The Loving Spoonful. I urge you to react to more of John Sebastian's song. Especially "She's a Lady", "What a day for a Daydream", "Younger Generation", "Darling Be Home Soon". John was the driving force of The Loving Spoonfull but he also recorded a lot on his own.
"Daydream" was Lovin' Spoonful's biggest UK hit (#2). Give it a listen. There's plenty more good tracks from them too as others have commented. And it's not reggae Harri. This is country. Ska is derived more from New Orleans/boogie music.
The group is called " The Lovin Spoonful ". They're from california. The song is " Nashville Cats ". In one of my bands we played this song. It was alot of fun to play.
I wore the vinyl out......this was one of my favorite tracks. As a teen little did I know I would end up living in Nashville. Life is funny that way. Music City.....oh yeah.
Lovin' Spoonful John Sebastian, lead singer does a great version of Jimmy Cliff's "Sitting in Limbo" on one of his later solo albums. Best of the Loving Spoonful" has to be available for my car.
I've been waiting for someone to react to this song. I remember John Sebastian played Woodstock. He never seemed to me to take things too seriously. Nice reaction.
They call this Jug Band Music which was a forerunner of Skiffle in the UK. I think Reggae came from Cajun Country. It all had its roots in the U.S. South, but probably originated in Irish Folk music. It comes full circle. John Sebastian was a musical genius. He had a way to make a song really catchy. John used a little poetic license on this song when he sang about yellow sun records, which was Sam Phillip's rockabilly record co. home to, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Ike Turner, and many others, Sun Records was based in Memphis Tennessee, Incidentally Sun did move to Nashville a few years later. Now that is what you call poetic karma. 👍🔥😉
Always one of my favourite groups. I heard them in concert, just after Zal Yanofsky left unfortunately. Always wish that John Sebastian's harmonica playing would be featured -- then again that's partly because his father John Sebastian Sr. was one of the 3-4 greatest classical harmonicists the world has ever seen. 😇
Love the Lovin Spoonful! Such a cool song. Lead singer is John Sebastian. You might look into some of their songs. Do You Believe In Magic is one. Oh yeah, Rain On the Roof too and You Didn't Have to Be So Nice. All worth hearing.
Been a while since I've heard this one, but still sounds as great as it used to! Lots of great songs by The Lovin Spoonful ! Thanks Daniel and Harri The Best😺😼✌
Heard a couple new sounding tunes on the tubes....every one was a yellow Sun record. The Sun record label. There were a lot of those at our house. The best Johnny Cash songs were Sun. Give My Love to Rose. Hey Porter. Get Rhythm. The Lovin' Spoonful were not country singers. They were on our radio with the Stones and Bob Dylan and the Beatles.
This song was sort of their tipping their hat to the Nashville musicians of country music and at the same time being funny. "Get work before they're two?"
John Sebastian had a hit with the television show theme song Welcome Back Kotter.. the show gave John Travolta his start as Vinny Barbarino... The lovin Spoonfull's biggest hit was Summer in The City
I love reggae and this is one of my favorite songs from Lovin' Spoonful. I never noticed this sounds like reggae but it definitely does. Jug Band Music is an ear worm every time for me. Also, the vocalist is the same as in the theme song from Welcome Back Kotter
In the 1960s, AM pop radio stations played rock n roll, country and western, or soul music. Fans listened to one, and not to the others. Also, there was a stronger sense of a North-South divide, which has somewhat faded. The pop styles influenced one another to the extent that the separate categories came to make little sense. The population of the US had doubled since 1960. Who we are and how we see one another has changed.
A bit late to the response party, but, if you play Creeque Alley by the Mama’s and Papa’s ( lyric version) .. you’ll get a taste of the Greenwich Village folk scene at the time, it’s a biographical sort of look at The Mama’s and the Papa’s, the Lovin Spoonful, The Byrds, Barry McGuire (Eve of Destruction) .. they were all in the early 60s denizens of the folk scene in NYC. John Phillips wrote a great tune in Creeque Alley so as to explain to Lou Adler their producer how it all shook out and bands formed. This is when Mama’s and Papa’s had hit with California Dreaming .. Sebastian is one of the best lyricists of that day, he came from a musical family, his dad was a symphony orchestral classical harmonica player. His mom was a radio script writer, his god mother was Vivian Vance who played Ethel Mertz on I Love Lucy in the 60s. Burl Ives was a family friend, and Elenor Roosevelt was an across the hall neighbor 😳 A really cool guy, who wrote great tunes, that were for a couple year period in the mid 60s, all over the airwaves.
Alright HarriBest, go ahead on to Nashville but those "Nashville Cats" the Spoonfull are singing about here are long gone. If you want to hear some clever commentary on the current state of Nashville music listen to this (will never be a) hit from Chuck Wagon Maultsby. "NASHVILLE CRAP". Now this is good C&W music. czcams.com/video/TyMeJ0EWt2s/video.html
No one else really sounded like the Spoonful. You should definitely hit Summer in the City, Daydream and Do You Believe in Magic.
Jug Band, Younger Girl, Bald Heanded Lema, Warm Baby, Rain on the Roof, etc... It's my favorite all-time group!
"Rain on the Roof", 'You Didn't Have To Be So Nice", "Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind?" are also worth a listen.
Can't forget Daydream.
Big vote for "Rain on the Roof"
John Sebastian was one of the great songwriters of the 60's . The Lovin Spoonful was led by John Sebastian . He played an Autoharp, guitar, harmonica,and a fantastic whistler. The lead guitarist was Zal Yanovsky, who was from Canada. The band was formed in NYC. John, Zal, Mama Cass, And Denny Doherty of the Mamas and Papas were in a group called the Mugwumps , they played in the Greenwich Village area of New York City. The Mugwumps were a folk/rock group. Mostly folk . The Spoonful had 7 top ten songs with one #1, Summer in the City, John had a solo #1, Welcome Back. Nashville Cats got up to #8 in the Billboard Top 100. It was #2 in Canada. They were one of the great bands in the 60's. Sadly, Zal passed away. They are in the Rock and Roll hall of fame. Nashville Cats was covered by several Country Bands. It is well known in Nashville. Unfortunately poor John has had throat problems for years and his great singing voice has waned. He still performs but his voice is only a shell of it's former self. So sad. Joe Boone and Steve Butler, both of whom are great musicians and singers, both put on a great show, are still touring as Lovin' Spoonful. A great band from the past. 😭🔥🙃👍
I love Summer in City! great song from my youth.
Lovin Sooonful is the band, Harri. “Nashville Cats” is one of yjevSpoonful’s hits. 🤔
My brother visited Nashville and loved it saying the people are friendly.
For two years (1965-66), Lovin' Spoonful were almost the Beatles American rival with about 10 top-10 hits over those two years. Then they gradually broke up by 1968. They hailed from New York City. Their biggest hits were "Summer in the City," "Daydream" and "Do You Believe In Magic." The main songwriter-leader John Sebastian had a brief solo career as one of the first singer-songwriters, and is notable for his appearance at Woodstock. But it was later revealed that he got a lot of his inspiration from his fellow band members and was never quite able to duplicate his hit formula. His theme song for the TV show Welcome Back Kotter came close though and reached number one! Thanks for reaching into this band's catalog! Reggae? Interesting. But it's at a quicker pace.
And I always thought John Lennon was stealing Sebastian's look in the Hey Bulldog video.
@@debjorgo Could be. I hear Lennon was a fan of the Spoonful. Even though he had very bad eyesight, Lennon avoided wearing specs until he got the round ones that Sebastian already made popular. He does look like Sebastian in that video lol
Did You Ever Have to Make up Your Mind was a good one by The Lovin' Spoonful.
You Didn’t Have to Be So Nice is one of my favorites by Lovin Spoonful . Great group from late 60’s-early 70’s
Lead singer John Sebastian, saw in concert in 1968/69
Harri, Broad Street in Nashville, heck the whole SCENE, the history, etc is a Bucket List destination. The TALENT, it's EVERYWHERE 24 hour of the day. THE MUSIC NEVER STOPS!!! I truly, truly hope you're blessed to come someday. Love your reaction videos!!!!
John Sebastian sings the opening song for the tv show "Welcome Back Kotter".
The Lovin Spoonful was a 60s band out of NY. This was very different from their usual style and a kind of homage to Nashville musicians. John Sebastian sang lead and wrote most of the group's songs.
John Sebastian was great writer. One of the best of the times.
This band is so versatile, spanning from country, to blues, to rock, to ballads and to folk. They could play any genre they wanted too. My favorite is Six O'clock. If you could add it to your long list it would mean the world. And Darling Be Home Soon is one of all time favorites not just from The Lovin' Spoonful it's a tear jerker. This also my all time favorite band.
chicken pickin' is that style of guitarplayin' 😆 PJ
Great group. Keep listening and reacting.
Theys clean as country water.....
Thanks, Harri, love this song in particular, but you probably know others by "Spoonful" -- noted below... Hope to hear more ..
This was from a time when Nashville started to embrace rock and black so-called "soul" music.
The song sort shows appreciation of that.... as if to say you like rock, we like Nashville county.
Of course it did not last too long and Nashville eventually went tall back to their so-called county roots.
Kay, with all your singin' talent, back in Houston Nashville's all you talked about,
I sold everything I owned to bring you here now you'll be famous there's no doubt,
Last week you knocked 'em out in New York, tonight Chicago's going wild,
Kay, your new record on the juke box don't sound bad.
Kay, I'm livin', yet I'm dyin', starin' out at Music City from my cab.
This is the first verse of the song "Kay" which was released by John Wesley Ryles in 1968. He was 17 at the time! I believe this is my all-time favorite song that has anything to do with "the music, and the mothers, from Nashville" though of course I love Nashville Cats by the Lovin' Spoonful as well. PLEASE try to react to "Kay".
Been playin' since they's babies.
Such a great little line!
You Didn't Have To Be So Nice, Summer In The City, Do You Believe In Magic, are a few hits from Lovin' Spoonful.
John Sébastien had a lot of influences, and in return influenced a lot of other artists. John started in Folk music, as many in the 60's did, and progressed to his own style with the Lovin Spoonful. Later John Sébastien had a hit song that was the theme song for a 70's t.v. show where John Travolta got his start. The name of the show, and song was "Welcome Back Cotter".
Haven't heard this in ages 😄
''Darling Be Home Soon'' and "Full Measure" are two more to check out.
You mistakenly called the band Nashville Cats but that is the name of the song. The band is The Loving Spoonful. I urge you to react to more of John Sebastian's song. Especially "She's a Lady", "What a day for a Daydream", "Younger Generation", "Darling Be Home Soon". John was the driving force of The Loving Spoonfull but he also recorded a lot on his own.
"Daydream" was Lovin' Spoonful's biggest UK hit (#2). Give it a listen. There's plenty more good tracks from them too as others have commented.
And it's not reggae Harri. This is country. Ska is derived more from New Orleans/boogie music.
Harri is hearing the beat that Johnny Cash's band would play from back in the 1950's
Have not heard this song in years. What a treat.
The timing on this song is fantastic.
The group is called " The Lovin Spoonful ". They're from california. The song is " Nashville Cats ". In one of my bands we played this song. It was alot of fun to play.
They’re from New York City…
@@sorrystaunton thanks, i stand corrected.
None of their songs sound alike. That's why they're fantastic.
"Yellow Sun record" in the song refers to Sun Records, which had a yellow label--Elvis, Jerry Lee, Carl Perkins, and many more were on this label.
And of course those yellow Sun records were from Memphis, not Nashville.
@@flomurdock Correct. I once had a 78 Sun Elvis Presley and sold it for over $800.
And Johnny Cash.
Listen to Summer in the City. The Mugwumps as detailed below were mentioned in the Mamas and the Papas' autobiographical Creeque Alley.
It's COUNTRY!
I wore the vinyl out......this was one of my favorite tracks. As a teen little did I know I would end up living in Nashville. Life is funny that way. Music City.....oh yeah.
Lovin' Spoonful
John Sebastian, lead singer does a great version of Jimmy Cliff's "Sitting in Limbo" on one of his later solo albums.
Best of the Loving Spoonful" has to be available for my car.
I've been waiting for someone to react to this song. I remember John Sebastian played Woodstock. He never seemed to me to take things too seriously. Nice reaction.
I have this album. Your the first person I've seen review them. Thank you
They call this Jug Band Music which was a forerunner of Skiffle in the UK. I think Reggae came from Cajun Country. It all had its roots in the U.S. South, but probably originated in Irish Folk music. It comes full circle. John Sebastian was a musical genius. He had a way to make a song really catchy. John used a little poetic license on this song when he sang about yellow sun records, which was Sam Phillip's rockabilly record co. home to, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Ike Turner, and many others, Sun Records was based in
Memphis Tennessee, Incidentally
Sun did move to Nashville a few years later. Now that is what you call poetic karma. 👍🔥😉
Always one of my favourite groups. I heard them in concert, just after Zal Yanofsky left unfortunately. Always wish that John Sebastian's harmonica playing would be featured -- then again that's partly because his father John Sebastian Sr. was one of the 3-4 greatest classical harmonicists the world has ever seen. 😇
Lovin' Spoonful music were featured in the 1966 Woody Allen movie "What's Up Tiger Lily?"
And Your a Big Boy Now
John Sebastion also sang the theme song to tv show Welcome Back Kotter.
Lovin Spoonful was a great band.
Great memories
Love the Lovin Spoonful! Such a cool song. Lead singer is John Sebastian. You might look into some of their songs. Do You Believe In Magic is one. Oh yeah, Rain On the Roof too and You Didn't Have to Be So Nice. All worth hearing.
Darlin’ Be Home Soon
Been a while since I've heard this one, but still sounds as great as it used to! Lots of great songs by The Lovin Spoonful ! Thanks Daniel and Harri The Best😺😼✌
I suggest" Do You Believe In Magic" by The Lovin' Spoonful and "Daydream". Two of their best!
Heard a couple new sounding tunes on the tubes....every one was a yellow Sun record. The Sun record label. There were a lot of those at our house. The best Johnny Cash songs were Sun. Give My Love to Rose. Hey Porter. Get Rhythm. The Lovin' Spoonful were not country singers. They were on our radio with the Stones and Bob Dylan and the Beatles.
This song was sort of their tipping their hat to the Nashville musicians of country music and at the same time being funny. "Get work before they're two?"
"Coconut Grove" by Lovin Spoonful will make you float away, it's a gorgeous song...
BOB DYLAN'S BLONDE ON BLONDE AND Nashville Skyline and John Wesley Harding were all recorded with "Nashville Cats" in Nashville.
Charlie Mcoy, Wayne Moss,Kenny Buttrey"Pig"Robbins and others
Your are absolutely right. Great musicians and Buttery was still in Jr. high school at the time.
They were original!
I’ve always loved this song!
John Sebastian had a hit with the television show theme song Welcome Back Kotter.. the show gave John Travolta his start as Vinny Barbarino... The lovin Spoonfull's biggest hit was Summer in The City
Always liked this. Haven’ t heard it in a zillion years but damn it is still good.
I had this on a old album of funny, quirky ditties.
I love reggae and this is one of my favorite songs from Lovin' Spoonful. I never noticed this sounds like reggae but it definitely does.
Jug Band Music is an ear worm every time for me.
Also, the vocalist is the same as in the theme song from Welcome Back Kotter
In Nashville there's more recording studios than the number of ants on a Tennessee ant hill. At the time this was my ex wife's favorite song.
I haven't heard this song in many years. Great to hear it again.
Harri, please react to "Summer In the City" next!
Good stuff here Harri!
Daydream and summer in the city please
In the 1960s, AM pop radio stations played rock n roll, country and western, or soul music. Fans listened to one, and not to the others. Also, there was a stronger sense of a North-South divide, which has somewhat faded.
The pop styles influenced one another to the extent that the separate categories came to make little sense. The population of the US had doubled since 1960. Who we are and how we see one another has changed.
Hahaha...got that opposite dood. hahaha
Full Measure, the flip side of this single, was the hit on L.A. radio.
A bit late to the response party, but, if you play Creeque Alley by the Mama’s and Papa’s ( lyric version) .. you’ll get a taste of the Greenwich Village folk scene at the time, it’s a biographical sort of look at The Mama’s and the Papa’s, the Lovin Spoonful, The Byrds, Barry McGuire (Eve of Destruction) .. they were all in the early 60s denizens of the folk scene in NYC. John Phillips wrote a great tune in Creeque Alley so as to explain to Lou Adler their producer how it all shook out and bands formed. This is when Mama’s and Papa’s had hit with California Dreaming .. Sebastian is one of the best lyricists of that day, he came from a musical family, his dad was a symphony orchestral classical harmonica player. His mom was a radio script writer, his god mother was Vivian Vance who played Ethel Mertz on I Love Lucy in the 60s. Burl Ives was a family friend, and Elenor Roosevelt was an across the hall neighbor 😳
A really cool guy, who wrote great tunes, that were for a couple year period in the mid 60s, all over the airwaves.
nyc village scene early to mid/late 60s...
Oops Harri.. The song is titled
"Nashville Cats" by the band "The Lovin'
Spoonful". 😉
NEW YORK CITY.. Cosmopolitan centre of the musical universe!
the band is the Lovin' Spoonful; the SONG is "Nashville Cats"...
Know this is a year old, but if you can come to Nashville, you can stay with us.
Here's a short video by John Sebastian about how this song was inspired: czcams.com/video/_u7sB_kMMNE/video.html
give 'em jug band music.....
Alright HarriBest, go ahead on to Nashville but those "Nashville Cats" the Spoonfull are singing about here are long gone. If you want to hear some clever commentary on the current state of Nashville music listen to this (will never be a) hit from Chuck Wagon Maultsby. "NASHVILLE CRAP". Now this is good C&W music. czcams.com/video/TyMeJ0EWt2s/video.html
Not reggae, it’s country
Do you believe in magic
Spoonful song Nashville Cats!