Love: The Lovin' Spoonful

 

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The Lovin' Spoonful name has an "interesting" provenance - according to some sources. Not quite as the name might appear on the surface. That said, this appears open to interpretation, as yet a different source credits a Mississippi John Hurt song Coffee Blues in which the man is singing about a cup of coffee with just the right spoonsful of what makes it good. In the best tradition of good art, it's best lleft to you to decide which story you prefer to believe. The vocalist for the Lovin' Spoonful apparently intimated in most concerts that it was the first, drawing out the references to loving more than to the coffee he was drinking on stage.

Although the band had broken up by the time the original Woodstock festival rolled around, John Sebastian preformed solo. There are several different recollections as to just when he appeared, but none disputes the fact that he was unscheduled, having arrived as a spectator, but when the rain made an electric performance (probably by Santana) if-fy, he took the stage for an acoustic set.

Considering that - during their rather short mainstream career - they were contemporaries of the Beatles' hottest years, for them to have as many hits as they did is fairly impressive. Their contributions were recognized with a 2000 induction to the Rock Hall of Fame.

To jog your memory/introduce you, depending on your age:

Arlo: Low & Lonely

Rick Robbins: Low & Lonely
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You know how in “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree,” Arlo sings that it:

all started two Thanksgivings ago, was on - two years ago on Thanksgiving, when my friend and I went up to visit Alice at the Restaurant?

The friend at issue, an unindicted co-conspirator in the criminal garbage dump, was named Rick Robbins. They had been friends since the early 1960s, when they both attended the Stockbridge School, where the librarian was a woman named Alice Brock. That Alice. At the Stockbridge School, Robbins was exposed to American music from Bessie Smith to Arlo’s dad, to current stars such as Joan Baez and Bob Dylan.  He's the guy on the left.

In 1965, Robbins and Guthrie set off on the road to discover music and themselves, and spent a lot of time singing and playing folk music and the blues. But rather than opt for the life of a professional musician, Robbins settled down to build houses and learn architectural design.

Fast forward to 1995, when Robbins was trading construction work at a music studio for recording time to create a record of some songs for his family.  Rory Block, the blues guitarist and singer (who I saw the other day, opening for Richard Thompson), happened to hear him playing, added some vocals, and persuaded Robbins to release an album. Block produced the album, Walking Down The Line, which also features Ramblin' Jack Elliott, John Sebastian, Eric Weissberg, and Larry Campbell, as well as old buddy Arlo. Not bad for an unknown carpenter/folk singer, right?

Robbins and Guthrie perform a fun, jaunty version of “Low & Lonely,” a song written by “the father of the Nashville music business,” Fred Rose, who wrote, under his own name, and as “Floyd Jenkins,” a number of legendary songs including "'Deed I Do" and "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.” He’s the “Rose” in the name of famed music publishing firm Acuff-Rose.

“Low & Lonely” was originally released in 1942 by Rose’s partner, Roy Acuff and His Smoky Mountain Boys, and has been covered a few other times, notably by Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, one of Robbins’ main mentors and influences, Hank Williams, and George Jones, who recorded the song with Acuff’s Smoky Mountain Boys.

Robbins has released two more albums of music, most recently an album of original songs, in 2006.

Nine Lives: Nashville Cats

Lovin' Spoonful: Nashville Cats

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The Del McCoury Band: Nashville Cats (Lovin' Spoonful cover)

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I always heard a short lick of tongue-in-cheek in the original slinky, funky take on this mid-sixties tune from Lovin' Spoonful, though I don't think it was purposeful: it's a wry tune to begin with, but Darius wasn't wrong way back in 2008 when he described the song as an honest homage from lead songwriter John Sebastian to the band's country and bluegrass influences.

But in the hands of twangy honkytonk bluegrass icon Del McCoury, the word "cats" rings especially true, as a reflection of the compatriots he knows well from his long career in the Ole Opry and beyond, just over the border from his native North Carolina. And dig those bluegrass harmonies, from the man and his sons.

Johns: John Sebastian

John Sebastian and the J Band: Got No Automobile

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Boyhowdy’s mention of the hit to cheese ratio brought to mind the fact that I wanted to post John Sebastian this week. Sebastian first came to light as the leader of The Lovin’ Spoonful. Some people consider their music to be bubblegum music, lumping them in with The Archies, The Monkees, and so forth. But there was always more going on with The Lovin’ Spoonful. John Sebastian would talk in the liner notes to their albums about his influences, from folk and bluegrass to classic blues. In fact, it was a similar musical stew to the one that influenced The Grateful Dead, but with very different results. In particular, Sebastian paid tribute to classic country and bluegrass in the song Nashville Cats.

In due course, The Lovin’ Spoonful broke up, and Sebastian went solo. You may recall his one big hit, the theme from Welcome Back Kotter. And commercially speaking, that was it. No one ever heard from him again.

So what has John Sebastian been up to? He formed a band called the J Band to perform and record the music he always loved best. And that is jug band music. If you don’t know what jug band music is, the jug is played by blowing air over the top, just as you might play a bottle. The band that goes with it usually uses a washboard for percussion. Aw heck, the best way to explain is: give a listen. And enjoy.