History Music / TheLovinSpoonful

* '''Steve Boone''' - bass, keyboards, vocals (1965-69)
* '''Joe Butler''' - drums, percussion, vocals (1965-69)
* '''John Sebastian''' - vocals, guitar, autoharp, harmonica, keyboards (1965-68)
* '''Zal Yanovsky''' - guitar, banjo, vocals (1965-67; died 2002)
* Jerry Yester - guitar, banjo, keyboards, vocals (1967-69)

With a foot each in both the pop music and folk-rock worlds, they were probably the greatest link (save for Music/BobDylan, and maybe Music/TheMamasAndThePapas) between the Greenwich Village FolkMusic scene and the West Coast PsychedelicRock scene. During their brief heyday, the band found success with five studio albums, numerous hit singles, and even a couple film soundtracks, recording song scores for Creator/WoodyAllen's ''Film/WhatsUpTigerLily'' and Creator/FrancisFordCoppola's ''You're a Big Boy Now''.

With a foot each in the door of both the folk-rock and pop worlds, they were probably the greatest link -- aside from Music/BobDylan, and maybe Music/TheMamasAndThePapas -- between the Greenwich Village FolkMusic scene and the West Coast PsychedelicRock scene. During their brief heyday, the band found success with five studio albums, numerous hit singles, and even two movie soundtracks, recording song scores for Creator/WoodyAllen's ''Film/WhatsUpTigerLily'' and Creator/FrancisFordCoppola's ''You're a Big Boy Now''.

With a foot in the door of both the pop and the folk rock worlds, they were probably the greatest link -- aside from Music/BobDylan, and maybe Music/TheMamasAndThePapas -- between the Greenwich Village FolkMusic scene and the West Coast PsychedelicRock scene. In their brief heyday the band found success with five studio albums, numerous hit singles, and even movie soundtracks, recording song scores for Creator/WoodyAllen's ''Film/WhatsUpTigerLily'' and Creator/FrancisFordCoppola's ''You're a Big Boy Now''.

With a foot in the door of both the pop and the folk rock worlds, they were probably the greatest link (apart from Music/BobDylan) between New York City's Greenwich Village FolkMusic scene and the West Coast PsychedelicRock scene. In their brief heyday the band found success with five studio albums, numerous hit singles, and even movie soundtracks, recording song scores for Creator/WoodyAllen's ''Film/WhatsUpTigerLily'' and Creator/FrancisFordCoppola's ''You're a Big Boy Now''.

* TheBandMinusTheFace: They continued on without John Sebastian, but didn't last long. Joe Butler and Steve Boone later restarted the band in 1991, again without Sebastian.

* '''Zal Yanovsky''' - guitar, banjo, vocals (1965-67)

* HeavyMeta: A number of their songs revolve around music. "Do You Believe in Magic" is about the power of music in general. "Nashville Cats" is about CountryMusic. "Jug Band Music" is about ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.

* HeavyMeta: A number of their songs revolve around music. "Do You Believe in Magic" about the power of songs in general. "Nashville Cats" about CountryMusic. "Jug Band Music" is about ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.

* TheBandMinusTheFace: They continued on without John Sebastian, but didn't last long. Joe Butler and Steve Boone later restarted the band in 1991 - again, without John Sebastian.

The Lovin' Spoonful were an American pop/rock band active from [[TheSixties 1965 to 1969]].

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Mostly ranges from a one to a (usually light) 4.

* TitledAfterTheSong: While {{urban legend}} sometimes has it that the band's name is a [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar sly reference to either heroin or semen]], it actually derives from a lyric in the song "Coffee Blues" by Mississippi John Hurt. (That Hurt himself intended the phrase as a {{double entendre}} is, of course, not outside the realm of possibility.)

* VocalTagTeam: While John Sebastian was the group's primary vocalist and songwriter (and consequently got the lion's share of the group's hit singles), all the other members performed lead vocal duties at various times. Especially since Sebastian wasn't even on their last album.

With a foot in the door of both the pop and the folk rock worlds, they were probably the greatest link (apart from Music/BobDylan) between New York City's Greenwich Village FolkMusic scene and the West Coast PsychedelicRock scene. In their brief heyday the band found success with five albums, numerous hit singles, and even movie soundtracks, recording song scores for Creator/WoodyAllen's ''Film/WhatsUpTigerLily'' and Creator/FrancisFordCoppola's ''You're a Big Boy Now''.

With a foot in the door of both the pop and the folk rock worlds, they were probably the greatest link (apart from Music/BobDylan) between New York's Greenwich Village FolkMusic scene and the West Coast PsychedelicRock scene. In their brief heyday the band found success with five albums, numerous hit singles, and even movie soundtracks, recording song scores for Creator/WoodyAllen's ''Film/WhatsUpTigerLily'' and Creator/FrancisFordCoppola's ''You're a Big Boy Now''.

* TitledAfterTheSong: While {{urban legend}} sometimes has it that the band's name is a [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar sly reference to either heroin or semen]], it actually derives from a lyric in the song "Coffee Blues" by Mississippi John Hurt. (That Hurt himself intended the phrase to be a {{double entendre}} is, of course, not outside the realm of possibility.)

* ShoutOut: While {{urban legend}} sometimes has it that the band's name is a [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar sly reference to either heroin or semen]], it actually derives from a lyric in the song "Coffee Blues" by Mississippi John Hurt. (That Hurt himself intended the phrase to be a {{double entendre}} is, of course, not outside the realm of possibility.)

* ShoutOut: While {{urban legend}} sometimes has it that the band's name was a [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar sly reference to either heroin or semen]], it actually derives from a lyric in the song "Coffee Blues" by Mississippi John Hurt. (That Hurt himself intended the phrase to be a {{double entendre}} is, of course, not outside the realm of possibility.)

* ShoutOut: While {{urban legend}} sometimes has it that the band's name was a [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar sly reference]] to either heroin or semen, it actually derives from a lyric in the song "Coffee Blues" by Mississippi John Hurt. (That Hurt himself intended the phrase to be a {{double entendre}} is, of course, not outside the realm of possibility.)

* ShoutOut: The band's name derives from a lyric in the song "Coffee Blues" by Mississippi John Hurt.

* TheBandMinusTheFace: They continued on without John Sebastian, but didn't last long.

* PuttingTheBandBackTogether: The original lineup of Sebastian, Yanovsky, Boone, and Butler reunited for a one-off 1979 concert at a Catskills resort, which was subsequently incorporated into Music/PaulSimon's film ''One-Trick Pony''. They got together once more in 2000, for the group's induction into the UsefulNotes/RockAndRollHallOfFame.

[[caption-width-right:350:The Spoonful in 1966. From left to right: Joe Butler, John Sebastian (seated), Steve Boone, Zal Yanovsky.]]

-->''And now, a quarter of my life has almost passed''

-->-- "'''Do You Believe in Magic'''"

* QuestioningTitle: "Do You Believe in Magic"[[note]]the actual title lacks a question mark[[/note]] and "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?"
* RepurposedPopSong: "Do You Believe in Magic" was used as a UsefulNotes/McDonalds commercial jingle in the '90s.