Editing Zal Yanovsky (section)

==Musical career==
Mostly self-taught, Yanovsky began his musical career playing folk music coffee houses in Toronto.  He lived on a [[kibbutz]] in [[Israel]] for a short time before returning to Canada. He teamed with fellow Canadian [[Denny Doherty]] in the [[Halifax Three]].<ref name="Larkin60">{{cite book| title=The Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music| editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)| editor-first=Colin| editor-last=Larkin| publisher=[[Virgin Books]]| year=2002| edition=2nd| url=https://archive.org/details/virginencycloped0000unse_d1p5/page/196/mode/2up?q=yanovsky| isbn=978-1-8522-7933-2| page=197| url-access=registration}}</ref> The two joined [[Cass Elliot]] in [[The Mugwumps (band)|the Mugwumps]],<ref name="Larkin60"/> a group mentioned by Doherty's and Cass's later group [[the Mamas & the Papas]] in the song "[[Creeque Alley]]".

[[File:The Lovin' Spoonful, Hit Parader, March 1966, No. 3.jpg|thumb|Yanovsky, August{{nbsp}}1965]]

It was at this time that he met John Sebastian, and they formed the Lovin' Spoonful with [[Steve Boone]] and [[Joe Butler]].<ref name="Larkin60" /> 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."<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thelovinspoonful/articles/story/5934509/spoonfuls_zal_yanovsky_dies| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071120175444/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thelovinspoonful/articles/story/5934509/spoonfuls_zal_yanovsky_dies| url-status=dead| archive-date=November 20, 2007| title=Spoonful's Zal Yanovsky Dies| magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]| first=Scott| last=Schnider| date=December 16, 2002| access-date=March 14, 2023}}</ref> The Lovin' Spoonful had hits such as "[[Do You Believe in Magic (song)|Do You Believe in Magic]]", "[[Summer in the City (song)|Summer in the City]]", "[[Daydream (The Lovin' Spoonful song)|Daydream]]", "[[Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?]]", "[[Darling Be Home Soon]]", and "[[You Didn't Have to Be So Nice]]". The group's only number one was "Summer In The City" (which stayed there for 3 weeks in August 1966).<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=The Lovin' Spoonful |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/the-lovin-spoonful/ |access-date=2022-11-21 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1966, [[The Lovin' Spoonful's drug bust|he was arrested]] in the United States on a marijuana-related charge.<ref name="Larkin60"/> Returning to his native Canada, he recorded the solo album ''Alive and Well in Argentina (and Loving Every Minute of It)''.<ref name="Larkin60"/> 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 with playback backwards) just missed the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]], but fared a little better in ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]]'', peaking at No. 73, and reaching No. 57 in the Canadian [[RPM (magazine)|RPM Magazine]] charts. [[Kama Sutra Records]] 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]];<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.classicbands.com/spoonful.html |title=The Lovin' Spoonful |website=Classicbands.com |access-date=2010-10-19 }}</ref> 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]]'' at New York's [[The Village Gate|Village Gate]]. Although not an original cast member, he contributed a musical number, "Nirvana Banana", a [[Donovan]] parody.

In 1980 he appeared in the movie [[One-Trick Pony (film)|One-Trick Pony]] and reunited with the Lovin Spoonful.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081280/fullcredits |title=One-Trick Pony (1980) - IMDb |access-date=2024-08-06 |via=www.imdb.com}}</ref> In 1996 Yanovsky was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and performed. In 2000 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Lovin' Spoonful, and performed alongside his former bandmates at the ceremony. The Hall of Fame performance was the last time Yanovsky performed live, and the last time the original line up of The Lovin' Spoonful performed together.