Editing The Lovin' Spoonful (section)

=== 1964–1965: Formation ===
==== Greenwich Village and folk music ====

{{quote box|quote= The first time I heard [[Zal Yanovsky|Zal [Yanovsky]]] was at [[Cass Elliot]]'s house. Cass was forever the Jewish matchmaker, she was matching up boys to play in bands like a house afire. And she had us nailed as, "Oh, these guys have to work together."<ref name="Shiner Sebastian" /> |source=– [[John Sebastian]], 2012 |width=25%|align=left|salign=right|style=padding:8px;}}

The co-founders of the Lovin' Spoonful – [[John Sebastian]] and [[Zal Yanovsky]] – met on February 9, 1964, at the apartment of [[Cass Elliot]], a mutual friend and fellow musician.<ref>{{harvnb|Unterberger|2002|p=75}} and {{harvnb|Courrier|2008|p=75}}: (met the night the Beatles debuted on ''Ed Sullivan''); {{harvnb|Miles|2001|pp=131–132}}: (February 9, 1964).</ref>{{refn|group=nb|Sebastian typically identifies the night at Elliot's apartment as his first time meeting Yanovsky.<ref name="Rock Family Trees">{{Cite episode |title=California Dreamin' |series=Rock Family Trees |series-link=Rock Family Trees |last=Hanly |first=Francis (director) |network=[[BBC Television]] |date=September 4, 1998 |season=2 |number=1 |time=2:50–3:04, 30:05–30:22, 31:40–32:00}}</ref> He has also recalled they "actually met once before", adding that it was the night at Elliot's apartment in which the two first played music together and the first time they became acquainted in "a very low-key setting".{{sfn|Fiegel|2005|pp=113–114}}}} Elliot was holding a party that night to watch the English rock band [[the Beatles]] make their American television debut on ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]''.<ref>{{harvnb|Unterberger|2003|p=63}}; {{harvnb|Mersereau|2015|loc=chap. 5}}.</ref> Elliot, Sebastian and Yanovsky were all active in the [[American folk music revival|folk-music scene]] in [[Greenwich Village]], a neighborhood in New York City,{{sfn|Bronson|2003|p=205}} and the three were greatly influenced by the Beatles' performance; Sebastian later reflected, "It affected {{em|us}} heavily{{nbsp}}... {{em|us}} [meaning] my specific generation".{{sfn|Barone|2022|p=168}} Later that night, Elliot encouraged Sebastian and Yanovsky to play guitars,{{sfn|Bronson|2003|p=205}} and Sebastian remembered discovering they had "a tremendous affinity" for one another.{{sfn|Fiegel|2005|p=114}}

Sebastian, the son of the classical [[harmonica]] player [[John Sebastian (classical harmonica player)|John Sebastian Sr.]], grew up in a Village apartment which neighbored [[Washington Square Park]].{{sfn|Fletcher|2009|p=157}} The younger Sebastian often went to the park to play music,{{sfn|Fletcher|2009|p=157}}{{sfn|Petrus|2015|p=294}} and he also played in rock bands as a teenager at his [[College-preparatory school|prep school]] in [[New Jersey]].{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=28}} He became a multi-instrumentalist, being proficient on guitar, harmonica, piano and the [[autoharp]].{{sfn|Petrus|2015|p=294}} Beginning in the early 1960s, he worked as a [[studio musician]].{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=75}}

{{multiple image|caption_align=center|header_align=center
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 | footer = Top: [[Washington Square Park]], 1965<br />Bottom: [[MacDougal Street]], 2008<br />The Spoonful emerged from New York City's [[American folk music revival|folk-music scene]] in [[Greenwich Village]].
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Yanovsky grew up in [[Downsview]], a suburb of Toronto, Canada, and he was enmeshed as a guitar player in the city's folk-music scene, which centered on the [[Yorkville, Toronto|Yorkville]] neighborhood.{{sfn|Bunch|2017|p=343}} [[Denny Doherty]], another musician active in Yorkville,{{sfn|Bunch|2017|p=343}} invited Yanovsky to join his folk group, [[the Halifax Three]], which later relocated to Greenwich Village.{{sfn|Mersereau|2015|loc=chap. 4}} After the Halifax Three broke up in June{{nbsp}}1964,{{sfn|Rees|Crampton|1991|p=316}} Elliot recruited Yanovsky and Doherty to join her own group, [[The Mugwumps (band)|the Mugwumps]].{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|pp=72–73}} That same year, Sebastian briefly played with another New York folk group, the [[Even Dozen Jug Band]], before he was also recruited into the Mugwumps to play harmonica.{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|pp=75, 123}}{{refn|group=nb|[[Warner Bros. Records]] signed the Mugwumps in August{{nbsp}}1964.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=u.t.|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=August 22, 1964|page=8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VUUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA8|via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> They recorded an album of material later that month,<ref name=NoDepression>{{cite web |author1=Anon. |title=Mugwumps – Self-Titled |url=https://www.nodepression.com/album-reviews/mugwumps-self-titled/ |website=[[No Depression (magazine)|No Depression]] |access-date=May 6, 2024}}</ref> but Sebastian joined the group too late to have contributed.{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=75}} The group released one single in 1964, and Warner Bros. released the rest of their recorded material in 1967, after its former members had become famous.{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|pp=73–74}}}}

Sebastian later remembered becoming enamoured with Yanovsky: "[He] amused the hell out of me. He inhaled and exhaled people and conversation and jokes and theater. He was this kind of cultural weathervane – and people gathered around him."{{sfn|Fletcher|2009|p=214}} During live performances with the Mugwumps, rather than playing folk songs straight through, Yanovsky and Sebastian often improvised off of one another on guitar and harmonica, respectively.{{sfn|Fletcher|2009|p=214}} After the Mugwumps dissolved in late{{nbsp}}1964, Sebastian and Yanovsky began planning to form their own group,{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|pp=75, 123}}{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=45}} which they envisioned as an electric [[jug band]].{{sfn|Fletcher|2009|p=214}}{{refn|group=nb|Elliott and Doherty went on to form [[the Mamas & the Papas]].{{sfn|Bronson|2003|p=205}}}} Sebastian recalled: "Yanovsky and I were both aware of the fact that this commercial folk music model was about to change again, that the four-man band that actually played their own instruments and wrote their own songs was the thing."{{sfn|Fletcher|2009|p=214}} Yanovsky contacted [[Bob Cavallo]], the former manager of the Halifax Three and the Mugwumps, who agreed to manage Sebastian and Yanovsky's group even though they had not yet performed publicly, had no songs and did not yet have a band name.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|pp=45–48}}

In 1964, Sebastian lived in an apartment on Prince Street in [[Little Italy, Manhattan|Little Italy]], a Manhattan neighborhood south of Greenwich Village. That year, [[Erik Jacobsen]], the former banjo player of the bluegrass band [[Knob Lick Upper 10,000]], moved into the apartment next door,{{sfn|Fletcher|2009|p=212}} and the two soon bonded over their shared interests of smoking marijuana and listening to eclectic music.{{sfn|Fletcher|2009|p=212}}{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|pp=69–70}} Like Sebastian, Jacobsen had been affected by the new sound of the Beatles; he later recalled that while touring in early{{nbsp}}1964, he listened to the group for the first time on a [[jukebox]]: "I decided, kind of then and there I think, that I was gonna quit the Knob Lick Upper 10,000, and go to New York City, and produced electric folk music."{{sfn|Fletcher|2009|p=212}} As part of his effort to switch focus towards production, Jacobsen recorded [[Demo (music)|demos]] for musicians in the Village,{{sfn|Fletcher|2009|p=213}} including Sebastian's compositions "Warm Baby" and {{nowrap|"Rooty-Toot".{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=70}}{{refn|group=nb|Both of Sebastian's demos featured experimentation and exotic instruments, including African drums, bongo drums and a [[sitar]]. Jerry Yester recalled playing on "Warm Baby" with other local folk musicians, including Jesse Colin Young and [[Sticks Evans]].{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=70}} Both demos went unissued, but the Spoonful rerecorded "Warm Baby" for ''Daydream'' and Sebastian included "Rooty-Toot" on his 1971 live album ''Cheapo-Cheapo Productions Presents Real Live''.{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=70}}{{sfn|Unterberger|2006b}}}}}}

==== Earliest lineup ====

From 1962 to 1964, [[Steve Boone]] played bass guitar in several [[Long Island]] rock bands with the drummer [[Joe Butler]].{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=123}} They both played in the Kingsmen, a band led by Boone's brother, Skip, before Boone quit in mid-1964 to spend time visiting Europe. Skip and Butler changed the band's name to ''the Sellouts'' and moved to Greenwich Village, holding a residency at [[Trude Heller's]] club as one of the neighborhood's earliest rock groups.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|pp=11–15, 23–24, 32}}

In December{{nbsp}}1964,{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=123}} at the insistence of Butler, Boone went to the Village Music Hall, a small music club on West 3rd Street in Greenwich Village.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|pp=34–35}} There, he met Sebastian and Yanovsky,{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=36}} and though he had no background in folk music,{{sfn|Unterberger|2003|p=123}} Boone soon bonded with the two over their shared musical influences, including [[Elvis Presley]], [[Chuck Berry]], [[the Everly Brothers]], [[Buddy Holly]], [[Motown]], the Beatles and other [[British Invasion]] acts.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=36}} Sebastian played him his composition "[[Good Time Music]]" – the lyrics of which derided early 1960s [[rock and roll]] while extolling the Beatles and other new music – and the three musicians [[jam session|jammed]] different Chuck Berry and R&B numbers.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|pp=35–38}} Sebastian invited Boone to Jacobsen's apartment afterwards, where Boone met Jacobsen as well as [[Jerry Yester]] of the [[Modern Folk Quartet]], a local folk music group.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=39}} That week, Boone attended Sebastian's performance at a Greenwich Village club.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|pp=39–41}} Sebastian's show, made up of a quickly assembled group of Fred Neil, [[Tim Hardin]], [[Buzzy Linhart]] and [[Felix Pappalardi]], greatly impressed Boone,{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|pp=39–41}}{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=124}} who later remembered it as "one of the most significant nights in my musical life."{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=124}} He also recalled: "I was stunned. I had never heard such power in a folk group before."{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=124}} The performance motivated Boone to enter the Greenwich Village folk scene and join Sebastian and Yanovsky's group.{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=124}}

The band was still in need of a drummer, and Boone suggested Jan Buchner, a part-timer with the Kingsmen who came at the recommendation of both Skip and Butler.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=48}} Buchner, who went by the stagename Jan Carl, was the manager of the Bull's Head Inn, a small inn located in [[Bridgehampton, New York|Bridgehampton]] on Long Island, and which he offered as a rehearsal space during the inn's winter closure. The band rehearsed at the Bull's Head for several weeks in December{{nbsp}}1964 and January{{nbsp}}1965, and they also played at local bars in Bridgehampton at night.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|pp=48–51}}

In late{{nbsp}}1964 and early{{nbsp}}1965, to keep earning money before his new band had earned a contract, Sebastian continued performing as a studio musician on other artists' recordings.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=47}} In this period, he played harmonica on [[progressive folk]] records for several acts, including [[Fred Neil]], [[Jesse Colin Young]] and [[Judy Collins]].{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=75}}{{refn|group=nb|Sebastian played harmonica on [[Vince Martin (singer)|Vince Martin]] and Neil's 1964 album ''Tear Down the Walls'' and on several 1965 albums, including Neil's ''[[Bleecker & MacDougal]]'', Young's ''[[Young Blood (Jesse Colin Young album)|Young Blood]]'' and Collins's ''[[Fifth Album]]''.{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|pp=75, 123}}}} In January{{nbsp}}1965,{{sfn|Heylin|2021|p=297}} the musician [[Bob Dylan]] asked Sebastian to play bass guitar on his newest album, ''[[Bringing It All Back Home]]''.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=53}} The album's first day of sessions, January{{nbsp}}13, featured only Dylan on an acoustic guitar and, for a few tracks, Sebastian playing bass guitar, but none of the recordings were used on the final album.{{sfn|Heylin|1996|p=65}}<ref name="OB">{{cite web |last=Björner |first=Olof |author-link=Olof Björner |title=Still On The Road: 1965 Concerts, Interviews & Recording Sessions |url=https://www.bjorner.com/DSN00785%20(65).htm |website=About Bob |access-date=September 8, 2023 |archive-date=August 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822153419/https://www.bjorner.com/DSN00785%20%2865%29.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|According to the Dylan researcher [[Olof Björner]], Sebastian played bass on unused takes of "[[Love Minus Zero/No Limit]]" and "[[She Belongs To Me]]" and harmonica on "[[Outlaw Blues]]".<ref name="OB" /> The recordings were officially released on the 2015 album ''[[The Bootleg Series Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 1965–1966|The Cutting Edge 1965–1966]]''.{{sfn|Flanagan|Wilentz|2015}}}} Dylan returned the next day to re-record much of the material, rearranging the songs attempted the day before so they instead featured an electric backing.{{sfn|Heylin|1996|p=66}} Dylan invited Sebastian to return for a separate session held that evening,{{sfn|Heylin|1996|p=66}} in which they recorded a remake of the song "[[Subterranean Homesick Blues]]".<ref name="OB" /> Boone –  one of the few people Sebastian knew with a car and driver's license – offered to drive him to the session.{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=110}}{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=51}} Sebastian was not a trained bass player and, after struggling to play the part, he suggested that Boone play instead,{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|pp=109–110}}{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|pp=51–54}} but neither musician's contributions ended up on the final album.{{sfn|Heylin|1996|pp=65–66}}{{refn|group=nb|Later authors have sometimes doubted that there was an evening session on the 14th,{{sfn|Heylin|2021|p=297}}{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=110}} but [[American Federation of Musicians|AFM]] records indicate Sebastian and Boone were present for a three-hour session.{{sfn|Heylin|2021|p=297}} The pair are in photographs of the session taken by the photographer Daniel Kramer.{{sfn|Heylin|2021|p=297}}}}

==== First live dates ====

{{quote box|quote= We were still trying to come up with a name when I ran into [[Fritz Richmond]], a friend and musician. I asked him for suggestions. Fritz asked what we sounded like. I said a cross between [[Chuck Berry]] and [[Mississippi John Hurt]]. Fritz suggested ''the Lovin' Spoonful'', a line from Hurt's 1963 song "Coffee Blues." The name was perfect.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Myers |first1=Marc |author1-link=Marc Myers |title=The Story Behind 'Darling Be Home Soon' by the Lovin' Spoonful's John Sebastian |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-story-behind-darling-be-home-soon-by-the-lovin-spoonfuls-john-sebastian-1482957136 |work=[[Wall Street Journal]] |date=December 28, 2016 |url-access=subscription |ref=none}}</ref> |source=– John Sebastian, 2016 |width=25%|align=right|salign=right|style=padding:8px;}}

In early{{nbsp}}1965, in preparation for their first public performances, Sebastian, Yanovsky, Boone and Carl continued rehearsing at the Bull's Head, while Sebastian and Yanovsky searched for a group name.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|pp=54–55}} [[Fritz Richmond]], the [[washtub bass]] player for the [[Jim Kweskin Jug Band]], suggested to Sebastian the name ''the Lovin' Spoonful'',{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|pp=54–55}}{{sfn|Von Schmidt|Rooney|1994|p=246}} a reference to the lyrics of the song "Coffee Blues" by the country blues musician [[Mississippi John Hurt]],{{sfn|Myers|2017|p=74}} with whom Sebastian had previously worked.{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=124}} Sebastian and Yanovsky were enthusiastic about the suggestion and adopted it as the band's name.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=55}}

Joe Marra, the owner of Greenwich Village's Night Owl Cafe, knew Sebastian from his time backing other artists at the club, and Marra offered to book the Spoonful at the venue.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=54}} The Night Owl was formerly an after-hours bowling alley at [[3rd Street (Manhattan)|West 3rd]] and [[MacDougal Street]]s, which Marra had recently converted into a 125-person capacity coffeehouse and restaurant for folk music acts.{{sfn|Fletcher|2009|pp=215–216}} The band made their first live performances in late January 1965 at the Night Owl, holding a two-week residency.{{sfn|Fletcher|2009|p=214}} One show, which Jacobsen recorded on a tape recorder, featured a mixture of Sebastian's originals ("Good Time Music" and "Didn't Want to Have to Do It"), folk songs ("Wild About My Lovin{{'"}} and "My Gal") and rock and roll ("[[(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66|Route 66]]", "[[Alley Oop (song)|Alley Oop]]" and "[[Almost Grown (song)|Almost Grown]]").{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|pp=57–59}}{{refn|group=nb|Decades later, the recording was considered for release on CD as ''Live at the Night Owl'', but Sebastian rejected the idea. The recording has since circulated as a [[Bootleg recording|bootleg]].<ref name="Unterberger interview">{{cite web |last1=Unterberger |first1=Richie |author1-link=Richie Unterberger |title=The Lovin' Spoonful's Steve Boone Opens Up About the Infamous Pot Bust that Broke Up the Band |url=https://pleasekillme.com/lovin-spoonful-steve-boone-interview/ |website=PleaseKillMe |access-date=March 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221127091756/https://pleasekillme.com/lovin-spoonful-steve-boone-interview/ |archive-date=November 27, 2022 |date=May 3, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>}} The band received a mixed reception, due in part to their loud playing style in the small venue.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|pp=57–59}} Marra was unimpressed and returned to booking folk acts.{{sfn|Fletcher|2009|p=215}} Cavallo and Jacobsen recommended rehearsals and that the band replace Carl as drummer. Carl, who was six years older than his bandmates, clashed with them in terms of appearance and playing style, and he was subsequently fired by the band's management.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|pp=57–59}}
{{clear}}

[[File:The original Hotel Albert, 40 East 11th Street (2) (cropped) (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|The band rehearsed for weeks in early{{nbsp}}1965 in the dilapidated basement of [[Greenwich Village]]'s [[Hotel Albert (New York, New York)|Hotel Albert]] (''pictured 2023''). [[Joe Butler]] later said, "It inspired us, because it made us frightened of poverty".{{sfn|Jackson|2015|p=135}}<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Roxon|first=Lillian|title=The Lovin' Spoonful: Do You Believe in Magic|date=May 1968|magazine=[[Eye (magazine)|Eye]] |pages=32–33}}</ref>]]

Having fired Carl, the Spoonful could no longer play at the Bull's Head and were in need of a new rehearsal space.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|pp=60, 62}} The band had little money and had been living with Elliot in her Village apartment at the [[Hotel Albert (New York, New York)|Hotel Albert]].{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|pp=46–47}} The Albert was frequented by many local folk musicians, and the building's proprietors allowed musicians staying there to rehearse in its basement, a decaying space with standing pools of water, chipping walls and a bug infestation.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|pp=47, 60, 62}} While at the Albert, the band befriended one of the building's permanent residents, Butchie Webber, who often fed them meals. Though the two were not romantic, Webber married Sebastian, so as to prevent him from being drafted into fighting in the [[Vietnam War]].{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|pp=62, 151}} Butler, who still played drums for the Sellouts, auditioned for the Spoonful in the Albert's basement. He impressed the others when he broke a drumstick but continued performing by hitting the cymbal with his hand, cutting it in the process. The band were inspired by Butler's energy and hired him as their drummer.{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=124}}{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|pp=60–61}}

While waiting to be signed to a record label, the Spoonful played at night clubs on MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village, including [[Cafe Wha?]] and Café Bizarre.<ref>{{harvnb|Boone|Moss|2014|pp=65–66}} (waiting, Café Bizarre); {{harvnb|Fletcher|2009|p=215}}: (MacDougal); {{harvnb|Einarson|2005|p=63}}: (Cafe Wha?).</ref> The band held a brief residency at Café Bizarre,{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|pp=65–66}} playing several sets a night for six days a week,{{sfn|Fletcher|2009|p=215}} leading Sebastian to later reflect, "We learned more at that crappy little club than almost any other gig."{{sfn|Fletcher|2009|p=216}} Marra had been especially critical of the band's earlier performances at the Night Owl, but he was impressed by the band's newly professional approach,{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|pp=65–66}} and in May of 1965, he offered for the band to return to performing at the Night Owl.{{sfn|Fletcher|2009|p=216}} The Spoonful shared their bill at the club with two other electric groups whom Marra booked, [[Danny Kalb]]'s band [[the Blues Project]] and the Modern Folk Quartet,{{sfn|Fletcher|2009|p=216}}{{sfn|Unterberger|2005}} the latter of which Sebastian sometimes filled in for on drums.{{sfn|Colby|Fitzpatrick|2002|p=90}} The Night Owl's triple-bill was immediately successful,{{sfn|Fletcher|2009|p=216}} and other established acts sometimes came to watch, including members of the American band [[the Byrds]] and [[Mary Travers]] of the folk-trio [[Peter, Paul and Mary]].{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=73}} Around the time he began booking electric acts, Marra moved the venue's stage towards the front street-facing window to draw in passers-by,{{sfn|Fletcher|2009|p=216}} and he printed a large color photo of the Spoonful and placed it in the club's window, which helped elevate the band's local popularity.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|pp=65–66}}

[[File:The Lovin' Spoonful KRLA Beat Oct 9, 1965.jpg|thumb|The Lovin' Spoonful performing live, 1965]]

On June{{nbsp}}7 and 8, 1965,<ref>{{cite magazine|title=...{{nbsp}}And Coffee Too|magazine=The Broadside|date=June 9, 1965|volume=4|issue=8|pages=12–13|url=https://credo.library.umass.edu/view/full/mums1014-v04-n08-i001|via=[[UMass Amherst]]}}</ref> the Spoonful performed at [[Club 47]], a folk music club in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]].{{sfn|Von Schmidt|Rooney|1994|p=247}}{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=77}} Boone remembered feeling hesitant to perform at a club known strictly for folk music,{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=77}} but Sebastian recalled that he and Yanovsky were immediately enthusiastic at the prospect of challenging folk enthusiasts: "Did we want to {{em|kill}} in that room!{{nbsp}}... We were going to be face to face with the folkies at last."{{sfn|Von Schmidt|Rooney|1994|p=247}} The band played at the venue at the suggestion of Fritz Richmond,{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=77}} who encouraged the group by pointing to Bob Dylan's recent transition to electrified rock,{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=77}} first heard three months earlier with the release of "[[Subterranean Homesick Blues]]",{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=126}} and the newfound popularity of the Byrds,{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=77}} whose [[folk rock]] cover of Dylan's song "[[Mr. Tambourine Man]]" reached number one in North America that month.{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|pp=135–136}}{{sfn|Einarson|2005|pp=61, 65}} The term "folk rock" had been coined in the June{{nbsp}}12 issue of the American music magazine ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' by the journalist Eliot Siegel, who used the term principally to describe the music of the Byrds.{{sfn|Jackson|2015|p=129}} Siegel also counted "the Living Spoonfull"{{sic}} as an act working in the New York area with "a folk-rock sound", even though the group had not yet released a record.{{sfn|Jackson|2015|p=129}}<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Tiegel|first=Elliot|title=Folkswinging Wave On – Courtesy of Rock Groups|date=June 12, 1965|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|pages=1, 10|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qCgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA1|via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|Boone later reflected that he and his bandmates had mixed feelings about the success of the Byrds, something they found encouraging but also disappointing because it meant that another group had beaten them in breaking the new folk-rock sound into the charts.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|pp=73–74}}}}

The Spoonful performed two sets at Club 47 and initially received a mixed reception; many folk fans walked out of the first set due to the band's loud sound.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=78}} Years later, Sebastian recalled a moment from the first set: {{quote|[This woman] carefully [got my] and Zally's attention, points out toward the amplifier, and puts her fingers in her ears. And Zally gave her his broadest and most affectionate smile, and turned his amplifier up as loud as he could. That was a real transition.{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=164}}}} During the second set, the band received a warm response from the remaining crowd.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=78}} In retrospect, the author [[Richie Unterberger]] describes the Spoonful's appearance as a "watershed" moment in the history of folk rock.{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=164}} The rock journalist [[Paul Williams (Crawdaddy)|Paul Williams]] attended the shows, and his review of the performances for the magazine ''Folkin' Around'' marked his earliest work as a music writer.{{sfn|Williams|2002|p=120}} Williams later reflected, "For a band like that to come to Club 47 was revolutionary, in terms of Cambridge['s] holier-than-thou purist attitude about folk music."{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=164}}
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==== "Do You Believe in Magic", Kama Sutra ====

{{listen|type=music|filename="Do You Believe in Magic" by the Lovin' Spoonful.mp3|title=The beginning of "Do You Believe in Magic" |description= A lyrical celebration of the Spoonful's changing audience,{{sfn|Jackson|2015|p=136}}{{sfn|Barone|2022|p=200}} "Do You Believe in Magic" was one of the first [[folk-rock]] hits.{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=173}} The song blends influences from [[Motown sound|Motown]], {{nowrap|[[jug band]]}} and {{nowrap|[[Contemporary folk music|folk music]]}}.{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=173}}}}

Early in the Spoonful's May residency at the Night Owl,{{sfn|Fletcher|2009|p=216}} Sebastian wrote a new song, "[[Do You Believe in Magic (song)|Do You Believe in Magic]]", which explored the transformative power of music.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|pp=62–63}} His initial inspiration came during one of the band's performances, in which he and Yanovsky noticed a sixteen-year-old girl dancing among the audience.{{sfn|Fletcher|2009|pp=216–217}}{{sfn|Jackson|2015|p=136}} The girl stood in contrast to the older [[beatnik]] crowd who typically attended folk performances,{{sfn|Jackson|2015|p=136}} and Sebastian recalled that "[she was] dancing like {{em|we}} danced – and not like the last generation danced".{{sfn|Fletcher|2009|p=216}} He also remembered: "Zal and I just elbowed each other the entire night, because to us, that young girl symbolized the fact that our audience was changing, that maybe they had finally found us."{{sfn|Jackson|2015|p=136}} Sebastian composed the song the following night,{{sfn|Fletcher|2009|pp=216–217}}{{sfn|Jackson|2015|p=136}} and the band worked together at the Albert to finish its arrangement.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=63}}

The Spoonful was enthusiastic about "Do You Believe in Magic" and hoped to record a [[Demo (music)|demo]] of the song to flog to record companies.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=63}} In June{{nbsp}}1965,{{sfn|Edmonds|2002}} Jacobsen fronted a session with his own money at [[Bell Sound Studios]] in New York, where the band recorded "Do You Believe in Magic" and several other songs.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=63}}{{sfn|Edmonds|2002}}{{refn|group=nb|Which other songs were on the demo is {{nowrap|disputed.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=63}}{{sfn|Edmonds|2002}}}} Boone and the journalist Ben Edmonds each write it was "Wild About My Lovin{{'"}} and an electric arrangement "Younger Girl",{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=63}}{{sfn|Edmonds|2002}} but Jacobsen suggested it only included "On the Road Again".{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=63}}}} Jacobsen invited Yester to participate in the session, adding both piano and backing vocals,{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=64}} and the session musician [[Gary Chester]] played tambourine.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bosso |first1=Joe |title=John Sebastian: My Career in Five Songs |url=https://www.guitarplayer.com/players/john-sebastian-my-career-in-five-songs |website=[[Guitar Player]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230205043358/https://www.guitarplayer.com/players/john-sebastian-my-career-in-five-songs |archive-date=February 5, 2023 |language=en |date=June 7, 2021 |quote=The recording came together quickly. It didn't hurt that [session drummer] Gary Chester, who happened to be in the building, played tambourine on the track. He kept us from speeding up. |url-status=live}}</ref> Jacobsen and Cavallo brought an [[acetate disc]] of the demo to numerous record labels, all of which turned down an opportunity to sign the band.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=64}}{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=173}} After attending one of the Spoonful's performances at the Night Owl,{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|pp=66–67}} [[Phil Spector]], a well-known producer, listened to an acetate of "Do You Believe in Magic" and considered signing the band to his label, [[Philles Records]].{{sfn|Ribowsky|1989|p=194}} Recollections differ as to who turned whom down, but subsequent authors suggest that in writing their own music and possessing a defined sound, the Spoonful differed greatly from the acts with which Spector normally worked.{{sfn|Hoskyns|1996|p=99}}{{sfn|Ribowsky|1989|p=195}}{{refn|group=nb|Henry Diltz of the Modern Folk Quartet later said, "The word was that [Spector] really wanted the Lovin' Spoonful, but he couldn't get them",{{sfn|Hoskyns|1996|p=99}} and Sebastian said in a 1966 interview that the band turned Spector down "because we didn't want to be swallowed up under his name".{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=124}}<ref name="Altham 1966">{{cite magazine|last=Altham|first=Keith|title=Nice, Abnormal Spoonful|magazine=[[New Musical Express]]|date=April 22, 1966|page=2}}</ref> In his autobiography, Boone instead said "I don't think we turned [Spector] down flat{{nbsp}}... but we decided to play hard-to-get for a little while longer".{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=67}} The producer [[Vini Poncia]] recalled that Spector "was considering them but passed on it".{{sfn|Ribowsky|1989|p=194}}}}

[[Elektra Records]] approached the Spoonful and offered to sign them.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=67}}{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=125}} Elektra regularly produced acts from Greenwich Village, including the Even Dozen Jug Band and [[the Paul Butterfield Blues Band]]. The label's offer would have allowed the Spoonful to retain Jacobsen as their producer and Cavallo as their manager, but the band worried that Elektra had not been successful at issuing singles in the pop market,{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|pp=66–67}} and that they would not be clearly identified as a rock act if they signed at a folk-oriented label.{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=125}} Cavallo approached [[Paul Rothchild]] and [[Jac Holzman]] of Elektra and said the band needed an advance of $10,000 before they could sign ({{Inflation|US|10000|1965|fmt=eq|r=-3|cursign=US$}}).{{sfn|Holzman|Daws|2000|p=124}}{{Inflation/fn|US}} Holzman initially refused due to the large figure, but he soon changed his mind and offered the band a deal, by which point they had signed elsewhere.{{sfn|Holzman|Daws|2000|p=124}} The band instead signed a side-deal with Elektra,{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=67}} which had them record four songs, including Sebastian's song "Good Time Music".{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=125}} Jacobsen later said that the band offered the songs to Elektra out of guilt, since "We had kind of hung [Holzman] out to dry just a little bit{{nbsp}}... [so we] allowed him to have those sides.{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=125}} The label later included the four songs on the compilation album ''[[What's Shakin']]'', released the following year.{{sfn|Unterberger|2002|p=125}}{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=70}}

The Spoonful signed with Koppelman-Rubin, an entertainment company,{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=71}} who signed the band to [[Kama Sutra Records]] in June{{nbsp}}1965.{{sfn|Helander|1999|p=237}} As part of the deal, [[MGM Records]] distributed the records, which Kama Sutra released for Koppelman-Rubin.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=71}} The arrangement's format of multiple [[Intermediary|middlemen]] left little in profits for the band.{{sfn|Holzman|Daws|2000|p=124}}{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=71}} Sebastian later said that not signing with Elektra was "the worst decision I ever made in my life".{{sfn|Houghton|2010|p=173}}

Kama Sutra saw no need to re-record Jacobsen's original demo of the Spoonful performing "Do You Believe in Magic", and the label pressed copies to be the band's debut single.{{sfn|Boone|Moss|2014|p=71}} The label issued it in the U.S. on July 20, 1965,{{sfn|Jackson|2015|p=xvii}}{{sfn|Barone|2022|p=200}} and it debuted on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] a month later,{{sfn|Edmonds|2002}} remaining on the chart for thirteen weeks and peaking in October at number nine.<ref name="Billboard chart history">{{cite magazine |title=The Lovin' Spoonful Chart History (Hot 100) |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/the-lovin-spoonful/chart-history/hsi/ |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=March 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221121215619/https://www.billboard.com/artist/the-lovin-spoonful/chart-history/hsi/ |archive-date=November 21, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>
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