Lovin' Spoonful, Gary Lewis And The Playboys, and The Hollies

John Sebastian, son of accomplished harmonica player John Sebastian, grew up around music and musicians towards the end of the American folk music revival. Alongside guitarist Zal Yanovsky, formerly of The Mugwumps, Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty, who would later form the Mamas & the Papas, bassist Steve Boone and drummer-vocalist Joe Butler. The band made their recording debut with four songs on the multi-artist compilation “What’s Shakin’” in 1966 on Kama Sutra records.

With producer Erik Jacobsen at the reigns, the Lovin’ Spoonful’s first official single “Do You Believe in Magic” reached No. 9 on the Billboard Singles chart. The group, who wrote all of their own songs and released the subsequent smash hits “You Didn’t Have to Be So Nice”, “Daydream”, “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?”, and the No. 1 instantly recognisable Hit “Summer in the City” all before 1966.

In 1967, the Lovin’ Spoonful were the recipients of a drug bust, and Boone and Yanovsky were arrested for marijuana possession. The pair were later freed for revealing their source, though came under particular scrutiny from the growing hippie counterculture, who called for a boycott of all Spoonful products. However, the Lovin’ Spoonful were undeniably more pop than folk and rock, and largely appealed to mainstream teenagers thus weren’t affected as much as they could have been by the boycott.

Later in 1967 Yanovsky left the group and was replaced by Jerry Yester, formerly the producer of the Association. After the release of albums “You’re A Big Boy Now” (soundtrack) and “Everything Playing”, band leader Sebastian left the group, ending the Lovin’ Spoonful’s most successful period.

In 1991, Butler, Boone and Jerry Yester reconvened the band, and after three decades released a new album “Live at the Hotel Seville” in 1999. In 2000 the original members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and performed “Do You Believe in Magic” at the ceremony.

Formed of primary school best friends Allan Clarke and Graham Nash originally under the moniker the Deltas, the Hollies derived their name from the pair’s admiration for the seasonal plant. Debuting alongside bassist Eric Heydock, drummer Don Rathbone and short-lived guitarist Vic Steele, the band soon came to the attention of EMI’s Parlophone Records who offered the band an audition, which led to the band recording a session at Abbey Road studios with guitarist Tony Hicks replacing Steele and Bobby Elliott replacing Rathbone on drums.

The band’s distinctive three-part harmonies became synonymous with the Hollie’s sound and drew comparisons with the Everly Brothers and later played on their album “Two Yanks Go to England”. The Hollie’s debut singles “(Ain’t That) Just Like Me” and “Searchin’” were covers of Coasters’ songs and subsequently earned a No. 2 spot for their cover of Doris Troy’s “Just One Look”.

Following the releases the Hollies left the world of R&B and soul covers behind and began crafting music in their own right. Their first two self-written hits were “We’re Through” and “Yes I Will” of which both reached the Top 10 in the UK singles charts.

Yet to reach commercial success in the U.S. the Hollies earned their first No. 1 hit in the UK with their single “I’m Alive”. The band’s breakthrough into the U.S. came with the single “Look Through Any Window” at the tail end of 1965 marking the most successful period of the Hollies’ musical excursions. Popular singles from around the time included “I Can’t Let Go”, “Bus Stop”, “Stop Stop Stop” and “On a Carousel”. Noted for their luscious harmonies and addictive melodies the band represented the golden age and earned lots of radio airplay.

Not received with the same respect as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, the Hollies were largely seen as a singles band in an era gearing towards albums. Dissatisfied with the dependence on commercial pop Graham Nash left the band in 1968 teaming up with Stephen Stills and David Crosby to form the supergroup Crosby, Stills and Nash, Nash was replaced by Terry Sylvester.

Despite laregly being known as a ’60’s band the Hollies continued to produce hits well into the seventies including the pop ballad “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” which spent 4 weeks in the U.S Top 10 and peaked at No. 3 in Britain. Vocalist Allan Clarke departed the group soon after, which ended up as a one-year hiatus replaced by Swedish singer Mikael Rikfors. Clarke’s returned marked one of the Hollies’ last hits with the single “The Air That I Breathe” another ballad of a similar ilk to “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother”.

Subsequently, the long-lived line-up of Clarke, Hicks, Elliott, Calvert and Sylvester ceased to exist after 1981 as Calvert and Sylvester left. However Nash, Hicks and Elliott reunited for the album “What Goes Around” and following tour. Soon after the group recorded a harmony rich cover of the Supremes’ “Stop! In the Name of Love” and continued to tour and record. Since then the band has released a 30th Anniversary compilation album, a Greatest Hits album on their 40th anniversary in 2003 and a six-disc set entitled “The Long Road Home”. With a line-up of Hicks, Elliott, bassist Ray Stiles and keyboardist Ian Parker, the Hollies released a new album of original material titled “Then, Now, Always” in 2009.