EMAIL MESSAGES FROM THE FAMOUS - LOVIN' SPOONFUL!!!

LOVIN' SPOONFUL!!!


LOVIN' SPOONFUL!!!

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At the reunion dinner you will remember Kenny Namak and I performed a tribute to ex-DSSer, Zal Yanofsky, guitarist for the Lovin's Spoonful who passed away at the age of 58. We performed one of their most famous pieces, also featured in the movie, Shrek 2, "Do You Believe in Magic". Before the reunion I thought it would be a good idea to let the "Spoonful" know of our reunion. And I received two replies from two of the original band (one of which I received in time and read out just before we performed the song) and I would like to post these here below.
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"Hi Carole, I hope this message gets to you in time. We all miss Zalman and would love to be with you all in person at your reunion. His contribution to our music and the world around him will never be forgotten. I am attending a high school reunion this week and will make a point of reminiscing about Zally to my classmates. We (Lovin' Spoonful) are playing at BB Kings in NYC in two weeks and he will be remembered then as well.
Thanks for keeping his memory alive.
Kindest regards,
Steve Boone"
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Zally was one of the most gifted, intuitive musicians it has ever been my privilege to make music with.

Along with everyone who got to know him, I loved him and always will.

I think back to the early Spoonful, knocking around the village (Greenwich Village, NYC), selling empty soda and beer bottles back to stores to get deposit money to live on and how his courage, daring and humor helped us move through the tough times.

He was smart, fast and accurate and could dispense mercy or wrath at will. He was a tender, caring, beautiful man.

Even though I prefer to grieve in private I will tell you – I think about him so very often and more joy and laughter comes from those thoughts than sorrow – I wouldn’t be half the human earthling I am (not white male American) if it were not for Zally. He opened my eyes to so many things I wouldn’t have had the imagination to explore on my own.

As a guitar player he was unsurpassed, brilliant, stunning, one of a kind. Playing strong, gentle, warm, laughing, angry, crying, and passionate. To this day I have never, ever heard any other guitarist touch all the emotional bases like Zal. Not before him, and not since.

The world is diminished by his passing.

I shall miss him always.

Joe Butler
Lovin’ Spoonful
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Isn't that great of these guys?

I thought you may wish to send each of them an email back of appreciation and especially to Steve Boone who as he says in his message will be attending his own high school reunion (probably this week!) . I KNOW THAT YOU ALL WILL BE RESPECTFUL AND NOT FLOOD THEIR EMAIL WITH ANYTHING OTHER THAN GOOD WISHES. Also, I have given these guys the link to read what is written here ....SO BE POLITE in your replies!!!

Email for Steve Boone: forq@bellsouth.net
Email for Joe Butler: kablondi@sva.edu
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Also,to whoever is putting together a package of memories, it would be nice to include these.

All my love to you all.

Carol


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Carol Smith 1973
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Spoonful's Zal Yanovsky Dies Guitarist dead from a heart atttack at fifty-eight
Rollingstone ^ | 12/16/02


Zal Yanovsky, guitarist and co-founder of the Lovin' Spoonful, died of a heart attack at his home near Kingston, Ontario, on Friday. He was fifty-eight years old. Yanovsky was a largely self-taught musician whose artful guitar work and effervescent presence helped make the Lovin' Spoonful one of the most musically distinctive and commercially successful American bands of the 1960s. Yanovsky's mischievous, grinning visage was as memorable as the quartet's impressive run of sunny, infectious folk-rock hits, including "Do You Believe in Magic?," "Summer in the City," "Daydream," "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice," "Rain on the Roof" and "Nashville Cats."

Born in Toronto on December 19th, 1944, Zalman Yanovsky dropped out of college at the age of sixteen, to begin playing folk music in Canadian coffeehouses. For a time after that, he lived in Israel, where he briefly worked on a kibbutz (which he was reportedly asked to leave after driving a tractor through a building) and busked on the streets of Tel Aviv. After retuning to Toronto, he met Denny Doherty, later of the Mamas and the Papas. Doherty invited Yanovsky to join his folk-blues combo the Halifax Three; later, Yanovsky played with Doherty and the future Mama Cass Elliot in the Mugwumps.

Settling into New York's thriving Greenwich Village folk scene in the mid-Sixties, Yanovsky fell in with another talented young player, John Sebastian, with whom he shared an avid interest in folk and blues forms. Inspired by the Beatles' example, the two plotted to create an electric band that would combine their trad roots with the energy of rock & roll.

"I heard all these strengths in Zally," Sebastian later recalled. "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."

Teaming with a pair of young rock & rollers from Long Island, bassist Steve Boone and drummer Joe Butler, Sebastian and Yanovsky launched the Lovin' Spoonful, signed with the Kama Sutra label and became an immediate smash with their first single, "Do You Believe in Magic?" a Top Ten hit in late 1965. That tune led off a remarkable string of hits that established the Spoonful as one of the few American bands that could challenge the chart dominance of the Beatles and their British Invasion contemporaries. At a time when rock records were usually laden with filler, the Spoonful made solid, well-crafted albums that showcased the band's musical depth and songwriting ability.

But the Spoonful's abundant good vibes turned bad after Yanovsky and Boone were busted on pot charges in San Francisco, only escaping prosecution -- and in Yanovsky's case, deportation -- by turning in their dealer. The news severely damaged the band's credibility in the counterculture, leading to Yanovsky's departure from the band in mid-1967.

Yanovsky released a solo album, Alive and Well in Argentina in 1971, did a stint playing guitar with Kris Kristofferson and co-produced Tim Buckley's 1969 album Happy Sad in collaboration with Jerry Yester, who replaced him in the Lovin' Spoonful. But Yanovsky, weary of music-biz politics, retreated from the rock world in the early Seventies. He returned to Canada, briefly dabbling in television production before finding success as a restaurateur.

With his second wife, Rose Richardson, he turned a dilapidated 1880s livery stable into their successful eatery Chez Piggy, which became a beloved centerpiece of downtown Kingston's nightlife. The couple also published The Chez Piggy Cookbook.

Yanovsky briefly reunited with his Spoonful mates on a couple of occasions, filming an appearance in Paul Simon's 1980 film One Trick Pony and performing some of their hits on stage on the occasion of the band's 2000 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. More recently, Yanovsky participated in BMG Heritage's CD reissues of the Spoonful's catalogue, which yielded expanded editions of the 1965 albums Do You Believe In Magic? and Daydream, both of which were released in July 2002. The band's third and fourth albums, Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful (Yanovsky's last album with the band) and Everything Playin', are scheduled for February.



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Zal Yanovsky (musician)
December 19, 1944 - December 13, 2002




Former Lovin' Spoonful guitarist, Zal Yanovsky, died suddenly at his farm home just outside Kingston on Friday, December 13th, of a heart attack. He was 58. Born in Toronto, Yanovsky dropped out of school at age 16 to begin the peripatetic lifestyle that marked his early days. Having learned to play the guitar a year before, Yanovsky turned to the stage, working coffee houses before going to Israel, to work on a kibbutz. After driving a tractor through a building, it was suggested that he head to Tel Aviv. He tried busking in Tel Aviv, but it didn't go, so he returned to Toronto. After performing as a member of the Halifax Three and the Mugwumps, Yanovsky founded the Lovin' Spoonful with songwriter John Sebastian. Yanovsky's extrovert behaviour provided the group's visual identity while his exceptional and under-rated guitar playing was a vital fixture of their overall sound. The Spoonful became one of the most popular and influential American bands of the '60's, creating such hits as Do You Believe In Magic, Daydream, You Didn't Have To Be So Nice, Nashville Cats and the anthem for a hot July evening, Summer In The City, as well as soundtrack music for the debut films of Woody Allen ("What's Up, Tiger Lily?," and Francis Ford Coppola ("You're a Big Boy Now," in 1967, He left the band to pursue other interests. Although he made several unannounced guest appearances during John Sebastian concerts, Yanovsky gradually withdrew from music altogether. With his music career over, Yanovsky made his way to Kingston, where he started a restaurant, Chez Piggy. He took a very old building and brought it back to its former glory, restoring an 1880s livery stable to a meeting place, well-known for its fare and welcoming atmosphere. Others looked at what he had done and followed suit, with the result being that quite a lot of renovation has taken place in downtown Kingston. In recognition, Zal and his wife Rose were presented with a heritage restoration award last year. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1996. He is survived by his wife Rose Richardson, his daughter Zoe, 2-year-old grandson Max, a sister Buba and his first wife, the actor Jackie Burroughs. A private family service will be held Monday in Kingston.