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'''John Benson Sebastian '''(born March 17, 1944)<ref>{{Cite web |title=John Sebastian Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & M... |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/john-sebastian-mn0000814852 |access-date=2024-08-05 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref> is an American singer, songwriter and musician who founded the rock band [[the Lovin' Spoonful]] in 1964 with [[Zal Yanovsky]]. During his time in the Lovin Spoonful, John would write and sing some of the bands biggest hits such as "[[Do You Believe in Magic (song)|Do You Believe in Magic]]", "[[Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?|Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind]]", and "[[Daydream (The Lovin' Spoonful song)|Daydream]]". Sebastian would leave the Spoonful in 1968 after the album ''[[Everything Playing]]''. After leaving the Spoonful, Sebastian would focus on a solo career, releasing his first solo album in 1970 titled ''[[John B. Sebastian (album)|John B. Sebastian]]
He made an impromptu appearance at the [[Woodstock|Woodstock festival]] in 1969<ref name="RRHOF">[http://www.rockhall.com/inductees/lovin-spoonful/ Rock & Roll Hall of Fame – Lovin' Spoonful Biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810093457/http://rockhall.com/inductees/lovin-spoonful/ |date=August 10, 2011 }}, rockhall.com. Retrieved June 4, 2015.</ref> and scored a U.S. No. 1 hit in 1976 with "[[Welcome Back (John Sebastian song)|Welcome Back]]", which was used as the theme song on the sitcom ''[[Welcome Back, Kotter]]''.
Sebastian was inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in 2000 as a member of the Lovin' Spoonful.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lovin' Spoonful |url=https://rockhall.com/inductees/lovin-spoonful/ |access-date=2024-08-05 |website=Rock & Roll Hall of Fame |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Early life==
Sebastian was born in [[New York City]] and grew up in [[Little Italy, Manhattan|Little Italy]] and [[Greenwich Village]].<ref name=clemente>{{cite web |last=Clemente |first=T.J. |url=https://www.hamptons.com/The-Arts/Live-Music-View/25656/INTERVIEW-John-Sebastian-A-Cog-In-The-Wheel-Of.html#.XVle_uhKhPY |title=John Sebastian: A Cog in the Wheel of the Greatest Musical Cultural Sea Change Known to Man |date=June 24, 2019 |publisher=Hamptons.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818143122/https://www.hamptons.com/The-Arts/Live-Music-View/25656/INTERVIEW-John-Sebastian-A-Cog-In-The-Wheel-Of.html |archive-date=August 18, 2019 |url-status=live |access-date=August 18, 2019}}</ref><ref name=hall>{{cite web |last=Hall |first=Johanna |url=http://www.johannahall.us/sebastian.pdf |title=The Spellbinding and Comfortable John B. Sebastian |publisher=johannahall.us|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820113942/http://www.johannahall.us/sebastian.pdf |archive-date=August 20, 2016 |url-status=live |access-date=August 18, 2019}}</ref> His father, [[John Sebastian (classical harmonica player)|John Sebastian]] ({{né}} John Sebastian Pugliese), was a noted [[harmonica|classical harmonica]] player, and his mother, Jane (born Mary Jane Bishir), was a radio script writer.<ref name=echoes>March, Jeff, and Marti Childs. [https://books.google.com/books?id=qwOyZukEwD4C&pg=PT375 ''Echoes of the Sixties: Intimate Profiles of 43 of the Musical Composers and Performers Who Influenced an Entire Generation.''] Billboard Books, 1999, p. 375–379; {{ISBN|0-8230-8316-0}}</ref> His godmother was [[Vivian Vance]] ("Ethel Mertz" of ''[[I Love Lucy]]''), who was a close friend of his mother.<ref>Office of the State Historian (New Mexico), [http://newmexicohistory.org/people/vivian-vance "Vivian Vance"], newmexicohistory.org. Retrieved June 3, 2015.</ref> His godfather and first babysitter was children's book illustrator [[Garth Williams]], a friend of his father.<ref name=boehme>Boehme, Mike, [https://
Sebastian grew up surrounded by music and musicians, including [[Burl Ives]] and [[Woody Guthrie]], and hearing such players as [[Lead Belly]] and [[Mississippi John Hurt]] in his own neighborhood.<ref name="SHOF">[http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/exhibits/bio/C6011 Songwriter Hall of Fame John Sebastian biography.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311183101/http://songwritershalloffame.org/exhibits/bio/C6011 |date=March 11, 2012 }}. Retrieved January 5, 2009.</ref><ref name="JBS">[http://www.johnbsebastian.com/bio.html John Sebastian biography at www.johnbsebastian.com] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100210200516/http://www.johnbsebastian.com/bio.html |date=February 10, 2010 }}. Retrieved January 6, 2009.</ref> He graduated from [[Blair Academy]], a private boarding school in [[Blairstown, New Jersey]], in 1962.<ref>Blagden, Nellie, [http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20069148,00.html "Talk About a Steady Job— Miss Ellen Has Toiled at Blair Academy For 69 Years,"] ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'', September 26, 1977, archived online at People.com. Retrieved June 3, 2015.</ref> He next attended [[New York University]] for just over a year, but dropped out as he became more interested in musical pursuits.<ref name=echoes /><ref>Tuma, Debbie, [http://www.die-augenweide.de/spoon/story/jbs_interv2.htm "John Sebastian: Finding His Roots" (interview with John Sebastian)], die-augenweide.de. Retrieved June 8, 2015.</ref>
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Sebastian was joined by [[Zal Yanovsky]], [[Steve Boone]], and [[Joe Butler]] in the Spoonful, which was named after "The Coffee Blues," a Mississippi John Hurt song. [[The Lovin' Spoonful]], which blended folk-rock and pop with elements of blues, [[country music|country]], and [[jug band|jug band music]], became part of the American response to the [[British Invasion]], and was noted for such [[chart-topper|hits]] as "[[Do You Believe in Magic (song)|Do You Believe in Magic]]", "Jug Band Music", "[[You Didn't Have to Be So Nice]]", "[[Daydream (1966 song)|Daydream]]", "[[Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?]]", "[[Summer in the City (The Lovin' Spoonful song)|Summer in the City]]", "Rain on the Roof", "Nashville Cats", "[[Darling Be Home Soon]]", and "Six O'Clock".<ref name="RRHOF" /><ref>Bogdanov, Vladimir, et al., ed. [https://books.google.com/books?id=xR7MdpuSlAEC&pg=PT213 ''All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide to Popular Music'', 4th ed.] Backbeat Books, 2001, p. 240.</ref>
The band, however, began to implode after [[The Lovin' Spoonful's drug bust|a 1966 marijuana bust]] in [[San Francisco]] involving Yanovsky, a Canadian citizen. Facing [[deportation]], he revealed the name of his dealer to police, which caused a fan backlash and added to the internal tension already created by the diverging interests of the band members. Neither Sebastian nor Butler
Sebastian would reunite with the band in 1980 and appear in the film ''[[One-Trick Pony (film)|One-Trick Pony]]''. He would later be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, this was the last time Sebastian would play with the original line up.
In 2020 Sebastian reunited with Lovin Spoonful members Joe Butler and Steve Boone.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kreps |first=Daniel |date=2020-03-01 |title=See Lovin' Spoonful Members Reunite Onstage for First Time in 20 Years |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/lovin-spoonful-reunite-benefit-concert-960233/ |access-date=2024-08-05 |website=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref>
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Sebastian has stated that his musical career suffered in the early 1970s from being out of step with the trends set by emerging artists such as [[Alice Cooper]], and that he made more money by buying and selling real estate than he did from his music. After ''Tarzana Kid'' failed to chart, Sebastian sought a release from his Reprise contract, which required him to make one more album. However, in 1976, Sebastian had an unexpected No. 1 single with "[[Welcome Back (John Sebastian song)|Welcome Back]]", the [[theme song]] to the sitcom ''[[Welcome Back, Kotter]]'',<ref name="SHOF" /> causing the label to rush the production of an album, also titled ''[[Welcome Back (John Sebastian album)|Welcome Back]]''.<ref name=echoes /> Despite the "monster hit" status of the song "Welcome Back", Sebastian expressed frustration that Reprise did not do more to promote the associated album, his last for Reprise.<ref name=kiersh /><ref name=unter5>Unterberger, Richie, [http://www.richieunterberger.com/sebastian5.html "Liner Notes for John Sebastian's 'Welcome Back'" (Collector's Choice Music reissue CD)], richieunterberger.com. Retrieved June 5, 2015.</ref> His later albums have been released primarily on [[independent record labels]]. The song, Sebastian's only top-40 solo hit, found new life 28 years later when a sample from it became the hook for [[rapper]] [[Mase]]'s 2004 hit "[[Welcome Back (Mase song)|Welcome Back]]".
In 2001, [[Rhino Entertainment]] re-released all five of Sebastian's Reprise albums, plus the non-LP "Give Us a Break" single, on [[compact disc|CD]] in a limited-edition [[box set]] entitled ''Faithful Virtue: The Reprise Recordings''. The box set also included live recordings of Sebastian's entire Woodstock performance and six previously unreleased songs recorded in mono from a performance at the [[Winterland Ballroom]] in [[San Francisco]] on October 4, 1969.<ref>Planer, Lindsay, [https://www.allmusic.com/album/faithful-virtue-the-reprise-recordings-mw0000967198 "Allmusic Review: John Sebastian, Faithful Virtue: The Reprise Recordings"], October 10, 2001. Retrieved June 4, 2015.</ref> In 2006, Sebastian's five Reprise albums were reissued as individual CDs by [[Collectors' Choice Music]], with new liner notes by [[Richie Unterberger]].<ref name=unter1 /><ref name=unter2 /><ref name=unter3 /><ref name=unter4 /><ref name=unter5 />
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In November 1992, Sebastian made a cameo appearance on the sitcom ''[[Married... with Children]]'' (Season 7, Episode 9, "Rock of Ages") as himself, along with other 1960s rock stars [[Spencer Davis]], [[Richie Havens]], [[Robby Krieger]], [[Mark Lindsay]], and [[Peter Noone]].
Sebastian appeared on the [[Eels (band)|Eels]]' 2005 release, ''[[Blinking Lights and Other Revelations]]''.<ref>[https://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/e/eels-blinking.shtml Pop Matters entry for review of ''Blinking Lights and Other Revelations.''] Retrieved January 12, 2009.</ref>
On January 12, 2014, Sebastian appeared on ''[[CBS News Sunday Morning]]'' to talk about his career with and without [[the Lovin' Spoonful]], [[Eric Clapton]], and the [[C. F. Martin & Company|Martin guitar]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/videos/the-mystique-of-martin-guitars/|title=The mystique of Martin Guitars|website=cbsnews.com|access-date=November 3, 2017}}</ref>
In 2016, Sebastian appeared on [[Richard Barone]]'s ''Sorrows & Promises: Greenwich Village in the 1960s'' album, playing harmonica, autoharp and making a vocal cameo on Barone's cover of the Lovin' Spoonful song "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?"
==Influence and legacy==
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| 1970|| [[MGM Records|MGM]]<br> SE-4654 || ''[[John B. Sebastian (album)|John B. Sebastian]]'' ||{{center| – }}|| Vinyl||Exact same album as Reprise RS 6379, with different cover art. Withdrawn from market in 1970.
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| 1989|| [[Rhino Entertainment|Rhino]]<br>
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| 1996|| [[King Biscuit Flower Hour#King Biscuit Flower Hour Records|King Biscuit Flower Hour]]<br> KBFHCD016 || ''John Sebastian Live on the King Biscuit Flower Hour'' ||{{center| – }}||CD (original and reissue)<br> DVD Audio (reissue)|| Recording of a live concert in [[Brookhaven, NY]], Sept. 9. 1979. Reissued several times with different running order and/or some tracks omitted as:<br>''From the Front Row ... Live!'' (DVD Audio, Silverline, 2003) <br>''John Sebastian Live'' (CD, [[EMI-Capitol Special Markets]], 2006; not the same as the 1970 MGM vinyl LP of the same name) <br>''Nashville Cats'' (CD, Disky (Netherlands), 2001).
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