Watch Lovin’ Spoonful Members Reunite For The First Time In 20 Years
The surviving members of the Lovin’ Spoonful reunited last night for the first time in 20 years at a tribute show to the band that was presented by the Wild Honey Orchestra and benefited the Autism Think Tank. It was the first time that John Sebastian, Joe Butler, and Steve Boone have played together since the group’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2000.
While Butler and Boone still play shows under the band’s name, John Sebastian does not. In a statement on his website, he clarified the nature of the band’s reunion in light of the 2002 death of band co-founder Zal Yanovsky:
Since Steve, Joe, and I agreed to attend, I’ve gotten correspondence about a Lovin’ Spoonful “reunion,” and I want to clarify: Spoonful reunions without Zalman Yanovsky are more like get-togethers. Most of the music at the show is played by a great assortment of studio musicians, not always including us. It’ll be a blast, but a reunion would be a misnomer.
They performed their The Number Ones hit “Summer In The City,” and reminisced about the creation of the song. Sebastian also did his Welcome Back Kotter theme, and artists like the Monkees’ Micky Dolenz and Wilson Phillips’ Carnie Wilson sang Lovin Spoonful songs, as well. Watch video from the show below.