Ep. 20 - JOHN SEBASTIAN ("Do You Believe in Magic?")

Growing up in Greenwich Village, New York, John Sebastian cut his teeth on American roots music. He formed the Lovin’ Spoonful in the mid-1960s, blending folk, blues, country, rock, and pop to create a string of seven consecutive Top 10 hits, including “Do You Believe in Magic,” “You Didn’t Have to Be So Nice,” “Daydream,” “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind,” Summer in the City,” Rain on the Roof,” and “Nashville Cats.” Each of them was written or co-written by Sebastian, and two of his compositions - “Summer in the City” and “Do You Believe in Magic”- are listed in Rolling Stone magazine’s ranking of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.” In 1976 he scored a #1 solo hit with “Welcome Back,” the theme song to the popular TV show Welcome Back Kotter. He has continued to create engaging roots-oriented sounds with his celebrated J-Band. The Lovin’ Spoonful was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, and Sebastian became a member of the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in 2008. His songs have been recorded by Johnny Cash, Joe Cocker, B.B. King, Sarah Vaughan, Quincy Jones, John Mellencamp, Dolly Parton, Tom Petty, Elvis Costello, the Everly Brothers, Isaac Hayes, Flatt & Scruggs, Art Garfunkel, the Bee Gees, The Mamas and the Papas, Bell and Sebastian, Rumer, and many others.