Think of ‘Nashville Cats’, surely the sharpest and most observant song written about Music City,TN. Or the timeless ‘Daydream’, perfectly capturing the euphoric feeling of a beautiful, tranquil day. And ‘Summer in the City’ which always reminds me of New York on a hot, humid summer afternoon, sun blazing down. ‘Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head’ has got to be one of the great lyric lines.

John co-founded the Lovin’ Spoonful with Zal Yanovsky in Greenwich Village in 1964, and they somehow exactly captured and embodied the bohemian vibe of the time. Their sound was amazing – an alchemic blend of jug band, Beatles, folk, pop and psychedelia. They called it ‘good time music’ and the energy of rock and roll played a huge part in driving the rhythm of this glorious hybrid. Both John and Zal loved the music of the 1950s. They were big fans of Duane Eddy and Roy Orbison and John would later endlessly talk about the influence of Fred Neil on his writing style. He met Fred when working on a Judy Collins album for the Elektra label in the mid-1960s and was

massively impressed. ‘I was bowled over by Fred,’ he said. ‘He’d written “Candy Man” for Roy Orbison and was involved in a lot of that Tex-Mex stuff. Buddy Holly and him and Buddy Knox and those guys. They were all friends.’

The first Lovin’ Spoonful single ‘Do You Believe In Magic?’ stormed into the Billboard charts in October 1965, beginning a run of seven consecutive Top Ten hits, propelling them to third in the top sellers list the following year, beaten only by The Beatles and the Rolling Stones! Heady days indeed. Their music captured a beautiful moment in time … love and a feeling of optimism, and that hazy, crazy moment still feels inspiring today. The band created a sometimes-underrated legacy that was finally acknowledged by their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.

The Lovin’ Spoonful broke up in 1968, but John continued to release beautiful music. His first solo single, the sweet and gentle ‘She’s A Lady’ remains a personal favourite and his last-minute appearance on the stage of the legendary ‘Woodstock Festival’ in 1969 was an absolute triumph. But his biggest chart success was still to come.

Commissioned to write the theme for a massively successful American TV series, he took the resulting song ‘Welcome Back’ to the top of the Billboard singles chart in May 1976. And in 2024, as an honoured ambassador for the Buddy Holly Educational Foundation, he was presented with a Buddy Holly guitar named after the song ‘I Guess I Was Just A Fool’, to acknowledge his enormous contribution to American music.

Bob Harris