Jacobsen (center) with John Sebastian (left) and Zal Yanovsky (right) in 1966.
Erik Jacobsen (born May 19, 1940) is an American record producer, song publisher and artist manager. He is best known for his work in the 1960s with Tim Hardin, the Lovin' Spoonful, the Charlatans, and Sopwith Camel, and later with Norman Greenbaum, Tazmanian Devils and Chris Isaak. Retiring after forty years in the studio, he began working in video production. His first major video project was an auto-biographical webside, All About Erik, launched in 2019. His next, Erik's Travels, features his prize-winning travel documentaries, and was launched in 2024.
He was born in Oak Park, Illinois, on the west side of Chicago.[1] His early musical influences were wide-ranging, including a unique opportunity to listen to the first urban radio stations broadcasting polka, blues and country.
Musician
Jacobsen (left) with Knob Lick Upper 10,000, 1963
In high school he played the tuba and sousaphone. Later, at Oberlin College he began playing bluegrass style banjo and by his senior year, took over leadership of the Oberlin bluegrass band, the Plumb Creek Boys. After graduation in 1962, he formed the Knob Lick Upper 10,000, with Dwain Story and Pete Childs, also Oberlin graduates.[2] They performed at The Bitter End coffee house in New York City, where they were signed by manager Albert Grossman. They recorded two albums for Mercury Records, Introducing The Knob Lick Upper 10,000 (1962), and Work Out!!! (1963),[2] and were among the first folk and bluegrass artists to play Carnegie Hall.[3]
In 1964, after hearing the Beatles, Jacobsen quit the Knob Lick Upper 10,000, intending to produce records that combined folk music with electric instruments and drums. Returning to New York, he soon met John Sebastian, who had similar ideas, and they began working with other musicians, including Jerry Yester, Zal Yanovsky, Jesse Colin Young, Cass Elliot, and Denny Doherty.[2] Jacobsen produced various demos for different combinations of these musicians, prototypes of the folk rock style.
The Lovin' Spoonful
Starting in 1965, Jacobsen, John Sebastian, and Yanovsky created the group The Lovin' Spoonful. Jacobsen produced the albums Do You Believe in Magic, Daydream, and Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful,[2] which yielded seven straight top-10 singles,[4] including "Do You Believe in Magic", "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice", "Daydream", and the number one hit, "Summer in the City", which was subsequently voted the number one summertime single of the 20th century by Billboard Magazine.[5] The Lovin’ Spoonful also recorded soundtracks for Woody Allen's first movie What’s Up Tiger Lily as well as Francis Ford Coppola's You're a Big Boy Now. Jacobsen published the band's original songs through his Faithful Virtue Publishing Company and was a major factor in their development.[2] Sebastian has said, "I felt like Erik, just as a collaborator, was a fifth member of the Spoonful."[6]
Tim Hardin
Jacobsen discovered singer-songwriter Tim Hardin in 1964, managed him, and produced his first album, Tim Hardin 1.[2] The album includes modern classics like "Reason to Believe", "Misty Roses", "Don't Make Promises", and "How Can We Hang on to a Dream". To encourage Hardin to write original songs, Jacobsen bought him a tape recorder and paid him $50 for every song Hardin recorded that had at least two verses and a chorus.[7] Songs that Hardin later recorded as demos for Jacobsen also include "If I Were a Carpenter" and others that appeared on Tim Hardin 2. In 1964, Jacobsen also recorded the original blues-style recordings that were eventually released as Tim Hardin 4 on Verve Records.
Other artists
Jacobsen (left) with Chris Isaak in 1998.
Jacobsen expanded his search for talent to California and worked there with the first of the newly emerging San Francisco rock bands, The Charlatans. While having little recording success, the band served as a launching pad for the songwriter and singer Dan Hicks, composer of the iconic song "I Scare Myself," among many others.
In 1966, Jacobsen recorded the group Sopwith Camel.[2] Their song "Hello Hello" was the first pop hit to come out of San Francisco's psychedelic era.[8] He went on to produce their 1973 cult classic, The Miraculous Hump Returns from the Moon.
In 1968, he began working with Norman Greenbaum.[2] They made three albums together, and Jacobsen produced Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky",[2] which became a number one worldwide hit and went on to be one of the most licensed recordings of all time, appearing in many TV shows, films, and commercials.[9]
In 1969, Jacobsen produced and published the song "Mill Valley", a number one Adult Contemporary hit for Rita Abrams, a kindergarten school teacher, singing with the Strawberry Point School Third Grade Class. They were featured on the cover of Life magazine and were guests on The Smothers Brothers TV show. A young Francis Ford Coppola made a video for the song.[10]
In 1975, Jacobsen began working with singer/songwriter Brian Elliot. One album was released by Warner Brothers Records. In 1986 the Elliot/Jacobsen Publishing Company had Elliot's song "Papa Don't Preach" covered by Madonna. Her record went on to become an international number one hit, selling over one hundred million copies.
In 1980–1984, he produced two albums with the San Francisco ska- and reggae-oriented band Tazmanian Devils on Warner Brothers Records.
In 1981, he teamed up with Chris Isaak as Isaak's producer, publisher, and manager.[2] They worked together through 1998, making seven albums, including the double platinum album Heart Shaped World. The breakthrough single, "Wicked Game", was made into a music video, which has been voted one of MTV's sexiest videos of all time.[11] Isaak's music has also been featured in numerous movies, TV shows, and advertisements.
As a videographer, his work on All About Erik and Erik's Travels have been recognized and awarded laurels by numerous film festivals worldwide.
Song publisher
Jacobsen's song publishing credits include, among others:
Lovin' Spoonful and Tim Hardin published by Faithful Virtue Music Company
Sopwith Camel and Norman Greenbaum published by Great Honesty Music
Chris Isaak published by C. Isaak Music Publishing Co.
Brian Elliot through Elliot/Jacobsen Music Publishing Co.
Dan Hicks and Rita Abrams published by Oh Boy Music Publishing Company
Discography
Knob Lick Upper 10,000: The Introduction Of Knob Lick Upper 10,000 (1963, Banjo)
John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter and musician who founded the rock band the Lovin' Spoonful. He made an impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969 and scored a U.S. No. 1 hit in 1976 with "Welcome Back."
The Lovin' Spoonful is an American folk-rock band formed in Greenwich Village, New York City, in 1964. The band was among the most popular groups in the United States for a short period in the mid-1960s and their music and image influenced many of the contemporary rock acts of their era. Beginning in July1965 with their debut single "Do You Believe in Magic", the band had seven consecutive singles reach the Top Ten of the U.S. charts in the eighteen months that followed, including the number-two hits "Daydream" and "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" and the chart-topping "Summer in the City".
Christopher Joseph Isaak is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional actor. Noted for his reverb-laden rockabilly revivalist style and wide vocal range, he is popularly known for his breakthrough hit and signature song "Wicked Game"; as well as international hits such as "Blue Hotel", "Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing", and "Somebody's Crying".
James Timothy Hardin was an American folk and blues songwriter. As well as releasing his own material, several of his songs, including "If I Were a Carpenter" and "Reason to Believe", became hits for other artists.
"Spirit in the Sky" is a song by American singer-songwriter Norman Greenbaum, originally written and recorded by Greenbaum and released in late 1969 from the album of the same name. The single became a gold record in the United States, selling two million copies from 1969 to 1970, and reached No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 where it lasted for 15 weeks in the Top 100. Billboard ranked the record the No. 22 song of 1970. It also climbed to No. 1 on the UK, Australian and Canadian charts in 1970.
Speak of the Devil is the seventh studio album by the American rock musician Chris Isaak, released in 1998.
Sopwith Camel was an American rock band associated with the San Francisco psychedelic rock scene of the mid-1960s.
"Summer in the City" is a song by the American folk-rock band the Lovin' Spoonful. Written by John Sebastian, Mark Sebastian and Steve Boone, the song was released as a non-album single in July 1966 and was included on the album Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful later that year. The single was the Lovin' Spoonful's fifth to break the top ten in the United States and their only to reach number one. A departure from the band's lighter sound, the recording features a harder rock style. The lyrics differ from most songs about the summer by lamenting the heat, contrasting the unpleasant warmth and noise of the daytime with the relief offered by the cool night, which allows for the nightlife to begin.
The Mugwumps were a 1960s folk rock band, based in New York City. They released one self-titled album in 1967 and two singles. The Mugwumps found little success during their short time together in 1964, and are better known for launching the careers of Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty, who went on to co-found the Mamas & the Papas, and John Sebastian and Zal Yanovsky, who both co-founded the Lovin' Spoonful.
Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful is the third studio album by the American folk rock band the Lovin' Spoonful. It was released in November1966 by Kama Sutra Records. It peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.
Steve Boone is an American bass guitarist and music producer, best-known as a member of the American folk-rock group the Lovin' Spoonful. Steve co-wrote two of the groups' biggest hits, "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice" and "Summer in the City".
Tim Hardin 4 is an album by folk artist Tim Hardin, released in 1969.
If I Were a Carpenter is an album by American singer Bobby Darin, released in 1966. It was a significant change in direction for Darin considering his previous album was a collection of show tunes.
John B. Sebastian is the debut album by American singer-songwriter John Sebastian, previously best known as the co-founder and primary singer-songwriter of the 1960s folk-rock band the Lovin' Spoonful. The album, released in January 1970, includes several songs that would become staples of Sebastian's live performances during the early and mid-1970s. Most notably, the album included "She's a Lady", Sebastian's first solo single, and an alternate version of "I Had a Dream" which was used to open the soundtrack album of the 1970 documentary film Woodstock. John B. Sebastian also featured support performances by David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash several months before that trio agreed to work together as a performing unit.
"You Didn't Have to Be So Nice" is a song by the American folk-rock band the Lovin' Spoonful. Written by John Sebastian and Steve Boone, it was issued on a non-album single in November1965. The song was the Lovin' Spoonful's second-consecutive single to enter the top ten in the United States, peaking at number ten. It was later included on the band's second album, Daydream, released in March1966.
"Daydream" is a song by the American folk-rock band the Lovin' Spoonful. Written by John Sebastian, it was issued as a single in February1966 and was the title track of the band's second album, Daydream, released the following month. The song was the Lovin' Spoonful's third consecutive single to enter the top ten in the United States, and it was their best performing to that point, reaching number two. The single's European release coincided with a British and Swedish promotional tour, leading the song to be the band's first major hit outside North America. It topped sales charts in Canada and Sweden, and it was ultimately the band's most successful record in the United Kingdom, where it reached number two.
Rita Abrams is an American songwriter, performer and writer. Her song "Mill Valley", recorded with children at the school where she was teaching, was released under the name Miss Abrams and the Strawberry Point Fourth Grade Class in 1970, becoming a Billboard Hot 100 and Easy Listening hit and being nominated for a Grammy. In 1980, she won an Emmy for the music for I Want It All Now!, an NBC documentary about life in Marin County, California.
"Darling Be Home Soon" is a song written by John Sebastian of the Lovin' Spoonful for the soundtrack of the 1966 Francis Ford Coppola film You're a Big Boy Now. It appeared on the Lovin' Spoonful's 1967 soundtrack album You're a Big Boy Now. Sebastian performed his composition at Woodstock; it was the fourth song out of the five he performed at the 1969 music festival in White Lake, New York.
Bob Rafkin was an American singer, songwriter and guitar player.
The Lovin' Spoonful Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the folk-rock band the Lovin' Spoonful. Released in 2000 on Buddha Records, the compilation marked the first digital remaster of the band's material taken from the original multi-track master tapes, which had been rediscovered after having been lost for decades. The album contains every Top 40 hit single enjoyed by the band in the United States including its only chart-topper, "Summer in the City." The original recordings were produced by Erik Jacobsen, and originally released on Kama Sutra Records.
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