Nashville Cats

Last updated

"Nashville Cats"
Nashville Cats picture sleeve.jpg
U.S. picture sleeve
Single by the Lovin' Spoonful
from the album Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful
B-side "Full Measure"
ReleasedNovember 1966 (1966-11)
Genre
Length2:34
Label Kama Sutra
Songwriter(s) John Sebastian
Producer(s) Erik Jacobsen
The Lovin' Spoonful singles chronology
"Rain on the Roof"
(1966)		"Nashville Cats"
(1966)		"Darling Be Home Soon"
(1967)
Audio
"Nashville Cats" on YouTube

"Nashville Cats" is a song by the American folk-rock band the Lovin' Spoonful. Written by John Sebastian, the song appeared on the band's 1966 album Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful , and it was also issued on a single released the same day as the album. The single peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, marking the seventh and final time the band reached the American Top Ten.

Contents

Composition and recording

["Nashville Cats"] happened because the [Lovin'] Spoonful played Nashville ... We go in [to the Holiday Inn basement] and get beers when this guy shows up with a Telecaster and this crappy old amp. He sits down on the amp. There's no stage. He starts playing and it's incredible what comes out. ... [Zal Yanovsky and I] both are saying, "How is it that this guy that doesn't even have a stage can take us to town, and just kill it, in 20 minutes?" [1]

– John Sebastian

John Sebastian composed "Nashville Cats" as an ode to the Nashville A-Team, a loose group of session musicians based in Nashville, Tennessee. [2] He later recalled that after the Lovin' Spoonful played a show in Nashville, he and Zal Yanovsky, the band's lead guitarist, were amazed by an unknown guitarist, who played the bar of the Holiday Inn hotel at which the band was staying. [1] [nb 1] Sebastian composed the song weeks later at his home in East Quogue, New York. [1] [6]

Though the Lovin' Spoonful's music blended influences from blues, country and folk music, their music was focused towards the popular music market. [7] Each of the band members enjoyed elements of country music, [8] particularly Yanovsky, whose lead guitar playing often drew from influences like the rockabilly guitarist Carl Perkins. [9] Steve Boone, the band's bassist, recalled that though the group's earlier songs had sometimes hinted at country, on "Nashville Cats" they "consciously tried to make it sound country, like we were really Nashville cats". [8]

"Nashville Cats" features an electric guitar, a pedal steel guitar and what Sebastian terms "sponge rubber guitar playing" on rhythm guitar. [10] The pedal steel guitar had been leftover from a previous session, and Sebastian quickly learned to play it in the 45 minutes before the band began recording. [11]

Like Boone, the rock author John Einarson describes the song as "pure country". [8] By contrast, the author David Dachs describes the song as a parody, [12] and the journalist Peter Doggett writes that though it was a sincere tribute from Sebastian, the song sounds "condescending" and a "pastiche of Southern slang". [13] The author James E. Perone considers the song an example of pop music. [14]

Release and promotion

Released as psychedelic music began to reach its height in popularity, "Nashville Cats" stood in contrast to the music being recorded by the Lovin' Spoonful's peers. [13] The band were cynical of the possibility of the single succeeding in the pop charts, [8] but they hoped it could become a crossover hit in the country music market. [11] The band's record label, Kama Sutra Records, were similarly skeptical of the single's chances; [8] as a hedge, they opted to add "Full Measure" – a song more suggestive of psychedelia [15] – as the B-side. [8] [nb 2] Kama Sutra issued "Nashville Cats" as a single in the U.S. in late November 1966, simultaneously with the release of the album on which it appeared, Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful . [22] [nb 3] The single exceeded expectations and became a Top Ten hit; [8] on December 17, 1966, it entered Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart, and it peaked six weeks later at number eight. Since October 1965, the band had had six singles enter the Hot 100, and "Nashville Cats" was their seventh and final single to do so. [19]

Kama Sutra issued "Nashville Cats" in the U.K. on December 2, 1966. [25] The single reached number 23 on Melody Maker magazine's single chart. [26] The Lovin' Spoonful had achieved quick success in the country months earlier, when their single "Daydream" reached number two on the British charts in May 1966, but the band's subsequent singles failed to perform as well. [27] [28] [29] The anonymous reviewer for the Bucks Examiner newspaper suggested that the band's declining fortunes stemmed from their recent releases lacking the striking quality needed to succeed in the singles market, adding that though "Nashville Cats" was "very good", it was "a strange choice for a single". [29]

The Lovin' Spoonful's version of "Nashville Cats" failed to appear on any country charts, but the American bluegrass duo Flatt and Scruggs recorded a cover which reached number 54 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart in 1967. [11]

Charts

Weekly chart performance
Chart (1966–67)Peak
position
Australia National Top 40 ( Go-Set ) [30] 26
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [31] 2
Finland ( Soumen Virallinen ) [32] 38
Netherlands (Veronica Top 40) [33] 14
Netherlands (Hilversum 3 Top 30) [34] 11
Norway (VG-lista) [35] 7
Sweden (Kvällstoppen) [36] 12
U.K. ( Disc ) [37] 25
U.K. ( Melody Maker ) [26] 23
U.K. (Record Retailer) [28] 26
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [19] 8
U.S. Cash Box Top 100 [38] 10
U.S. Record World 100 Top Pops [39] 8

Notes

  1. ↑ The Lovin' Spoonful first toured the American South in November 1965, working as a support act for the girl group the Supremes. [3] They played at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium on November 24. [4] They also toured the South with the Beach Boys in April 1966, but the tour did not stop in Nashville. [5]
  2. ↑ "Full Measure" received strong airplay in several markets, especially Los Angeles; [8] [16] [17] it reached number seven on the "Top 40 Requests" chart of the local Top 40 radio station KRLA, [18] and it entered the national chart for three weeks, peaking at number 87. [19] [11] [20] It also charted in Canada for one week at number 85. [21]
  3. ↑ Some sources state that the single and album came out in December 1966, [23] but William Ruhlmann of AllMusic writes both were released simultaneously, around Thanksgiving 1966. [22] A trade ad for both releases appeared in Cash Box magazine's November 26 issue, [24] and they each debuted on Billboard magazine's charts on December 17. [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zal Yanovsky</span> Canadian musical artist (1944–2002)

Zalman Yanovsky was a Canadian folk-rock musician. Born in Toronto, he was the son of political cartoonist Avrom Yanovsky and teacher Nechama Yanovsky, who died in 1958. He played lead guitar and sang for the Lovin' Spoonful, a rock band which he founded with John Sebastian in 1964. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1996. He was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 as a member of the Lovin’ Spoonful. He was married to actress Jackie Burroughs, with whom he had one daughter, Zoe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Lovin' Spoonful</span> American folk-rock band (1964–1968)

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 July 1965 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".

<i>Whats Up, Tiger Lily?</i> 1966 film by Woody Allen, Senkichi Taniguchi

What's Up, Tiger Lily? is a 1966 American comedy film directed by Woody Allen in his feature-length directorial debut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Butler</span> American musician

Joseph Campbell Butler is an American drummer. He is a member of the Lovin' Spoonful, who had seven top 10 hits between 1965 and 1966.

<i>Daydream</i> (The Lovin Spoonful album) 1966 studio album by the Lovin Spoonful

Daydream is the second album by the Lovin' Spoonful, released in 1966. It features two hits, "Daydream", which reached No. 2 in the U.S. Billboard Top 40 charts, and "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice".

<i>Do You Believe in Magic</i> (album) 1965 studio album by the Lovin Spoonful

Do You Believe in Magic is the debut album by the folk rock group the Lovin' Spoonful. It was released in the United States in November 1965, on the Kama Sutra label. Release in the United Kingdom followed in March 1966. The album features the hits "Do You Believe in Magic" and "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Summer in the City (song)</span> 1966 song by the Lovin Spoonful

"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.

<i>Hums of the Lovin Spoonful</i> Album by 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 November 1966 by Kama Sutra Records. It peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.

<i>Youre a Big Boy Now</i> (album) 1967 soundtrack album by the Lovin Spoonful

You're a Big Boy Now is a soundtrack album by the Lovin' Spoonful, released in 1967, containing music from the Francis Ford Coppola film of the same name. Composed entirely by Spoonful member John Sebastian, it contains several songs performed by the band, as well as instrumental music from the film score.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Boone</span> American Bass Guitarist (born 1943)

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".

<i>The Lovin Spoonful Anthology</i> 1990 compilation album by the Lovin Spoonful

The Lovin' Spoonful Anthology is a compilation album by the folk rock group the Lovin' Spoonful, released in 1990.

<i>The Best of the Lovin Spoonful</i> 1967 greatest hits album by the Lovin Spoonful

The Best of the Lovin' Spoonful is a 1967 compilation album by the Lovin' Spoonful featuring hits and other tracks from their first three albums. It charted the highest of the group's career, hitting number three on the Billboard Top LPs chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Didn't Have to Be So Nice</span> 1966 song by the Lovin Spoonful

"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 November 1965. 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 March 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daydream (The Lovin' Spoonful song)</span> 1966 song by the Lovin Spoonful

"Daydream" is a song by the American folk-rock band the Lovin' Spoonful. Written by John Sebastian, it was issued as a single in February 1966 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darling Be Home Soon</span> 1967 single by the Lovin Spoonful

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?</span> 1966 single by the Lovin Spoonful

"Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" is a song written by John Sebastian and first released by his band the Lovin' Spoonful on their 1965 debut album Do You Believe in Magic. It was the second single released from the album and the most successful, reaching number 2 on the American Billboard charts for the week of June 11, 1966. It also reached number 2 in Canada. In New Zealand, the song charted at number 5.

<i>The Lovin Spoonful Greatest Hits</i> 2000 compilation album by the Lovin Spoonful

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Lovin' Spoonful discography</span>

The Lovin' Spoonful is an American folk-rock band which was originally active between 1964 and 1968. During their original tenure, they released five studio albums, two soundtrack albums, four compilation albums, and fourteen singles in the United States. Between October 1965 and January 1967, their first-seven singles reached the Top Ten in the United States on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart, and the magazine's 1966 end-of-year issue ranked the group as that year's third-best-performing singles artist, after the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Though the Lovin' Spoonful achieved success during the transition to the album era, they and their label remained focused on the singles market; the group's 1966 album Daydream was their only studio album to break the Top Ten of the Billboard Top LPs chart, and its performance was bested only by a 1967 compilation album, The Best of the Lovin' Spoonful, which RIAA certified for gold that year. The Lovin' Spoonful saw diminished success in 1967, when only two of their singles entered the top twenty in the U.S. Following further chart disappointments, the group disbanded in 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rain on the Roof (song)</span> 1966 song by the Lovin Spoonful

"Rain on the Roof" is a song by the American folk-rock band the Lovin' Spoonful. Written by John Sebastian, the song was released as a single in October 1966 and was included on the album Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful the following month. The song reached number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it the Lovin' Spoonful's sixth-consecutive single to reach the top ten in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Lovin' Spoonful's drug bust</span> 1966 drug arrest

In May 1966, Zal Yanovsky and Steve Boone of the Lovin' Spoonful – an American folk-rock band then at the height of its success – were arrested in San Francisco, California, for possessing marijuana. Yanovsky, a Canadian by birth, expected that a conviction would lead to his deportation and a breakup of the band. To avoid this eventuality, the pair cooperated with law enforcement, revealing their drug source at a local party a week after the initial bust.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Tamarkin, Jeff (March 17, 2023). "John Sebastian in Conversation: Recapturing the Lovin' Spoonful 'Magic'". Best Classic Bands. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023.
  2. ↑ Stimeling 2020, p. 63.
  3. ↑ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 96–98.
  4. ↑ Campbell, Mary (November 7, 1965). "On the Record: Supremes Aim Only for Top". The Tennessean . p. 4-S – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Badman 2004, pp. 124, 126.
  6. ↑ Boone & Moss 2014 , p. 179: (Sebastian lived in East Quogue, New York).
  7. ↑ Doggett 2001, pp. 40, 113.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Einarson 2001, p. 58.
  9. ↑ Doggett 2001, p. 40.
  10. ↑ Paulsen, Don (March 1967). "A Listeners Guide to 'Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful', as told to Don Paulsen by John Sebastian". Hit Parader . pp. 22–23 – via the Internet Archive.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Diken, Dennis (2003). Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful (Liner notes). The Lovin' Spoonful. Buddha, BMG Heritage, RCA, Kama Sutra. 74465 99732 2.
  12. ↑ Dachs 1968, p. 41.
  13. 1 2 Doggett 2001, p. 42.
  14. ↑ Perone 2018, p. 115.
  15. ↑ Segretto 2022, pp. 97–98.
  16. ↑ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 147–148.
  17. ↑ Anon. (December 31, 1966). "What a Crazy World". KRLA Beat . p. 8. The Lovin' Spoonful's 'Full Measure' is a large size hit in Los Angeles, but most of the rest of the world, including England, is playing the other side, 'Nashville Cats,' which hasn't even been heard much here.
  18. ↑ "Top 40 Requests". KRLA Beat . December 31, 1966. p. 9.
  19. 1 2 3 4 "The Lovin' Spoonful Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard . Archived from the original on May 21, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  20. ↑ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 148.
  21. ↑ "RPM 100". RPM . February 4, 1967. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  22. 1 2 Ruhlmann, William. "Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 14, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  23. ↑ Anon. (1990). Anthology (Liner notes). The Lovin' Spoonful. Rhino. R2 70944.
  24. ↑ "Nashville Cats". Cash Box . November 26, 1966. p. 5.
  25. ↑ Anon. (November 26, 1966). "Spoonful rush". Disc and Music Echo . p. 4. Lovin' Spoonful rush release a new single next Friday, December 2. Titled 'Nashville Cats' it was written by John Sebastian and is backed with 'Full Measure'.
  26. 1 2 "Melody Maker Pop 50". Melody Maker . January 21, 1967. p. 2.
  27. ↑ Williams 2002, p. 69.
  28. 1 2 "Lovin' Spoonful". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on August 16, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  29. 1 2 Anon. (December 9, 1966). "Discorner: Singles Review Column". Bucks Examiner. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ↑ "Go-Set's National Top 40". Go-Set . April 5, 1967. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  31. ↑ "RPM 100". RPM . February 11, 1967. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  32. ↑ Nyman 2005, p. 199.
  33. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – The Lovin' Spoonful" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 . Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  34. ↑ "The Lovin' Spoonful – Nashville Cats" (in Dutch). Dutch Single Top 100 . Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  35. ↑ "Topp 20 Single 1967-08". VG-lista (in Norwegian). Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  36. ↑ Hallberg 1993, p. 260.
  37. ↑ "Chart Topper Top 50". Disc . January 21, 1967. p. 3.
  38. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 – Week of January 28, 1967". Cash Box . January 28, 1967. p. 4.
  39. ↑ "Record World 100 Top Pops – Week of February 4, 1967". Record World . February 4, 1967. p. 13.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.