Zal Yanovsky

THE former Lovin’ Spoonful guitarist Zal Yanovsky, who abandoned the wild rock-star life for a quiet existence as a restaurant owner in Canada, has died at his home in Kingston, Ontario, six days before his 58th birthday.

Famed for such hits as Do You Believe in Magic? and Summer in the City, the Lovin’ Spoonful enjoyed a brief reign in the mid-Sixties as America’s answer to the Beatles. The quartet, led by singer/guitarist John Sebastian, racked up seven consecutive top-ten singles in the US in 16 months.

Yanovsky, a tall man of Russian-Jewish background, joined forces with Sebastian in New York City in 1964. The pair shared a love of folk music, and both had played in the Mugwumps, a short-lived combo that also included the future Mamas and Papas members Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty.

The Lovin’ Spoonful, named after a Mississippi John Hurt song, took shape in 1965 when Yanovsky and Sebastian teamed up with drummer Joe Butler and bass player Steve Boone. The group’s first single, Do You Believe In Magic? reached the top ten that year. Its follow-up, You Don’t Have To Be So Nice, also went into the top ten in early 1966. Summer in the City was their sole number one hit. Besides recording five albums, the band also did the soundtracks to Woody Allen’s What’s Up, Tiger Lily? and Francis Ford Coppola’s You’re A Big Boy Now.

Yanovsky was the zany member of the group. He was the focal point during live performances, but his biting humour often rubbed his colleagues the wrong way, especially when one of his girlfriends ended up with Sebastian. In 1966, Yanovsky was faced with deportation after he and Boone were arrested for possession of marijuana in San Francisco. They turned in their dealer, which damaged the band’s hipster credentials. Amid rising tensions, Yanovsky was voted out of the band in 1967, but remained on amicable terms with his colleagues. He recorded a solo album, Alive and Well in Argentina, in 1968.

Sebastian, the band’s creative force, left that year, and the band soon broke up. The original members reunited in 1980 to appear in the Paul Simon film, One-Trick Pony, and then in 2000 when the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Yanovsky dabbled in television before going into the restaurant business. He ran Chez Piggy, a much-praised eating place in Kingston.