When the Lovin" Spoonful first started making music in 1965, the music scene was populated by just a few styles or "genres". There was Pop, R&B, Country, Jazz and Blues. The Pop scene was made up of an old guard where the artist basically was under the control of the record company/producer and had little input into how the product was conceived and created other than singing on the tape once the music bed was in place. There were certainly exceptions to that rule but mostly that was how Pop records were made in the '50's and early '60's. Once the Four Seasons and The Beach Boys made themselves frequent contributors to the the record charts and soon to be followed by the Beatles and the British Invasion, the old guard was put on notice that indeed the times they were a changin'. By 1965 and the Spoonful's first recordings it was becoming common for the artist to write their own songs and play on the recordings and this was exactly what the four of us wanted. John was already writing songs and recording them with Eric Jacobsen our soon to be producer and Joe and I had recently cut some demos with our band the Kingsmen, Zally was touring with a couple of friends that would go on to form The Mamas and Papas so the itch was in all of our blood to get down to it. One of the other characteristics of bands in that time was most of the Pop music they made was rock and roll but not thrash and burn. The songs had melody and usually the words were love songs of one sort or another. The Spoonful early on adopted the phrase "Good Time Music" as our motto. We went on to get our first 7 single releases in the top 10 on the record charts. As the decade wore on though the mood of the public was changing. The Vietnam conflict had revealed itself to be highly unpopular and while the Woodstock festival was deemed the perfect example of how large gatherings of young folks under trying conditions could prove to be an uplifting affair some of the subsequent festivals did not work out as well.
To my eyes while the music scene was fueled by mostly beer, pot and mild hallucinogens, the type of records being made and enjoyed by the audiences were still being driven by substance over style. By that I mean most of the bands and individual performers just got up and played their songs and did not engage in much in the way of over the top behavior. Once however the drug usage turned to harder drugs and the probing eye of the TV camera coupled with the pressure to rise to the top of the heap in a rapidly growing pyramid of rock stars and concert impresarios the need to separate from the throng became the touchstone for up and coming musicians. By the 1980's and MTV…IMHO, the Pop music scene had morphed into to a complete victory of style over substance. This is not to say that there was no quality music out there. Quite the contrary some of the best of my generation was created during that period. What had happened was that style had become the principle ingredient in the rock star's recipe.
I doubt very much that the Lovin' Spoonful would get a record contract today. Not only has the nature of the music scene changed but the incessant demands of the audience to stylistically outdo your competition just would not give us a door to get our foot into.
John Sebastian and his pal from the Even Dozen Jug Band days David Grisman put out a sweet and beautifully recorded album called "Satisfied" 7 years ago and while it was a highly acclaimed collection of folk and jug band classics as well as re-recording some of their own songs hardly a notice was heard from the mainstream arbiters of "what is hip today" I would like to see a return to days of "Good Time Music" where the music is more of the focus than the style of it's presentation. What do you think?
To my eyes while the music scene was fueled by mostly beer, pot and mild hallucinogens, the type of records being made and enjoyed by the audiences were still being driven by substance over style. By that I mean most of the bands and individual performers just got up and played their songs and did not engage in much in the way of over the top behavior. Once however the drug usage turned to harder drugs and the probing eye of the TV camera coupled with the pressure to rise to the top of the heap in a rapidly growing pyramid of rock stars and concert impresarios the need to separate from the throng became the touchstone for up and coming musicians. By the 1980's and MTV…IMHO, the Pop music scene had morphed into to a complete victory of style over substance. This is not to say that there was no quality music out there. Quite the contrary some of the best of my generation was created during that period. What had happened was that style had become the principle ingredient in the rock star's recipe.
I doubt very much that the Lovin' Spoonful would get a record contract today. Not only has the nature of the music scene changed but the incessant demands of the audience to stylistically outdo your competition just would not give us a door to get our foot into.
John Sebastian and his pal from the Even Dozen Jug Band days David Grisman put out a sweet and beautifully recorded album called "Satisfied" 7 years ago and while it was a highly acclaimed collection of folk and jug band classics as well as re-recording some of their own songs hardly a notice was heard from the mainstream arbiters of "what is hip today" I would like to see a return to days of "Good Time Music" where the music is more of the focus than the style of it's presentation. What do you think?
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