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JOHN SEBASTIAN

John B. Sebastian had "a history of writing rock'n'roll songs that even today (in 1976) are unmatched in their poetic and melodic genius." In 1976, co-creator and producer Alan Sacks commissioned the gentle-voiced folk-rock singer John Sebastian of the good-time pop-rock band Lovin' Spoonful to write the theme song for the TV sitcom, 'Welcome Back, Kotter'. 

Co-creator and star Gabriel Kaplan played the Brooklyn-born teacher who was returning to teach in his old high school from which he had graduated 10 years previously. John Travolta played Barbarino. Applying his wide, skillful use of the harmonica, the song John Sebastian wrote turned out to be an overnight top-of-the-charts hit. Records producer Steve Barri of Warner Bros. believed, "John found the groove himself. He wrote a song that people of any age could relate to. It's a style he perfected with the Spoonful." 

Speaking to the 'Sentinel Star' and King Features Syndicate, Inc., John Sebastian recounted, "They said, 'Write the theme song,' and I said, 'What's the title?' and they said, 'Kotter', and I said, 'Gimme a chance!' So I read the original treatment (the 10-page storyline) and wrote 'Welcome Back' and the next week they made that the show's title. Then a few weeks later, some network guy had a flash of brilliance - 'If we call it 'Welcome Back', it'll sound like a nostalgia show. So we should call it 'Welcome Back, Kotter'.' 

"Here was this little premise called Kotter. The gist of the story was that this underachiever, who was pretty smart in school, got his first job at his old high school. It was great and Kotter loved it. Anyway, I imagined this guy's situation, like, what it would be like if I ever became a teacher at my old school – how I would want it to be. I think the way it turned out, all I was doing was helping Alan Sacks to lay out the original plans. 

"Like (the song) 'Daydream', I wrote 'Welcome Back' in 15 minutes. Generally, they're hits if you write them fast. The idea that can be put down in 15 minutes is very often simple enough to be commercial. I've never been anti-commercial. I want a lot of people to hear my music. Commercial is just likable. I strive to make music that's likable." 

Speaking to 'The Washington Post' and the 'Los Angeles Times', Steve Barri explained the growing popularity of TV themes in the American Bicentennial year, "It's a combination of things. Some of it is just coincidence, but a lot of it has to do with the way ABC went about programing their shows last fall (the 1975-76 season). See, they wanted to catch the young audience during the family hours (8pm-9pm Eastern Time), so they geared their shows to the younger market. With shows like 'Welcome Back' and 'Happy Days' they reach the kids, who are the ones really into records and record-buying." 

In February 1976, the theme from the Aaron Spelling's TV series, 'S.W.A.T.' (Special Weapons And Tactics) topped the singles list (three months before 'Welcome Back' achieved the same result in May 1976). Steve Barri continued, "We (the band Rhythm Heritage) took a chance. What they had been playing on TV was only 60 and 65 seconds long, but it had a strong rhythmic thing, a disco feel similar to 'Shaft', going for it. So we repeated the beginning a few times, added an instrumental break. 

"'Welcome Back' is like any traditional hit song in that it has something you can relate to quickly. What I always look for in a song is something that will grab the listener before he's 30 seconds into the song. You have to have a hook by then. I hadn't even seen the show 'S.W.A.T.' but my son liked the show and the theme and wanted a record of the theme but none was available. When I heard the song it reminded me of the 'Shaft' theme. I thought it would make a good single. 

"The producers of the show were thrilled that we were interested so I got some studio musicians (Rhythm Heritage) and recorded a single. We decided to make it a disco number so that radio stations would have added incentive to play it. That was a wise decision, as it turned out. The single broke in discos in New York and Philadelphia. It grew into such a disco hit that the stations had to play it." 

Of the themes on TV, "We had to rework and stretch all those (less-than-a-minute television) themes (to at least two-and-a-half minutes). For instance on the 'S.W.A.T.' theme we took the basic music and turned it into a disco number by doing things like adding an instrumental break. On 'Welcome Back' I went to work with John Sebastian and added a chorus and a harmonica solo. All you have to do is be careful to maintain the feel of the show and not to add anything that doesn't fit the main theme music." 

In June 1976, the song 'Happy Days' performed by Pratt & McClain reached No. 5 in the singles list. Steve Barri elaborated, "It was a case of they're being in the right place at the right time. We needed somebody to do the song, and they were available." The 'Los Angeles Times' reported, "Pratt and McClain's 'Happy Days' was a case of Steve Barri supplying a product to meet a demand. Paul Drew, an executive in the RKO radio chain, informed a music publisher (song writers Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox) about the many requests for a 'Happy Days' single and stated that if an adequate one were recorded, his stations would play it. The publisher told Steve Barri, who responded immediately." 

Steve Barri continued, "We were looking for a top Top 40-type song for this new group (Pratt & McClain). The 'Happy Days' theme was a natural for their first record. About two days after I heard about the idea we had put together a record and had given it to the stations. They started playing it right away even though it wasn't in the stores until nine days later. I don't really care for the record but it's still a great way to break in a new group. 

"Whether I do more of these TV themes isn't that important. What is important is that television producers now recognize that a good marketable theme can have great publicity value for a show. So these producers may start hiring more quality singers and writers to come up with themes. The television theme business may become a good outlet for material and a good way to expose artists." 

In 1970, John Sebastian went solo, "It was just about time for us (Lovin' Spoonful) to break up. The chemistry of the original aggregation was gone. We figured we had had a good three, four years (1965-69) and that was enough." Manager Bob Cavallo observed, "He was in a second adolescence. He made a lot of money touring. With him and his guitar, he could pick up a couple hundred thousand dollars a year (in those days). In New York, even in the worst part of his career, he was worth $7,500 per concert."

It was reported after a successful Woodstock Festival performance, "critics began reacting rabidly to John’s tie-dyed sacharine image. To the hip establishment, he became a cloying throwback to an earlier, naively innocent day." Bob Cavallo pointed out, "John wrote a hundred songs in three years and then 25 the next four. His interest just leveled off." 

John Sebastian voiced, "It didn't take too long to realize there was nowhere to go with it. I stopped at the point where I realized my music and humanity in general was taking a toll. I'm not an altogether kind, gentle, beautiful person. I thought the abuse I took was very silly. Tie-dyeing implied a lot of things to different people. I was just enjoying some really serious tie-dyeing." 

John Sebastian was the son of a classical harmonica player. He grew up in Greenwich Village (also known as "The Village") in New York City. Since the early '60s, John Sebastian stated, "The Village was a boiling point for styles, from the old Mississippi blues guys to Jewish banjo players in their 20s. I profited tremendously from the exposure, the Bleecker and MacDougal (streets) clubs and coffeehouses. There was no other group that drew on those experiences, sources. Shortly after it (Lovin' Spoonful) disbanded, I went to California, mostly for professional reasons." 

The 'Sentinel Star' reported, "The first basic change in the Village had started and other musicians left. The streets became ruled by the drug users and it was no longer inspirational, or safe, to stay." John Sebastian continued, "The real death came when a popular coffeehouse in the Village got eaten by a fast-food chain. But now (in 1976) the coffeehouse is back and other coffeehouses are struggling along. A renaissance is happening."

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