Sunday March 20, 2022 “You Baby” Lovin Spoonful
"You Baby" is a song written by Cynthia Weill and Barry Mann that was originally recorded by the Ronettes although it was not a hit for them. It was then recorded by the Lovin Spoonful to be included on their 1966 top twenty album Hums of the Lovin Spoonful but it was not a hit single for them either.
Like their Brille Building friends Gerry Goffin & Carole King, Cynthia Weill & Barry Mann are responsible for countless top forty hits in the 60s and 70s and wrote one of the most iconic ballads of all time “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” recorded by the Righteous Brothers and produced by Phil Spector. In 1999 performing rights organization BMI ranked “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” as the most-played song on American radio and television in the 20th century.
The Lovin Spoonful was only active from 1965-1968, which John Sebastian, founder, lead singer and primary songwriter described as "two glorious years and a tedious one." During that short period, when the charts were dominated by that British group, the Beatles along with their UK friends, the Lovin' Spoonful had their first seven singles chart in the Top Ten.
One of the most successful American bands during the so-called British Invasion they found a niche with upbeat, compact songs that offered an alternative to the ‘Merseybeat’ sound. At the height of their relatively short season in the sun the Spoonful would have their music included in movies by both Woody Allen and Francis Ford Coppola.
The Lovin' Spoonful were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 6, 2000 and the group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2006.
Stay safe and well…and this is a rare early Lovin' Spoonful song that has lead vocals done by drummer Joe Butler, not John Sebastian.