Dirty Linen

John Sebastian was one of the most successful songwriters of the late1960s and early1970s. The leader, lead vocalist, guitar, harmonica, and autoharp player for New York-based folk-rock band The Lovin' Spoonful, Sebastian enjoyed such top-10 hits between 1966 and 1968 as "Do You Believe In Magic," "You Didn't Have To Be So Nice," "Daydream," "Summer In The City," "Rain On The Roof," and "Nashville Cats."

Launching his solo career with a memorable appearance at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, he continued where he left off, singing such self-penned tunes as "She's A Lady" and "I Had A Dream" on his debut solo album. Sebastian's greatest commercial success, however, came with his 1976 single, "Welcome Back" (the theme song, for the television show "Welcome Back, Kotter"), which became a number one hit and sold millions of copies.

Although Sebastian has maintained a low profile since the late-1970s, he's released three memorable albums over the past decade. Tar Beach, his first album in nearly 20 years, was released in 1993 and served as a tribute to the smooth soul sounds that were an early influence.

Sebastian's latest efforts — I Want My Roots (1996) and Chasin' Gus' Ghost (1999) — reflect his love of the jug bands of the 1920s. Although plagued by vocal problems, he compensated for his difficulties by allowing other vocalists to share the spotlight. On Chasin' Gus' Ghost, lead vocals are shared with Geoff Muldaur, Paul Rishell, and producer Jimmy Vivino.

"It's a great thing to have such terrific other voices," Sebastian said by telephone from his home in Woodstock, New York. "My modern day voice is functional, but it's not the exceptional voice that I had in my 20s. I've had to adjust to not having the same range that I had when I was younger."

While the lead singer and instrumental lineup for each tune differs, Sebastian claims that it's a continuation of the trend set by the early jug bands. "This was how the jug band of earlier eras did it," he explained. "Each tune would have a different soloist, a guy who was accompanying on one tune would be the soloist on the next. I didn't plan it this way. The album gained its own energy, and we started to really do things like jug bands do."

While Sebastian's first inclination was to simply call the group "The J-Band," he agreed to the wishes of the record label [Hollywood] to include his name in the credits. "They were really resistant," he recalled. "They explained that they had a hard enough time without compounding it by not mentioning that I was involved."

This is an excerpt from Dirty Linen #84 (October/November '99)
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