Zal Yanovsky

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Template otherTemplate:Main otherTemplate:Main other Zalman Yanovsky (December 19, 1944 – December 13, 2002) was a Canadian folk-rock musician and restaurateur. Born in Toronto, he was the son of political cartoonist Avrom Yanovsky and teacher Nechama Yanovsky (née Gemeril). He played lead guitar and sang for the Lovin' Spoonful, a rock band which he founded with John Sebastian in 1964.

In 1967, he left the Lovin' Spoonful and was replaced by Jerry Yester. Yanovsky released a solo album in 1968 titled Alive and Well in Argentina. In 1971, he retired from music and became a restaurateur, opening his own restaurant in 1979 and writing cookbooks. He continued to perform occasionally.

Yanovsky was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1996. He was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 as a member of the Lovin' Spoonful.

Musical career

Mostly self-taught, Yanovsky began his musical career playing folk music coffee houses in Toronto. He lived on a kibbutz in Israel for a short time before returning to Canada. He teamed with fellow Canadian Denny Doherty in the Halifax Three. The two joined Cass Elliot in the Mugwumps, a group mentioned by Doherty's and Cass's later group the Mamas & the Papas in the song "Creeque Alley".

File:The Lovin' Spoonful, Hit Parader, March 1966, No. 3.jpg

Yanovsky, AugustTemplate:Nbsp1965

It was at this time that he met John Sebastian, and they formed the Lovin' Spoonful with Steve Boone and Joe Butler. According to Sebastian: "He could play like Elmore James, he could play like Floyd Cramer, he could play like Chuck Berry. He could play like all these people, yet he still had his own overpowering personality. Out of this we could, I thought, craft something with real flexibility." The Lovin' Spoonful had hits such as "Do You Believe in Magic", "Summer in the City", "Daydream", "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?", "Darling Be Home Soon", and "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice". The group's only number one was "Summer In The City" (which stayed there for three weeks in August 1966).

In 1966, he was arrested in the United States on a marijuana-related charge. Returning to his native Canada, he recorded the solo album Alive and Well in Argentina (and Loving Every Minute of It). Buddah Records released the album in the U.S. in 1968, along with "As Long as You're Here", a single that did not appear on the album. The single (on which the B-side was the same track without vocals and with playback backwards) just missed the Billboard Hot 100, but fared a little better in Cashbox, peaking at No. 73, and reaching No. 57 in the Canadian RPM Magazine charts. Kama Sutra Records reissued the album in 1971 with a completely different cover, and the inclusion of "As Long as You're Here".

While a member of Kris Kristofferson's backing band at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970, he had a brief reunion with John Sebastian; Sebastian had been (apparently) unaware of Yanovsky's presence, and was made aware by a message passed through the crowd, written on a toilet roll.

He also appeared in the off-Broadway show National Lampoon's Lemmings at New York's Village Gate. Although not an original cast member, he contributed a musical number, "Nirvana Banana", a Donovan parody.

In 1980, he appeared in the movie One-Trick Pony and reunited with the Lovin' Spoonful. In 1996, Yanovsky was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and performed. In 2000, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Lovin' Spoonful, and performed alongside his former bandmates at the ceremony. The Hall of Fame performance was the last time Yanovsky performed live, and the last time the original line up of The Lovin' Spoonful performed together.

Restaurateur

After retiring from the music business, Yanovsky became a chef and restaurateur with his second wife, Rose Richardson; together they opened Chez Piggy in 1979, and Pan Chancho Bakery in 1994, both in Kingston, Ontario. He had worked as a chef at The Golden Apple (in Gananoque, Ontario) and, in the mid-1970s, at Dr. Bull's (in Kingston). The success of Chez Piggy prompted the publication of a companion cookbook (The Chez Piggy Cookbook, Firefly Books, 1998) that was collected by fans. After Yanovsky's death in December 2002, and Richardson's death in 2005, his daughter Zoe Yanovsky (with actress Jackie Burroughs) took over the ownership of both eateries. Zoe also completed and launched another cookbook that Zal was working on, titled The Pan Chancho Cookbook (Bookmakers Press, 2006).

Personal life

Yanovsky met Canadian actress Jackie Burroughs in 1961 in a laundromat in Toronto, where he was sleeping in a dryer while homeless. They were married in 1967 and had one daughter, Zoe, before separating in 1968. He subsequently married Rose Richardson. His step-mother was Anna Yanovsky (née Atanas), who died in 2022.

Death

Yanovsky died on December 13, 2002, in Kingston, Ontario, from a heart attack, at the age of 57. A funeral service was held in Kingston, Ontario, on December 16, 2002.

Discography

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions

Year	Single details	Peak chart positions
		US Billboard	[[Cashbox (magazine)|US CashTemplate:NbspBox]]	CAN
1967	"As Long as You're Here" b/w "Ereh Er'ouy Sa Gnol Sa" Released: September 1967 Label: Buddha (BDA 12)	101Template:Efn	63	57

Notes Template:Notelist

Albums

Year	Album details
1968	Alive and Well in Argentina Released: April 1968 Label: Buddha (BDS-5019)

See also

• Canadian rock
• Music of Canada

External links

• Yanovsky's entry in Allmusic
• Template:PAGENAMEBASE discography at Discogs
• Article at canadianbands.com
• Article at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
• Template:Imdb name