Lovin' Spoonful Bassist Steve Boone's Autobiography due in August

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Paul J, Jan 15, 2014.

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  1. Paul J

    Paul J Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Baltimore
    Just listed on Amazon is an autobiography of Steve Boone (bass-Lovin’ Spoonful)


    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1770411933/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER


    Listed as Contributor is Tony Moss aka SHF Member alylemoss


    Here’s a piece Tony Moss wrote a couple of years ago, I guess it could serve as a preview for the book.

    http://www.baltimoremagazine.net/features/2010/08/the-blue-seas-saga

    My roommate worked at ITI and I was getting an earful most nights.


    Really looking forward to this, a release in August reflects well in the title, it’s the month in 1966 that ‘Summer In The City’ was #1 for three consecutive weeks.
     
    Last edited: Jan 15, 2014
    theMess, alylemoss, 905 and 1 other person like this.
  2. Folknik

    Folknik Forum Resident

    I look forward to reading it, too. I saw the Spoonful in concert a few years ago (Steve Boone, Joe Butler, Jerry Yester). Good concert and they were all very nice at the meet and greet table.
     
  3. zen

    zen Senior Member

    Thanks for the heads up!
     
  4. cwitt1980

    cwitt1980 Senior Member

    Location:
    Carbondale, IL USA
    I'd love to read some stories about the Spoonful. Looking forward to this.
     
  5. 905

    905 Senior Member

    Location:
    Midwest USA
    476 pages - very cool.
     
    Folknik likes this.
  6. Paul J

    Paul J Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Baltimore
    Mike Dow, alylemoss and zen like this.
  7. arob71

    arob71 Capitol JAX

  8. Paul J

    Paul J Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Baltimore
    I got mine the other day. Very well written, a lot of fun for me to read because besides the Spoonful stuff, a lot of Boone's life after the Spoonful was in Baltimore with places I went & people I knew. He steers relatively clear of the typical rocker's autobiography of how many references to sex & drugs can be made. Don't get me wrong, there is that but not to the extent that it turned me off like other autobiographies I've read. He mentions on the trip to London in '66 of doing Ready, Steady, Go!, Top Of The Pops and …….BBC Radio. With so much BBC stuff coming along of late, wouldn't that be nice to come up with! Boone's drug dealing covers a couple of chapters, it's interesting to a point but there's plenty of drug smuggling stories out there but not too many about being the bassist in the Lovin' Spoonful or being involved a large part of Feats Don't Fail Me Now. That's where the meat is, for me anyway. The band was ahead of the curve in the spring of '66 with the production of Summer In The City, producing a film for it & Rain On The Roof (many other groups in '66 besides the Beatles do this?) and for Hums, which was a pure American album that was roots before there was roots. For me, Music From Big Pink, 2 years later, was a logical progression for this type of album. Steve doesn't give the album enough credit for being more than a collection of songs and I disagree. Not every lp at that point and after had to be Pet Sounds or Sgt Pepper.

    Boone doesn't pull any punches with the politics of the group, but he doesn't take credit for contributions unless warranted, and gives praise all over the place to Sebastian and especially his good friend Zal, whose antics in the book made me laugh out loud a couple of times. There are a lot of 'fly on the wall' moments that makes you feel part of the story and evaluations of scenes from those times. Either he doesn't hold grudges or he's mellowed with age.

    The final chapter is a plea for the recognition of the Spoonful, to place them with the elite of the 60's, which is where they should be and enough of their peers place them there. This type of insecurity shows that he really became a Baltimorean.

    To Steve Boone & Tony Moss, get together with Sebastian and come up with a 'Travels With Zally' followup. You left me wanting more!
     
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  9. apple-richard

    apple-richard *Overnight Sensation*

    Sounds like a fun read. Surprised he doesn't think they're thought of as an elite 60s group. All their records are still in print and they are in the RNRHOF.
     
    theMess likes this.
  10. zen

    zen Senior Member

    Maybe Boone doesn't think the RARHOF is worth much.
     
    cwitt1980 likes this.
  11. apple-richard

    apple-richard *Overnight Sensation*

    Which would be surprising since they showed up Did a nice little tribute to Zally. I still find it odd he feels that way.
     
  12. Paul J

    Paul J Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Baltimore
    He writes that he feels they are considered a singles group & that with Pet Sounds & Revolver they got left behind, did not adapt to the album oriented releases of the day and that the Byrds are considered more influential than the Spoonful. In my opinion, by attempting to compete with that mentality on Everythings Playing they were apples that tried to be oranges and came up short, when they were the best apples going. There were a lot of factors in their demise, but being 21 to 24 by the end of the run was the major flaw. I know I was less than perfect, add $$$, women & drugs, I could've failed just as easily.
     
    bumbletort likes this.
  13. rockerreds

    rockerreds Senior Member

    My copy arrived this AM,can't wait to read it.
     
  14. GlassOnion

    GlassOnion Well-Known Member

    Location:
    pgh,pa,us
    Is this Book worth it if you just to read about the Lovin Spoonful?

    BTW are their any books on The Lovin Spoonful.bios, anything?
     
    zen likes this.
  15. Paul J

    Paul J Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Baltimore
    Yes it is, that's the main reason I got it. The Baltimore stuff was just icing on the cake. And the photos are real nice, mainly alternate shots from shoots already familiar.
    There is a kindle book on Amazon 'Do You Believe in Magic' by Simon Wordsworth that is a good read. The bust details aftermath conflicts some with Boone's book and there are other things that differ. A lot of info drawn from various print sources (Hit Parader, Goldmine, etc) as well as direct interviews with Erik Jacobsen, band members and others.
     
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  16. Bill

    Bill Senior Member

    Location:
    Eastern Shore
    Just finished the book. I thought it was very candid and perceptive.
    An enjoyable education for this fan of the Spoonful.
     
  17. Paul J

    Paul J Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Baltimore
    A footnote to Zal's self-destructive nature
     
  18. Bill

    Bill Senior Member

    Location:
    Eastern Shore
    Interesting that Rolling Stone called and told Kris not to hire Zal because of the 1966 drug bust. So much for the new generation being less assholic than the previous one. Nice, Jann. Think I"ll pass up those $10 annual subscription offers from now on. Your magazine isn't worth it, you phony.
     
    Paul J likes this.
  19. Nate-O-Phonic

    Nate-O-Phonic I didn't get a Harrumph! outta that guy...

    Silver Surfer likes this.
  20. Bill

    Bill Senior Member

    Location:
    Eastern Shore
    Ralph J. Gleason was the conscience of Rolling Stone and his column defending the Spoonful was great, but why would Kris lie about getting a call from someone at the magazine about his hiring Zal? Sounds like a Wenner move to me.
     
    Paul J likes this.
  21. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Revelation:Revolution.69
    Is he the naked running dude on the cover?
     
  22. alylemoss

    alylemoss Forum Resident

    That's Joe Butler.
     
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  23. Bill

    Bill Senior Member

    Location:
    Eastern Shore
    No; it's Joe Butler, the group's drummer. As Boone relates in the book, Boone wasn't even on the album: all Joe. He also relates that the woman on the cover tragically lost her nipples in a freak airbrushing accident. No word on the lion.
     
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  24. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    That was a unusual album. :)
     
  25. Mylene

    Mylene Senior Member

    The smart money's on the lion.
     
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