"Nashville Cats" is a song by the American folk-rock band the Lovin' Spoonful. Written by John Sebastian, the song appeared on the band's 1966 album Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful, and it was also issued on a single released the same day as the album. The single peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, marking the seventh and final time the band reached the American Top Ten.
| "Nashville Cats" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 U.S. picture sleeve | ||||
| Single by the Lovin' Spoonful | ||||
| from the album Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful | ||||
| B-side | "Full Measure" | |||
| Released | November 1966 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:34 | |||
| Label | Kama Sutra | |||
| Songwriter(s) | John Sebastian | |||
| Producer(s) | Erik Jacobsen | |||
| The Lovin' Spoonful singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio | ||||
| "Nashville Cats" on YouTube | ||||
Composition and recording
edit["Nashville Cats"] happened because the [Lovin'] Spoonful played Nashville ... We go in [to the Holiday Inn basement] and get beers when this guy shows up with a Telecaster and this crappy old amp. He sits down on the amp. There's no stage. He starts playing and it's incredible what comes out. ... [Zal Yanovsky and I] both are saying, "How is it that this guy that doesn't even have a stage can take us to town, and just kill it, in 20 minutes?"[1]
John Sebastian composed "Nashville Cats" as an ode to the Nashville A-Team, a loose group of session musicians based in Nashville, Tennessee.[2] He later recalled that after the Lovin' Spoonful played a show in Nashville, he and Zal Yanovsky, the band's lead guitarist, were amazed by an unknown guitarist, who played the bar of the Holiday Inn hotel at which the band was staying.[1][nb 1] Sebastian composed the song weeks later at his home in East Quogue, New York.[1][6]
Though the Lovin' Spoonful's music blended influences from blues, country and folk music, their music was focused towards the popular music market.[7] Each of the band members enjoyed elements of country music,[8] particularly Yanovsky, whose lead guitar playing often drew from influences like the rockabilly guitarist Carl Perkins.[9] Steve Boone, the band's bassist, recalled that though the group's earlier songs had sometimes hinted at country, on "Nashville Cats" they "consciously tried to make it sound country, like we were really Nashville cats".[8]
"Nashville Cats" features an electric guitar, a pedal steel guitar and what Sebastian terms "sponge rubber guitar playing" on rhythm guitar.[10] The pedal steel guitar had been leftover from a previous session, and Sebastian quickly learned to play it in the 45 minutes before the band began recording.[11]
Like Boone, the rock author John Einarson describes the song as "pure country".[8] By contrast, the author David Dachs describes the song as a parody,[12] and the journalist Peter Doggett writes that though it was a sincere tribute from Sebastian, the song sounds "condescending" and a "pastiche of Southern slang".[13] The author James E. Perone considers the song an example of pop music.[14]
Release and promotion
editReleased as psychedelic music began to reach its height in popularity, "Nashville Cats" stood in contrast to the music being recorded by the Lovin' Spoonful's peers.[13] The band were cynical of the possibility of the single succeeding in the pop charts,[8] but they hoped it could become a crossover hit in the country music market.[11] The band's record label, Kama Sutra Records, were similarly skeptical of the single's chances;[8] as a hedge, they opted to add "Full Measure" – a song more suggestive of psychedelia[15] – as the B-side.[8][nb 2] Kama Sutra issued "Nashville Cats" as a single in the U.S. in late November 1966, simultaneously with the release of the album on which it appeared, Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful.[22][nb 3] The single exceeded expectations and became a Top Ten hit;[8] on December 17, 1966, it entered Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart, and it peaked six weeks later at number eight. Since October 1965, the band had had six singles enter the Hot 100, and "Nashville Cats" was their seventh and final single to do so.[19]
Kama Sutra issued "Nashville Cats" in the U.K. on December 2, 1966.[25] The single reached number 23 on Melody Maker magazine's single chart.[26] The Lovin' Spoonful had achieved quick success in the country months earlier, when their single "Daydream" reached number two on the British charts in May 1966, but the band's subsequent singles failed to perform as well.[27][28][29] The anonymous reviewer for the Bucks Examiner newspaper suggested that the band's declining fortunes stemmed from their recent releases lacking the striking quality needed to succeed in the singles market, adding that though "Nashville Cats" was "very good", it was "a strange choice for a single".[29]
The Lovin' Spoonful's version of "Nashville Cats" failed to appear on any country charts, but the American bluegrass duo Flatt and Scruggs recorded a cover which reached number 54 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart in 1967.[11]
Charts
edit| Chart (1966–67) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia National Top 40 (Go-Set)[30] | 26 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[31] | 2 |
| Finland (Soumen Virallinen)[32] | 38 |
| Netherlands (Veronica Top 40)[33] | 14 |
| Netherlands (Hilversum 3 Top 30)[34] | 11 |
| Norway (VG-lista)[35] | 7 |
| Sweden (Kvällstoppen)[36] | 12 |
| U.K. (Disc)[37] | 25 |
| U.K. (Melody Maker)[26] | 23 |
| U.K. (Record Retailer)[28] | 26 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[19] | 8 |
| U.S. Cash Box Top 100[38] | 10 |
| U.S. Record World 100 Top Pops[39] | 8 |
Notes
edit- ^ The Lovin' Spoonful first toured the American South in November 1965, working as a support act for the girl group the Supremes.[3] They played at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium on November 24.[4] They also toured the South with the Beach Boys in April 1966, but the tour did not stop in Nashville.[5]
- ^ "Full Measure" received strong airplay in several markets, especially Los Angeles;[8][16][17] it reached number seven on the "Top 40 Requests" chart of the local Top 40 radio station KRLA,[18] and it entered the national chart for three weeks, peaking at number 87.[19][11][20] It also charted in Canada for one week at number 85.[21]
- ^ Some sources state that the single and album came out in December 1966,[23] but William Ruhlmann of AllMusic writes both were released simultaneously, around Thanksgiving 1966.[22] A trade ad for both releases appeared in Cash Box magazine's November 26 issue,[24] and they each debuted on Billboard magazine's charts on December 17.[19]
References
edit- ^ a b c Tamarkin, Jeff (March 17, 2023). "John Sebastian in Conversation: Recapturing the Lovin' Spoonful 'Magic'". Best Classic Bands. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023.
- ^ Stimeling 2020, p. 63.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 96–98.
- ^ Campbell, Mary (November 7, 1965). "On the Record: Supremes Aim Only for Top". The Tennessean. p. 4-S – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Badman 2004, pp. 124, 126.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 179: (Sebastian lived in East Quogue, New York).
- ^ Doggett 2001, pp. 40, 113.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Einarson 2001, p. 58.
- ^ Doggett 2001, p. 40.
- ^ Paulsen, Don (March 1967). "A Listeners Guide to 'Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful', as told to Don Paulsen by John Sebastian". Hit Parader. pp. 22–23 – via the Internet Archive.
- ^ a b c d Diken, Dennis (2003). Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful (Liner notes). The Lovin' Spoonful. Buddha, BMG Heritage, RCA, Kama Sutra. 74465 99732 2.
- ^ Dachs 1968, p. 41.
- ^ a b Doggett 2001, p. 42.
- ^ Perone 2018, p. 115.
- ^ Segretto 2022, pp. 97–98.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, pp. 147–148.
- ^ Anon. (December 31, 1966). "What a Crazy World". KRLA Beat. p. 8.
The Lovin' Spoonful's 'Full Measure' is a large size hit in Los Angeles, but most of the rest of the world, including England, is playing the other side, 'Nashville Cats,' which hasn't even been heard much here.
- ^ "Top 40 Requests". KRLA Beat. December 31, 1966. p. 9.
- ^ a b c d "The Lovin' Spoonful Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
- ^ Boone & Moss 2014, p. 148.
- ^ "RPM 100". RPM. February 4, 1967. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
- ^ a b Ruhlmann, William. "Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 14, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
- ^ Anon. (1990). Anthology (Liner notes). The Lovin' Spoonful. Rhino. R2 70944.
- ^ "Nashville Cats". Cash Box. November 26, 1966. p. 5.
- ^ Anon. (November 26, 1966). "Spoonful rush". Disc and Music Echo. p. 4.
Lovin' Spoonful rush release a new single next Friday, December 2. Titled 'Nashville Cats' it was written by John Sebastian and is backed with 'Full Measure'.
- ^ a b "Melody Maker Pop 50". Melody Maker. January 21, 1967. p. 2.
- ^ Williams 2002, p. 69.
- ^ a b "Lovin' Spoonful". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on August 16, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
- ^ a b Anon. (December 9, 1966). "Discorner: Singles Review Column". Bucks Examiner. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Go-Set's National Top 40". Go-Set. April 5, 1967. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
- ^ "RPM 100". RPM. February 11, 1967. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
- ^ Nyman 2005, p. 199.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – The Lovin' Spoonful" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
- ^ "The Lovin' Spoonful – Nashville Cats" (in Dutch). Dutch Single Top 100. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
- ^ "Topp 20 Single 1967-08". VG-lista (in Norwegian). Retrieved January 24, 2024.
- ^ Hallberg 1993, p. 260.
- ^ "Chart Topper Top 50". Disc. January 21, 1967. p. 3.
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100 – Week of January 28, 1967". Cash Box. January 28, 1967. p. 4.
- ^ "Record World 100 Top Pops – Week of February 4, 1967". Record World. February 4, 1967. p. 13.
Sources
edit- Badman, Keith (2004). The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band, on Stage and in the Studio. San Francisco, California: Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-818-6 – via the Internet Archive.
- Boone, Steve; Moss, Tony (2014). Hotter Than a Match Head: My Life on the Run with The Lovin' Spoonful. Toronto: ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-77041-193-7 – via the Internet Archive.
- Dachs, David (1968). Inside Pop: America's Top Ten Groups. New York City: Scholastic Book Services. OCLC 1035670169 – via the Internet Archive.
- Doggett, Peter (2001). Are You Ready for the Country: Elvis, Dylan, Parsons and the Roots of Country Rock. New York City: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-200016-7.
- Einarson, John (2001). Desperados: The Roots of Country Rock. Lanham, Maryland: Cooper Square Press. ISBN 978-1-4616-0733-5 – via Google Books.
- Hallberg, Eric (1993). Eric Hallberg presenterar Kvällstoppen i P3: Sveriges Radios topplista över veckans 20 mest sålda skivor (in Swedish). Drift Musik. ISBN 91-630-2140-4.
- Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
- Perone, James E. (2018). Listen to Pop! Exploring a Musical Genre. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-6377-6 – via Google Books.
- Segretto, Mike (2022). 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute: A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4930-6460-1 – via Google Books.
- Stimeling, Travis D. (2020). Nashville Cats: Record Production in Music City. New York City: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-750281-5 – via Google Books.
- Williams, Paul, ed. (2002). The Crawdaddy! Book: Writings (and Images) from the Magazine of Rock. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 0-634-02958-4 – via Google Books.