KAILUA-KONA — John Sebastian still believes in magic.
As lead singer and songwriter of the band The Lovin’ Spoonful that rose to fame in the mid-1960s, Sebastian was responsible for their hit song “Do You Believe in Magic?” which hit No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1965.
“Picking a favorite song, that’s like picking your favorite child,” Sebastian said. “But I would say ‘Do You Believe in Magic?’ the first song that was visible that I wrote, I would have to say that is important to me.”
Sebastian is still performing his favorite song, and the countless others that he wrote, and at 7 p.m. Tuesday he will be performing them on stage at the Kahilu Theatre in Waimea.
The Big Island and Hawaii isn’t a new scene for the 74-year-old music legend, who has been on the road touring for over 50 years. Sebastian’s lifelong love for music began as a child growing up in Greenwich Village in New York as the son of a classical harmonic player, also named John. Sebastian was surrounded by his father’s friends, which included singers Burl Ives and Woody Guthrie, and was introduced to the guitar through that circle of musicians.
Sebastian formed The Lovin’ Spoonful with guitarist Zal Yanovsky, bassist Steve Boone and drummer Joe Butler, and credits Cass Elliot, a member of the band The Mamas &The Papas, for bringing the four members together.
“We were all friends because Cass Elliot was sort of the central pal in all of it,” Sebastian said. “She had kind of a salon going most of the time, whether she was in New York or Washington, D.C. And we all met each other mostly in Washington, D.C. because we were all playing at the same club.”
The Lovin’ Spoonful went on to have plenty of hits, including “Daydream, “Summer in the City” and “Younger Girl.” As a solo artist, Sebastian also enjoyed success, including the No. 1 hit song “Welcome Back” and a famous impromptu performance at Woodstock in 1969.
The Lovin’ Spoonful was inducted into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
Sebastian is currently writing music, although he said what he’s working on is strictly confidential. And he’s never out of inspiration for a new song.
“It varies from tune to tune. Sometimes it can be a phrase that resonates with you, or sometimes it can be a set of life changes or maybe it’s imitating somebody else,” Sebastian said. “You can say, ‘Boy, I love Jerry Lee Lewis, I’m going to write a song that has that beat,’ and then suddenly you’ve created something of your own but it has a spot that it came from.”
After decades performing and collaborating with other musicians, Sebastian has more than songs to sing. His performance at Kahilu will also feature stories from his life as a rock and roll star.
“I certainly know that I have to present a certain number of tunes that people know me for,” Sebastian said. “And then I also try to show them a bit of stuff that I’ve done recently. I do have a lot of stories to tell, but I tell them when I perform, so you’ll have to come to the show.
“It’s one guy and one guitar and whatever else trouble I can get into.”
Info: Tickets to John Sebastian’s concert at the Kahilu Theatre are $65/$45/$25, and can be purchased at kahilutheatre.org, by calling 885-6868, or at the Kahilu Theatre box office in Waimea.
