The Lovin' Spoonful folk musicians who were involved with the American folk music revival of the 1950s through the early 1960s. Sebastian formed the Spoonful with guitarist Zal Yanovsky from a bohemian folk group called The Mugwumps (two other members, Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty, later formed half of the Mamas & the Papas), playing local coffee houses and small clubs. The formation of the Lovin' Spoonful during this period was later described in the lyrics of the Mamas & the Papas' 1967 top ten hit, "Creeque Alley". Drummer Jan Carl and bassist Steve Boone rounded out the group, but Carl was replaced
Dream a Little Dream of Me was 1943 and somebody had just come in and said, 'Here's a new song.' I tried to sing it as if it were the first time." In the album version, recorded with the Mamas and the Papas, a spoken introduction from an engineer is heard mentioning a drink, and then concluding with the words: "And now, to sing a lovely ballad, here is Mama Cass". Only the last part was heard on the single version of the song. Cass did her own whistling, which is heard before the song's fade. By the time of the album's release, there were strong