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
The Mamas & the Papas the record in the fall of 1966, playing a series of precarious and reportedly bizarre shows. At a September 1966 concert at Fordham University in New York City, the band was noted by Gus Duffy and Jim Mason of their co-headlining band, Webster's New Word, as being clearly "high, drunk, or tripping. When they got on stage, it was clear that these people shouldn't be on stage ... They tumbled onto the stage, shambled around, and just got nowhere. After completing their brief East coast tour, the group started work immediately on its third album, "The Mamas & The Papas