Zal Yanovsky
| Zal Yanovsky | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Zalman Yanovsky |
| Born |
December 19, 1944 Toronto, Canada |
| Died | December 13, 2002 (aged 57) Kingston, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Rock & roll |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1964–71 |
| Associated acts | The Lovin' Spoonful |
Zalman "Zal" Yanovsky (December 19, 1944 – December 13, 2002) was a Canadian rock musician. Born in Toronto, he was the son of political cartoonist Avrom Yanovsky. He played lead guitar and sang for the Lovin' Spoonful, a rock band which he founded with John Sebastian in 1964. According to Sebastian, "He could play like Elmore James, he could play like Floyd Cramer, he could play like Chuck Berry. He could play like all these people, yet he still had his own overpowering personality. Out of this we could, I thought, craft something with real flexibility." He was married to actress Jackie Burroughs, with whom he had one daughter, Zoe.
One of the early rock and roll performers to wear a cowboy hat, and fringed "Davy Crockett" style clothing, Zal helped set the trend followed by such 1960s performers as Sonny Bono, Johnny Rivers and David Crosby.
Mostly self-taught, he began his musical career playing folk music coffee houses in Toronto. He lived on a kibbutz in Israel for a short time before returning to Canada. He teamed with fellow Canadian Denny Doherty in the Halifax Three. The two joined Cass Elliot in the Mugwumps, a group made famous by Doherty's & Cass's later group the Mamas & the Papas in the song "Creeque Alley". It was at this time he met John Sebastian and they formed the Lovin' Spoonful with Steve Boone and Joe Butler.
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